10 Great TV Shows That Went Downhill (And Then Redeemed Themselves)
1. Community (2009 - 2015)
It's rare that a show lands with its voice well and truly figured out, but Community was one of those shows. Created by Dan Harmon, the first three seasons of his meta-inclined community college-based series won over audiences with its quirky characters, self-referential humour and - let's face it - endlessly brilliant paintball episodes.
For a while, the show could do no wrong: it got better and better with every installment.
Then Dan Harmon was replaced as showrunner. And it was no surprise that a Community without its creator at the helm, driving it towards greatness, stumbled at the first hurdle: the fourth season of the once beloved show only served to alienate fans, who - despite the best efforts of the new guys running Community - felt the absence of their beloved Harmon.
The show was essentially dumbed down and became way broader, presumably in an attempt to capture more ratings, but this killed what made it great in the first place: the little details and callbacks that only a veteran fans understood (oh, and Chevy Chase left the show: not good). By the end of the season, there was little reason to keep watching.
What occurred next could not have been predicted: Dan Harmon was rehired - when does something like that ever happen? - with the clear intention of making Community great again, which is exactly what he did. When the fifth season dropped, it was as if the fourth never even happened, bring back the same idiosyncratic sense of human and jokes aimed at established fans, whilst the sixth - released online only - kept the quality level high.
Community has always been comically driven by the mantra "six seasons and a movie," a goal that it has very nearly achieved (the six season finished airing in 2015). Now, if only they could get that damn movie made...
Like this article? What do you make of these shows? Agree or disagree with their decline in quality and subsequent redemption? Let us know what you think in the comments below.