There was a time when "Heroes" was popular with TV fans and critics alike, when the ratings were big, when the show was being held up as getting right everything that "Lost" at the time was doing wrong, when its first season was named Program of the Year by the Television Critics Association (over the fourth season of "The Wire," no less, which has since acquired a "best season of TV drama in the history of ever" reputation).

As the show comes to the end of its fourth — and, barring some weird accounting from NBC, what should be its last — season tonight at 9, those glory days feel like a very long time ago. Today, some of the most die-hard "Heroes" fans I know are hoping NBC will put it out of its misery.

This column isn’t an excuse to beat up on "Heroes" again. Lord knows I’ve done that enough over the years. Instead, I want to point out that the weird arc of "Heroes" — from phenomenon in its first season to afterthought in its fourth — isn’t that unusual.

ABC recently announced that this will be the last season for "Ugly Betty," which debuted the same fall as "Heroes," and to similar levels of buzz.

We can argue about the reasons why each show ultimately failed to have cultural staying power — with "Heroes," I’ve long believed that the creative team was good at laying a foundation (introducing the original characters and their powers) but had no idea how to build on it with interesting stories or additional heroes and villains — but TV history is riddled with other shows that similarly burned hot, burned bright, and burned out, even if the realities of the business meant that they kept on flickering for years after anyone stopped paying attention.

I'd add "Twin Peaks" to this list. It was quite the rage during the first season. Everyone kept making comments about "cherry pie" and "the log lady", and "Who Killed Laura Palmer?" was kind of a national mantra for a while.

Then...poof. Nobody cared anymore. The second season just wasn't as fresh and by the end of it there wasn't even much of an outcry for a renewal.

"Batman" too falls under this category. I wasn't old enough to be aware of the show when it originally ran, but from what I've read the first year was like manna from Heaven (and the first "season" was really only half a year long). It slipped in the second year, with weak villains and increasingly goofy plots. By the time the third year (hardly a long run for a show so initially hot) came around, it was "what can we do to save the show?" time, and nothing they did managed that.

As of right now, FlashForward.

I'd also add Pushing Daisies to the list. :(

Deal Or No Deal
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader
1 VS. 100
Cougar Town (FALLING IN RAITINGS EVERY WEEK)
Fringe (DEAD AFTER THIS YEAR)

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
The Weakest Link
Charlie's Angels
Desperate Housewives

just shoot me was really hot in the mid 90s and even hotter in the early 2000's but then in the space of a year it just dropped like a stone

HBO's Carnivàle

It started out very strong (had the short-lived record of being the highest rated debut on HBO until Deadwood) and it had strong, solid ratings throughout its first season run.

By the time the second season came, 12 months later, the show lost most of its audience and it was canned after the season ended.

The NBC series "Nightingales" with Suzanne Pleshette and Kristy Swanson. It had great buzz among viewers but within a short time, flamed out.

The ABC series "Call to Glory" with Craig T. Nelson and Cindy Pickett. The first season had the ratings and the critical acclaim and it all just sort of petered out during season 2.

Ally McBeal falls into this category. Seasons 1 and 2 were very well liked and popular, but by season 3 people were hoping it would go away. It's ratings dwindled and critical support dropped.

I would say that Dawson's Creek falls into this category as well; by the time season 2 came around most critics that had embraced it had long stopped supporting it and fans were drifting away as well; thanks to some bad writing and lack of story ideas, as well as a less than interesting lead character.

I would also mention to some degree, Grey's Anatomy falls right into this category as well. Clearly seasons 1 and 2 were very well liked and had much support but seasons 3 didn't get great response and it keeps getting worse.

and lastly, Boston Legal would be a good fit for this thread, especially since it seemed by the end that even ABC seemed to be over it and jumbled it around timeslots and changed it's cast so much that it couldn't ever really get itself off the ground.

Deal Or No Deal
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader
1 VS. 100
Cougar Town (FALLING IN RAITINGS EVERY WEEK)
Fringe (DEAD AFTER THIS YEAR)
I don't think Fringe really fits into this category. Yeah people thought it would do great in the ratings, but it didn't premiere to big numbers. Plus it has done the best in that Thursday 9pm timeslot.
1 vs. 100 was never big if I recall correctly.

