10 TV Shows That RECOVERED From Jumping The Shark

7. Red Dwarf

Red Dwarf is one of the greatest British comedies ever made, and uncommonly only seemed to get better as it went along, culminating in the show peaking with its brilliant sixth series.

But series 7 was hobbled by a number of disappointing creative changes: co-creator and writer Rob Grant left the show, Chris Barrie (who plays Rimmer) only returned for half the series, and Lister's (Craig Charles) love interest Kochanski (Chloë Annett) was brought in as a totally lackluster replacement.

In addition to the series consisting of a fairly forgettable batch of episodes and the scripts proving depressingly low on major laughs, many fans were also frustrated by the decision to ditch the studio audience format and opt for a new cinematic style, far away from the kitschy, low-fi aesthetic fans knew and loved.

Series 8 similarly left fans underwhelmed, and even when Red Dwarf finally returned for 2009's Back to Earth revival, it still felt like the magic was gone.

But 2012's Red Dwarf X was finally a return to form, resurrecting the show's original four-man formula and also being filmed in front of a studio audience once again.

Though it's fair to say that Red Dwarf has never matched the brilliance of its sixth series, the subsequent 11th and 12th series also maintained a surprisingly solid baseline of quality.