10 TV Shows That Wasted Brilliant Concepts
6. Dexter - A Police Procedural Starring A Serial Killer
Though the vast majority of shows on this list squandered their potential right out the gate, Dexter actually utilised its concept of a blood splatter analyst who hunts serial killers to quench his murderous impulses quite well... at first, that is.
Despite sporting a slightly too melodramatic tone during its early years, the first four seasons of Dexter make for great entertainment. They're darkly amusing, brilliantly performed, and their internal mysteries are thrilling and genuinely unpredictable in parts.
With the fourth season cliffhanger, though, in which Dexter's innocent wife Rita is brutally slain by his latest enemy, the show outdid itself and was never able to relive the greatness of its early years.
Throwing dozens of twists at the wall to see what stuck, the last half of Dexter's run was marred by ill-conceived plotlines, convenient storytelling, and a finale so disappointing it's tainted the show's image ever since. It was never terrible, but it's hard to watch knowing how good it could have been if it just ended in its prime.