Would Max Headroom be considered? Or was that more a show with an extreme "cult" following?

I don't think Fringe really fits into this category. Yeah people thought it would do great in the ratings, but it didn't premiere to big numbers. Plus it has done the best in that Thursday 9pm timeslot.
1 vs. 100 was never big if I recall correctly.

I believe it was actually doing better last season, on Tuesdays at 9pm out of House. There were 1 or 2 episodes where it even grew out of House. After Idol, it's numbers were also very strong. On Thursdays this season, it's been modestly performing, not great ratings but holding steady, yet still behind anything Hell's Kitchen was doing in the slot last spring.

Married With Children
Mork and Mindy
Happy Days
Battlestar Galactica the original series
Buck Rogers
Square Pegs
Miami Vice
Friends this show to be fair was lame to begin with
Cheers

...then "faded from view":

"THE $64,000 CHALLENGE" (CBS, 1956-'58)
Big money quiz show [a spin-off from "THE $64,000 QUESTION", which started the cycle in 1955] featuring dueling contestants in "isolation booths". It was tainted by several "winners" who were provided certain answers in advance, and eventually forced off the air {as "THE $64,000 QUESTION" was}.

"TWENTY ONE" (NBC, 1956-'58)
Another big money game show featuring two contestants competing against each other in soundproofed "isolation booths". It became famous because of the extended "duel" between Herb Stempel and "champion" Charles Van Doren in early 1957, but also pulled off the air a year later because of allegations that some contestants WERE given answers in advance (including Van Doren, who finally admitted his guilt before a congressional investigation in 1959).

"HOOTENANNY" (ABC, 1963-'64)
Folk music showcase taped at various college campuses across America.
Impressive ratings in its first half-season, but no match against "JACKIE GLEASON'S AMERICAN SCENE MAGAZINE" in its second.

"SHINDIG!" (ABC, 1964-'66) and "HULLABALOO" (NBC, 1965-'66)
Teenage music showcases (although "HULLABALOO" was aimed more towards "grownups", due to guest hosts like Frankie Avalon, Jerry Lewis, Paul Anka, Jack Jones, Steve Lawrence, Sammy Davis Jr., etc.) that opened strong, but when condensed into weekly half-hour editions in their second seasons ["SHINDIG!", the more "hipper", was seen twice a week in season two], "teeners" quietly drifted away, with "SHINDIG!" cancelled in January '66, and "HULLABALOO" hanging on to the end of the season.

"THE SMOTHERS BROTHERS SHOW" (CBS, 1965-'66)
[Tom's a bumbling angel, whose unwilling living brother Dick has to help fulfill his latest assignment every week]
This premiered with strong ratings ("GOMER PYLE, U.S.M.C." was its lead-in), but eventually "abandoned" by viewers after several weeks as it quickly dropped out of the Nielsen "Top Ten", yet stayed on through the end of the season due to sponsor commitments [Alberto-Culver, American Tobacco].

"F TROOP" (ABC, 1965-'67)
One of the best loved "Old West" parodies of the '60s; however, it wasn't lack of popularity that caused its cancellation at the end of season two- it was a financial tug-of-war, between Warner Bros. Television (the producers) and the network, that ended it {"Sorry, we can't afford what you're asking for to renew it for a third season, good-bye"}.

"THE INVADERS" (ABC, 1967-'68)
Quinn Martin's "sci-fi" variation of "THE FUGITIVE": somewhat successful in its first half-season, abandoned in its second.

"BRACKEN'S WORLD" (NBC, 1969-'70)
20th Century-Fox's glossy soap opera involving a fictional version of their studio {"Century Studios"} as seen through the eyes of three young actresses working on the lot. A success the first season, a dud the second, cancelled in January 1970.

"NANCY" (NBC, 1970-'71)
Sidney Sheldon's take on the "First Daughter" (of the President) courting and marrying a small-town veterinarian. Good ratings, but the network suddenly cancelled it after 17 episodes. Sheldon claimed there might have been influence from the real White House to pressure the network into dropping the series.


There are other examples, to be sure.....


:tv:

Laugh- In (sock it to me!)

(look that up in your Funk and Wagnell's!) (veeerrry interestink!)

