10 Amazing TV Shows That Became Unwatchable
Did anyone even care who the mother was by the end of How I Met Your Mother?
The world of TV is filled with series that never quite made it, that audiences didn't respond to, or that got cancelled pretty much right off the bat. To create something that is genuinely brilliant and lasts is one of the most difficult things to achieve when it comes to the small screen.
Even once you've got that level of quality and acclaim, it's arguably even more difficult to keep it going. A handful of truly great TV shows never once dipped in quality, but outside of the likes of Breaking Bad, it's a rare feat.
There are some fantastic series that lose a step as time goes on, but don't do too much to damage a brilliant overall run. Then, there are those that go from the very top, right to the very bottom. They go from being exceptional to being downright unwatchable.
Sitcoms that couldn't stick the landing, shows that have lost audience interest thanks to years between seasons, and an animated classic that should have ended decades ago, only to survive long enough to become a laughing stock, were all almost universally loved, until they weren't.
10. The Simpsons
The Simpsons is as iconic a TV series as there could ever possibly be. Everybody knows who Homer Simpson is, it paved the way for the likes of Family Guy, King of the Hill, and countless other animated hits, and it has been running for 36 seasons and counting, already having been renewed through season 40.
The issue is that the show hasn't been genuinely good in 25 years. Depending on who you ask, the golden age of The Simpsons ran between seasons three and eight, though some will give it a season or so either side of that time. Since then, there has been a steady decline, to the point that it now just needs to end.
During said golden age, it seemed as if Matt Groening and co. could do no wrong, and though there is still the rare good episode these days, 23 out of 24 episodes in a season won't even be worth watching. Instead, they are based around shameless celebrity guest spots, or feature the kind of out-of-ideas stories the show itself made fun of as far back as 2002!
It may make you feel incredibly old, but there has now been as much Simpsons since the Movie in 2007 as there was before it, and things were already going downhill then. The priority now really should be pouring every effort into making the final episode, whenever it actually comes, as good as it could possibly be.