10 TV Shows That Suffered A Sophomore Slump
2. Once Upon A Time
The first season of Once Upon A Time had some really interesting ideas and was highly watchable from start to finish. It had its ups and downs in terms of quality but was mostly a very enjoyable light fantasy show with decent writing and a thrilling finale. Viewers appreciated the way the show subverted classic fairy tale tropes and introduced modern and often feminist takes on stories as old as time.
Some of those great aspects were maintained into season two, but the show also became much more inconsistent. One or two good episodes would be followed by a run of duds and a lot of the original writing was replaced with clichés and lots of lazy "magic spell/potion saves the day" storylines. Any semblance or peril or suspense was washed away through repetitive use of deus ex machina.
New characters like Greg and Tamara weren't too warmly-received either and many fans felt like the show had failed to live up to the promise established so well in the first season. Once Upon A Time had a big enough fanbase to survive for seven seasons in total, but ratings started to decline from the second season onward.