10 TV Shows That Should Have Ended After One Season

It can be easy to forget that, when it first aired, Glee was a genuine cultural phenomenon. A ratings smash and a critical darling (though not without its detractors), Glee was one of the most talked about shows of its era thanks to its bold musical approach and breakout performances from the likes of Jane Lynch.

This is especially easy to forget because Glee became a parody of itself remarkably quickly. It was such a distinctive and particular show that, if you weren’t fully invested, you were likely going to hate, and so when viewers started to grow tired of it, they turned against it in a big way.

Like acapella singing itself, Glee is best served in small doses. Creator Ryan Murphy has a signature style of TV making, bold and brassy, and he has since focussed on shorter seasons that have been roaring successes. Glee’s 22 episode seasons were gruelling to say the least, and we turned off in our droves.

Nowadays it seems a little mad that Glee ever got as big as it did, and that’s solely because they drew it out far longer than they should have done.