10 Great TV Shows That Went Downhill (And Then Redeemed Themselves)

8. House Of Cards (2013 - Present)

House of Cards was initially met with a flood of fantastic reviews, praising the plot, the tone, and the acting. Watching Kevin Spacey's Machiavellian Frank Underwood, passed over for a promotion by the President, lying, cheating and manipulating his way to the top made for some of the most binge-worthy television in recent memory.

The high praise continued into season two, which built on the strengths of the first and culminated in Frank reaching his goal role as President of the United States.

And then, of course, it happened: Frank having achieved his mission to become the most powerful man in the world, House of Cards ran out of steam, somewhat, and the highly-anticipated third season ambled its way through a series of generally uninteresting plots. Frank became a bit of a sad sack, and the momentum of the series floundered.

But just when House of Cards' best days looked far behind it, the very recent season four managed to steer things back on course, delivering what is arguably the best set of 13 episodes since the original run. The smart move here, one which might have saved the show, saw the writers bringing back a number of abandoned characters and plot threads, imbuing everything with a new sense of direction and bringing the themes full circle.

Season five can't come fast enough.