Every TV show has a shelf life, a period of time in which they are must see television, until they lose that hype and fall away from the public consciousness. For example Gossip Girl was a series that at one point it seemed everyone was talking about, but by the time of the finale it seemed like nobody really cared. Of course it still had its diehard fans and the show still mattered to them, but to the passive viewer, it simply didnt matter anymore. Im not trying to pick on Gossip Girl, this is a fate that awaits a lot of shows- most of them in fact- but there are some that find a way to subvert this. There are shows manage to keep the fans interested, at a time in which they seemed to be losing that it factor. The writers need to come up with that clever plot device to reignite and re-inviger series and it can be anything, any idea that would changeup the way the show worked, giving it a fresh new approach. It can be as simple as a casting change, be it a departure, an arrival or both. It may be the establishment of a new relationship between two characters in the show or in some cases it may be a change to the very nature of the series, making a complete and clear cut between what is now two different periods of the show. Whatever it may be, this plot device gave the series a new lease on life and allowed it continue for more seasons to come, keeping the series as something that people wish to speak about. It doesnt necessarily have to be a show that ended up running for a decade, it could be half that, but these plot devices helped a series that seemed to be losing its grip on the average fan. Here are 5 plot devices that kept shows fresh.