10 TV Shows That Are Turning to Crap

Making a good television series is hard enough, but keeping it good once it’s on the air is infinitely harder. While a show’s first season is generally thought out in detail beforehand, its subsequent seasons are generally more murky. And in that murkiness, you often have shows that lose their way and become a shell of their former selves. With that being said, here are 10 shows that are completely turning to crap.

1. True Detective

“Turning” is an understatement when it comes to True Detective — the series has turned. This is shocking, considering how good the first season was. Created and written by Nic Pizzolatto, with the steady-handed directing of Cary Fukunaga, Season 1 was one of the most critically-acclaimed, talked-about debuts in recent memory. But whether it was the loss of Fukunaga, a lack of time, or miscasting, Season 2 of True Detective was a complete mess that almost seemed like a parody of itself.

While Season 3 has yet to be officially announced or released, it should be noted that Pizzolatto recently signed a new deal at HBO that keeps him with the premium network through 2018. Additionally, Matthew McConaughey has expressed interest in returning as Rust Cohle. While his return doesn’t fit into the original inception of the show — one season anthologies — at this point, it doesn’t seem like anyone would be opposed.

2. Wayward Pines

Wayward Pines was a big surprise when it debuted in 2015 to strong reviews, mostly because of the involvement of M. Night Shyamalan. Based on the Wayward Pines trilogy by Blake Crouch, the first seasons successfully introduced audiences to the story of a U.S. secret service agent (Matt Dillion) who, after waking up from a car crash, finds himself stuck in what seems like an idyllic town, but is actually anything but. It sounds like a great premise, and it is, but unfortunately Wayward Pines lost its footing in its second season.

So what happened? Well, to start, the consensus is that it feels like the show should’ve really been only one season. But the bigger problem is that the best element of Wayward Pines’ first season is missing: mystery. Instead, what we’re left with is a second season that is heavy on exposition, heavy on repetition, and, to be perfectly honest, just plain boring. As it remains in limbo for a third season, we’ll see where it goes from here, but don’t be surprised if Wayward Pines’ second season is also its last.

3. Grey’s Anatomy 

File this one under “That show is still running?” — a label that we’ll return to soon enough. To be fair, Grey’s Anatomy is still averaging about 8 million viewers per episode, which is the reason it continues to get renewed. But at this point the show feels like it just needs to end for the sake of its own fans.

Its award-winning glory years are a distant memory at this point, while the writers continue to pepper the new seasons with inconsistent plot lines and lazy storytelling — the most egregious of which is the constant use of flashbacks. It just feels like the end, and after 13 seasons it makes a lot of sense.

4. Supernatural

To say Supernatural has been around for awhile would be a colossal understatement. The series is currently wrapping up its 12th season and still somehow stick around. Unfortunately, it’s also lived well past its expiration date, with a story that really could have ended six or seven seasons ago. With most of the original producers and creators no longer on board, it seems like only a matter of time until The CW finally lays their longest-running series to rest.

5. The Simpsons

The Simpsons is legendary, end of story. But after 28 seasons dating back to 1989, it’s totally fair that the series just doesn’t hold a candle to its glory years. To be honest, The Simpsons deserves a ton of credit for not only being able to make it this long, but to continue to evolve and stay relevant amid decent marks from fans and critics.

However, every show reaches the point where it might be time to call it quits, and don’t be surprised if that time comes sooner rather than later for The Simpsons. With so much of the biting satirical humor of old replaced with cheap laughs, and characters who have somehow reached what can only be described as “post-caricatures” (read: Homer Simpson), it just seems like it’s time for the show to hang up its boots.

6. The Big Bang Theory

The most-watched show on TV is also divisive, with hordes of loyal fans and just as many haters. But if you ask fans of the show about the most recent season, they might actually agree that the show is losing its muster. Having recently wrapped up its 10th season, critics and viewers seem to agree that the humor of the show is starting to feel dated.

While a host of new comedy series continue to change the way we view comedy on television, The Big Bang Theory simply feels like the last stand of the old guard. Sure, the same characters fans fell in love with are all there and so are the same jokes, but that’s exactly the problem: it’s more of the same. TV comedy has changed a lot since The Big Bang Theory first premiered in 2007, and it just feels like it’s finally being left behind.

7. 2 Broke Girls

The sitcom, 2 Broke Girls, has been the subject of polarizing reviews from critics from the start, but the show has always managed to continue on. The comedy, which has always relied heavily on one-liners and an on-demand laugh track, feels as though it’s living in the same TV world as The Big Bang Theory — although that show is certainly better.

Additionally, now that the show’s “two broke girls” are not really that broke anymore, it definitely feels like the concept of the show is on its last legs.

8. Scandal

Any time a reviewer looks at a recent episode and labels it “one of the worst things I’ve ever seen on television,” you know your show is probably in trouble. Scandal is a prime example of a series that’s completely gone off the rails, thanks to convoluted assassination plots, unnecessary twists, and a story about as organized as a Jackson Pollock painting.

9. The Walking Dead

Aside from a surprisingly fun Season 7 finale, The Walking Dead has sputtered through its recent seasons. The biggest issue continues to be its relentlessly grim tone, that constantly has viewers questioning whether our characters should even want to survive in a world this horrific. Given that the best season is still the first one, it’s no small mystery why it’s fallen off with each successive year.

10. Once Upon a Time

The fact that original cast members, Jennifer Morrison, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Josh Dallas are all leaving Once Upon a Time after Season 6 should tell you just how fed up people are with the show. What started as a fun, small, fairytale-centric concept has since ballooned into a Disney-fueled cash-grab that spends more time advertising new characters for the studio than actually telling a worthwhile story.

Additional reporting by Nick Cannata-Bowman.

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