Summary
There comes a certain point in the shelf life of every TV show when it peaks, and for some series still on the air, this happened a long time ago. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the show is no longer worth watching or that it no longer has a strong viewership base. However,after airing for many seasons, some series outlive their original premiseand become unrecognizable. Often accompanied by a significant dip in quality, it’s sad to see but very common. A perfect show will end right at its peak, but this is difficult to determine.
Both streamers and network projects alike are equally capable of losing momentum as they age and go on long past their prime.
Some network TV shows on the air today have been going on for decades,making it impossible for writers to avoid repeated storylines or entering unrealistic and melodramatic territory. Conversely, someTV shows might peak almost immediately, meaning that they haven’t been on the air for generations, but every installment following the first has been a letdown. Shows on streaming services typically have a much shorter run, as they’re more expensive to produce. However, both streamers and network projects alike are equally capable of losing momentum as they age and go on long past their prime.
10 Long-Running TV Shows That Actually Ended Too Early
Despite running for a long time, some of television’s best series needed at least one more season to finish telling their stories in a satisfying way.
7The Handmaid’s Tale (2017–Present)
The seriesThe Handmaid’s Taleis considered one of streaming television’s first successes, as it was the first show from a streaming service, Hulu, to win an Emmy.
Though the final season ofThe Handmaid’s Taleis in sight,it’s still on the air for the time being and has diverged greatly from the stories written by Margaret Atwood.Her novels,The Handmaid’s Taleand later,The Testaments, are the only works that come directly from Atwood. The seriesThe Handmaid’s Taleis considered one of streaming television’s first successes, as it was the first show from a streaming service, Hulu, to win an Emmy. This was for the first season, and unfortunately, none of the remaining seasons have been as solid or tightly expressed.
Five seasons so far, and the eventual sixth isn’t an enormously long run, but it’s substantial for a streaming show. Considering that the show peaked in season one,it’s not a stretch to say that the remaining storylines have been uneven at best.Additionally, as the political climate has gone through ups and downs alongside the show’s premiere, viewers have lost their taste for overtly upsetting television. HowThe Handmaid’s Talehandles its final season will determine its ultimate legacy.
The Handmaid’s Tale
Cast
The Handmaid’s Tale is a television adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel, released in 2017. It is set in a dystopian future where a woman is compelled to live as a concubine under a strict fundamentalist theocracy.
6Grey’s Anatomy (2005–Present)
Among the many medical dramas that flood the genre, Grey’s Anatomy is the most iconic & disappointing.
When watchingGrey’s Anatomyseason 1 and then season 20 back-to-back, it’s difficult to believe that it’s the same show. The tone, conflicts, and central thrust of the story have changed completely over the years. Not to mention the dramatic shift in visual style and the way the series is shot. ThoughGrey’s Anatomyhas been well-known for implementing wild storylines from the very beginning,at a certain point, they crossed the line from dramatized to blatantly unrealistic. As the show has been going for over twenty seasons, there’s also huge controversy over certain character exits.
The show centered around Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) for almost its entirety. However,eventually, even Pompeo decided to leave, and very few of the original cast members remained.While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as Chandra Wilson makes a compelling protagonist as well, a complete changeover in the cast is usually an indicator that a series is on its last legs. ForGrey’s Anatomyto find a way forward, it needs to center the medicine and the intriguing personal dramas in equal measure.
Grey’s Anatomy
A high-intensity medical drama which follows Meredith Grey and the team of doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial, who are faced with life-or-death decisions on a daily basis. They seek comfort from one another, and, at times, more than just friendship. Together they discover that neither medicine nor relationships can be defined in black and white.
5Criminal Minds (2005–Present)
The game-changing crime procedural returned in a new, and worse, form.
ThoughCriminal Mindsended briefly in season 15, it was brought back throughCriminal Minds: Evolution, which is an extension of the original show and considered the same series. Many of the fan-favorite characters from the earlier seasons returned for the newest installment, but a few key voices are missing.Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) is noticeably absent,and as he was arguably the protagonist ofCriminal Mindsin the later half of the first run, it’s strange to see the BAU without him.
The villains in the new episodes have not been as memorable or impactful as the early seasons ofCriminal Minds.
AproblemCriminal Minds: Evolutionis exploringis the mental and emotional toll that being a member of the BAU has on its agents. This was something frequently overlooked in the first string of seasons and led to extreme difficulties for many of the characters. However, the villains in the new episodes have not been as memorable or impactful as the early seasons ofCriminal Minds. Additionally,it’s unlikely that the amazing chemistry of seasons 2 through 6 can be replicated.
Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds follows an elite team of FBI profilers from the Behavioral Analysis Unit as they analyze the nation’s most complex criminal minds, led by experienced agent David Rossi. The team works to anticipate and prevent crimes by understanding the behavior of these dangerous individuals.
