Like everything else on Earth, television shows have a lifespan: be it a short two season stint like The Office or the ten season marathon of Friends, there comes a point when they have given all they can. Breaking Bad offers the perfect model for shows leaving at the top of its game, bowing out last year after a glorious five season run at the peak of it powers. All shows have an arc, characters must progress and stories move forward, and when they stop fulfilling these requirements they become stale, losing the very qualities that hooked their audience to begin with. If a show gets to that point, it's beyond saving, and there are some shows currently on TV that really need to give up: their run has come full circle and their story has been told. Conversely, other shows are at the top of their game, reigning in the viewers and ruling the TV realm, but when you're at the top the only way is down and the smartest move is to get going before the going gets tough, to ensure a legacy like Breaking Bad's. The following list looks at those TV shows which for their own sake, and the sake of their fans, need to self-cancel. Inevitable, SPOILERS FOLLOW.
Honourable Mention
Community
Dan Harmon's college comedy laden with in-jokes and pop culture references has actually already been taken off the air having been cancelled after five seasons, and frankly that should remain the end for what was one of the best written comedies on television.
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Alas, with a cult following and an endless stream of quotable quips the show is looking for a new network, and it seems inevitable it will be revived in some way. But the show has become progressively weaker, losing Donald Glover (Troy) and Chevy Chase from the original cast; while the departure of Chase's character was a manageable dent, Glover's decision to quit is a severe blow to the dynamic of the show, destroying in the process TV's best bromance, Troy and Abed (Danny Pudi).