12 TV Shows That Don't Live Up To Great Premises

Some TV shows take time to get into. They may struggle to find their tone or their feet at first, like Parks And Recreation, or they may simply overwhelm you with information from the off, meaning it takes a while to figure out who’s who, like The Wire. Over time, though, you or the show or both settle into a comfy rhythm, and it’s smooth sailing from there.

Sometimes, however, the opposite happens. A new programme comes onto our screens, and it sounds great. The concept is exciting, the personnel talented, the source material beloved. But something doesn’t add up.

Maybe the show is a dud from the word go, or maybe it drizzles out over time, outstaying its welcome. Perhaps the concept was exciting at first but not enough to sustain a series on, or perhaps the creators ran out of inspiration but had obligations to fulfil.

Whatever the reason, there’s little more disappointing than a TV show that sounds great, and ends up anything but. They can’t all be winners – but if you’re going to make a lousy programme, at least have the decency to make it clearly identifiable as such from the off.

One of the few true flops of Marvel’s otherwise dominant cross-media universe, Iron Fist represented a tertiary hero too far for the comic behemoths. Marvel have a good track record with making stars out of characters who thus far have had little mainstream presence, and it seemed like Iron Fist could be another in a long line of winners. It was not to be.

Critical reaction towards the first series was disastrous, with viewers and journalists finding little to enjoy in Marvel’s latest. It was a case of content overload, for many – another drawn-out backstory in an increasingly long line of lesser-known heroes, whose evolution followed much the same beats of most of the characters who came before him.

It was a copy of a copy, only with every aspect – the cast, the setting, the action, the source material – a little worse than what had come before it. While the second season was a marked improvement, it was too little, too late for Iron Fist. Marvel will no doubt have another bash at the character in due course, but it won’t be in this format.