10 Shows That Started Off Really, Really Bad, And 10 Shows That Started Off Really, Really Good And Completely Flipped The Switch In Later Seasons
Redditor u/bewarethechameleon asked, "What TV show started off terrible but gradually got better," and another redditor asked, "What TV shows started too good and end up too bad?" The responses took me by surprise because it was filled with the most popular shows I watched.
Here's some of the responses:
1.Late Night with Conan O'Brien (Bad to Good)
"The original Late Night with Conan O'Brien on NBC. I was in middle school when Letterman made the move to CBS, and Conan got the show. It was effing terrible. Like, I was 12, and it was bad. Within a year or two, it improved exponentially, but the first year or two made me wonder how he got the job in the first place, much less how he kept it."
"Watch the first season of Late Night with Conan O’Brien. It’s a miracle he wasn’t canceled. Eventually, he settled in and found his comfort zone."
2.You (Good to Bad)
"The first season was great. The whole 'nice guy actually isn't that nice' vibe was amazing. Second one was okay-ish. 'What are the chances of two serial killers falling in love' was a nice plot. Victoria Pedretti is amazing. Third season was meh. I feel like nothing really happened. But the fourth one was just hot garbage. Especially when we had no foreshadowing in the previous season about Joe's condition. Felt like whenever the show gets picked up by Netflix after a near cancelation, they just completely change the story and characters' development."
3.Parks and Recreation (Bad to Good)
"Season 1 is godawful. Season 2, when they restructured the style and basically changed Leslie Knope as a character, it got better. Season 3, when Ben and Chris become main characters, the show truly takes off. Season 3 onward of Parks and Rec is one of the best sitcoms of all time."
"Parks and Rec wasn’t great in Season 1, and really got good toward the end of Season 2 into Season 3."
"When they stopped trying to be The Office and became their own universe, the show became incredible with some of the most impressive character development ever seen on television."
4.American Horror Story (Good to Bad)
"Honestly I think they often have this problem even within the seasons. The first few episodes are excellent, and it slowly starts going downhill midway until it’s a shit show during the last two to three episodes. I’m often disappointed by their endings. I had this happen with Coven and Asylum for me. I haven’t watched all the seasons, so I could be wrong with some of them."
—u/Expensive_Parfait_66"I loved Murder House, Asylum, and Freak Show. Coven was kinda of fun, too, but messy. But when Jessica Lange left man, did the show take a nosedive."
5.Schitt's Creek (Bad to Good)
"Schitt's Creek. It was hard to like any of them for a season and a half. I stuck with it since it was so highly rated, and it’s a favorite now for sure. The characters really had to develop and grow, but because of that, it makes the first episodes rough."
"When I first watched it, I wasn't sure if I even liked it, but I love the cast and heard great things, so I stuck with it, and then at some point, everything suddenly clicked into place, and I absolutely love this show."
6.Once Upon a Time (Good to Bad)
"Once Upon a Time. The opinion on where it went south varies from fan to fan, but personally, I think Season 4 was the last really good one. But we can all agree Season 7 was a pile of garbage."
7.The Legend of Korra (Bad to Good)
"I have never seen this much hate for a show that I ended up enjoying. Season 2 sucked, I’m not gonna downplay that, but Seasons 3 and 4 are great! Not on par with ATLA, but still."
—u/deleted
8.The Expanse (Good to Bad)
"It started out really awesome. Invested my time in watching almost every season. By the end they were ass deep in all these convoluted plot lines, ignoring main characters for several episodes, straining to tie shit together. But I think what made me the angriest was the slow descent into hell the show did in regard to space physics.
I like my space shows to either A: let you know they aren't giving a crap about how people and ships interact with outer space or B: attempt to maintain a certain set of elementary space physics rules. I call it The Walking Dead syndrome, in the first several seasons you could get killed by just being scratched by a infected zombie. And they were fast, too. But by Season 5 you could literally walk right past a zombie and they would do the Scooby Doo grabbing at air where you were."
9.Lost (Good to Bad)
"Was great...until the writers 'lost' their way about Season 3...then seemed to find itself until the end and they did a 'Bobby Ewing' (for those old enough to remember that reference)."
10.Spartacus (Bad to Good)
"Spartacus started off as a cringe ripoff of sword and sandal flicks like 300. It soon turned into a very good character study and political drama while providing some stellar acting."
11.Glee (Good to Bad)
"Yes, it's campy as fuck, but I loved it! But toward the end, it seemed like they were just throwing the story together, random as fuck. Plus, they somehow managed to run out of good songs to cover. Once they got to 'Let's Have a Kiki' and 'What Does the Fox Say,' I was just...underwhelmed."
12.South Park (Bad to Good)
"South Park definitely improved in the later seasons when it focused more on social commentary."
"South Park went from dick and fart jokes to the most biting social satire of the last 30 years. With dick and fart jokes, too."
13.Pretty Little Liars (Good to Bad)
"I still have no idea why this show has EIGHT seasons!!!!??? If you wanna watch this show, you can watch only Seasons 1–5."—u/ShinePolly
14.Legends of Tomorrow (Bad to Good)
"Legends of Tomorrow was terrible when it was played serious the first season. Then, they decided to embrace the bonkers and play it broadly, and it was so bad it was good."
15.Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Bad to Good)
"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was very generic and cliché until the twist from Captain America: The Winter Soldier impacted it. Once that happened, things really took off, and one character became super interesting."
16.Rick and Morty (Good to Bad)
"I'm not here to claim I know what happened/changed, but Seasons 1 and 2 felt innovative at times but completely goofy in a split-second moment. That juxtaposition was fresh and fun at the time. I don't know. I think the hype hit them in Season 3 and they've been struggling to keep the episodes decent ever since. It's not like the episodes are completely trash now, but go back and rewatch the first two seasons, they're classics."
17.Dark (Bad to Good)
"I saw the first three episodes and thought, this is the worst, my god, not for me, but after a few months, this show reached the top of Netflix recommendations. I gave it a try again, and I was shocked at how better it got after four episodes. It was a great watch overall."—u/CulturalChannel6851
18.How I Met Your Mother (Good to Bad)
"Amazing first few seasons, then it starts getting downhill to the point where the last season is a train wreck in the plot, acting, storylines, everything. It was a show that was probably planned to end in either Season 1 or 2 but got dragged for nine seasons, but they stuck with the planned ending they had in the first place."
"Was supremely disappointed by the way they chose to end it."
19.Bob's Burgers (Bad to Good)
"The first couple of episodes really focused on the restaurant, food inspectors, and who was eating there and why. It was dull, kind of just head-scratching. But then the writers seemed to realize there was nothing interesting at all about the restaurant per se and focused on the characters. And they figured out the characters, and they found their voice, and then the show took off in a big way."
—u/deleted
20.The Good Place (Good to Bad)
"I loved all the seasons. But the last few episodes left me flat, the gateway/arch, the Chidi waves on the ocean monologue. Fan pages rave on about how emotional and brilliant it was, but it did nothing for me."
What shows do you think started off really good and became bad, or started off really bad and became good? Share your responses in the comments to be featured in an upcoming BuzzFeed Community post.
