10 TV Shows That Shot Themselves In The Foot
8. The Terrible Negan Cliff-Hanger - The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead had so much going for it by the time that it reached Season 6 because, in spite of a few dud seasons, it had successfully managed to introduce comic book threat Negan as an antagonist without even having him appear on-screen.
Yep, the plotting was that good that they built up this guy's fearful reputation for a whole season, leaving new fans intrigued and comic book fans salivating at the thought of his arrival. And then they went and let all that intricately-plotted air out in a series of frustrating decisions.
Negan's arrival in the finale resulted in the cheapest cliffhanger in TV history as he bashed in the head of, well, the cameraman apparently. Unsure of who they were going to kill off, the powers-that-be thought it best to keep viewers waiting (again) and never revealed who the villain targeted until the seventh season's premiere.
To top it all off, this kick-started a trend as the writers promised this great war that never came throughout the seventh season and fizzled out in the eighth, all while Negan quickly developed into a pantomime villain that wasted time with endless monologues and found himself protected by a ton of plot armour. And even though the show eventually improved, it didn't matter because people had stopped caring.