4The Simpsons (1989–Present)
This animated juggernaut still pushes boundaries, but it’s no longer revolutionary.
WhenThe Simpsonspremiered in 1989, there was nothing else like it on TV. Adult animation was a hazy concept at this point, and it’s fair to say thatanimated television wouldn’t be what it is today withoutThe Simpsons.It’s one of the most influential TV shows of the 20th century, and it still goes the extra mile to remain relevant. In some ways,The Simpsonshas improved from its origins, as the most offensive and insensitive jokes are omitted from the series today. Not to mention that the quality of animation is at an all-time high.
However, something is missing fromThe Simpsonstoday that doesn’t capture what used to make the show so special. It’s common for fans of a series to cite the seasons they grew up watching as their favorites out of nostalgia, but this isn’t necessarily accurate to what is genuinely good. The most iconic episodes of the series are behind it, andmany of the most exciting recent storylines have been homages to more contemporary innovations in animationthat the show has capitalized on.
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an animated series set in the fictional town of Springfield, following the daily lives of the Simpson family—Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Premiering in 1989, the show is renowned for its satirical commentary on politics, media, and American culture, featuring numerous celebrity guest appearances.
3NCIS (2003–Present)
Things were going downhill for NCIS, but after Gibbs left, it was never the same.
The new characters introduced over the years were fun, interesting, and had great chemistry, which took the pressure off Gibbs for a time.
Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) was the lead ofNCISuntil season 19 when the actor left and the core of the show began to fall apart.Fan favorite characters had already been leaving, but losing Gibbs changed the formatand outlook of the series forever. Though his backstory will be explored in the upcomingNCIS: Origins, this isn’t the same as the original show. However,NCISis a spinoff in and of itself, but its predecessor,JAG, has mostly faded from memory thanks toNCIS’s success.
NCISmanaged to remain relevant for a long time, andthough there are a multitude of spinoffs within theNCISuniverse, none have reached the level of success of the initial iteration.The new characters introduced over the years were fun, interesting, and had great chemistry, which took the pressure off Gibbs for a time. It could be argued that the seasons that featured the relationship between Tony (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva (Cote de Pablo) are the best of the show. This would make sense since these characters are also getting their own spinoff.
NCIS
NCIS is a television series that follows a team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Premiering in 2003, the show explores various cases involving Navy and Marine Corps personnel, ranging from murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines.
2Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–Present)
SVU is the spinoff that eventually overcame the popularity of the original.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unitwas primed for success due to the established credibility and revolutionary style of the original show,Law & Order. However, today,SVUhas eclipsed the notoriety ofLaw & Orderand is the installment of the franchise that first comes to people’s minds when they think of the Dick Wolf universe.The dynamic duo of Mariska Hargitay as Olivia Benson and Christopher Meloni as Elliot Stabler was a large part of the magicof the majority ofSVU, which stayed strong for a long time.
However, when Meloni left to leadLaw & Order: Organized Crime, something shifted. Although in the years since Meloni left, he’s returned toSVU, and Hargitay was more than up for the challenge of anchoringSVUherself, their original chemistry is something the show can never get back.It will never stop being fun to watchSVUand see the characters go after the villain of the week,but the stories have gotten a bit repetitive this late in the game. However, the legacy ofSVUwill always remain solid thanks to the years of outstanding work.
Law and Order: SVU
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU) is a procedural crime drama series created by Dick Wolf that follows cases handled by a fictional New York Police Department’s 16th precinct that centers around sexually-based crimes. The Show follows a rotating group of detectives that will tackle some of the most heinous crimes while trying to help the victims - and themselves - adjust to the new normal as the darkness in the world reveals itself with each new case.
1Chicago Fire (2012–Present)
The first of the One Chicago franchise, Chicago Fire, isn’t what it used to be.
The influx of procedural dramas about everything from crime to fire departments. Wolf didn’t just stop at creating theLaw & Orderfranchise and expanded intoOne Chicago, which then went on to crossover withSVU. However, while there’s plenty of drama and tragedy to be found in the work of firefighters,Chicago Firehasn’t been at its height for a while now. As with many network shows with large casts,audiences remain nostalgic for the early seasons when the characters' dynamic was at its height.
The last few seasons have been uneven, to say the least, and it’s around season 6 that most critics and viewers agree the show was at its best.
There have been manycrossovers in theOne Chicagouniverse, and whileChicago Firehas been part of many of them, the best usually belong toChicago P.D.andSVU. The last few seasons have been uneven, to say the least, and it’s around season 6 that most critics and viewers agree the show was at its best. As theOne Chicagoand Wolf franchises are known for going on practically indefinitely,Chicago Firecould redeem itself before the show ends, or it could get worse before it gets better.
Chicago Fire
Chicago Fire follows the lives of firefighters, rescue squad members, and paramedics of Firehouse 51 in Chicago as they face professional and personal challenges, showcasing their dedication, teamwork, and resilience.