...but it took "ROWAN & MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN" about three years to "decline". It was in the "Top 10" during its first three seasons, but after the fall of 1970, it started to "slide"- yet, it was popular enough for NBC to keep it on until 1973. I know, because I saw it regularly until the end.


:thanks:

What about The Flip Wilson Show? An instant hit when it premiered, but after two seasons, ratings declined big time (opposite "The Waltons") and it lagged on until NBC said enough after season 4.

The first two seasons of Survivor were crazy popular. It's on season 20 now, so obviously it still has a following, but the ratings for those first two finales rivaled the Super Bowl.

It seemed like everyone was talking about The O.C. during it's first season and leading up to the second. By the fourth (final) season nobody even realized it was still on the air.

...these all appeared on NBC's Sunday night schedule at 8:30pm(et)- right after "WALT DISNEY'S WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR" and just before "BONANZA"- and had a strong following their first season before ratings declined in the second, and were gone by the end of season two:

"CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU?" (September 1961-September 1963)
"THE BILL DANA SHOW" [this is a special case, because it spent its first season in sponsor Procter & Gamble's early NBC Sunday time period- 7pm- before they moved it to 8:30 in season two, and abruptly cancelled it in mid-season in favor of the next show listed] (September 1963-January 1965)
"BRANDED" (January 1965-September 1966)
"THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW" (September 1967-September 1969)
"THE BILL COSBY SHOW" (September 1969- August 1971)


"THE FLIP WILSON SHOW" stayed on, like "ROWAN & MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN" did in its final seasons, because it pulled in "comfortable" ratings for the network to keep it on until the final season of lackluster ratings, 'Jude' (and the fact that it was actually Flip who said, "enough"; NBC could have kept it on for another season, but he wanted out).



And here are other examples:

"NATIONAL VELVET" (NBC, 1960-'62) MGM's answer to "LASSIE" [based on their 1944 movie], from one of the collie's original producers. It barely managed to survive "THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW" on Sundays in season one, and finished off by ABC's "CHEYENNE" in season two.

"PETE AND GLADYS" (CBS, 1960-'62) The spin-off of "DECEMBER BRIDE", but more like a distant cousin of "I LOVE LUCY" {head writers Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf previously worked for Lucille Ball from 1955 through '60, and again on "THE LUCY SHOW" after "PETE AND GLADYS" was cancelled- upon their return, Lucy screamed at them, "You gave my best material to that other redhead!!" (meaning co-star Cara Williams)}. Its popularity dropped sharply in season two, leading to its cancellation.

"DYNASTY II: THE COLBYS" (ABC, 1985-'87)
Aaron Spelling's variation of "stretching the soup", soap-opera style. The network wanted another "DYNASTY" from him, and he produced this "spin-off". By season two, he dropped the "DYNASTY" link from the title, and at the end of the season, it vanished as well.


:tv:

Hee Haw 1969-1971 CBS was doing well in the ratings but fell victim to the country purge done by CBS in 1971.

...but it took "ROWAN & MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN" about three years to "decline". It was in the "Top 10" during its first three seasons, but after the fall of 1970, it started to "slide"- yet, it was popular enough for NBC to keep it on until 1973. I know, because I saw it regularly until the end.


:thanks:
and, NBC gave it the time slot on Mondays that they WERE going to air "STAR TREK" in but changed their minds and instead put "STAR TREK" on Friday nights for what turned out to be its last season. (it had aired in the monday night time slot for its first season, but for its second season they moved it)

But I'm sure that TV KNOWLEDGE FAN knows all this and more, like say, what the cast had for breakfast on the last day of filming!:lol: :lol:

"WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE"
It started out with good ratings (and marked the return of big money quiz shows in prime time) but then ABC got greedy with it and put it on night after night, and ratings went down, and it was canncelled.

I'd add "Twin Peaks" to this list. It was quite the rage during the first season. Everyone kept making comments about "cherry pie" and "the log lady", and "Who Killed Laura Palmer?" was kind of a national mantra for a while.



I think most people stopped watching after they revealed who killed Laura Palmer. I tried watching it after that and it seemed like they were just trying to come up with reasons for why Special Agent Dale Cooper was still hanging around.

Heroes
Twin Peaks
Carnivale

Thanks for the info, TV Knowledge Fan, but it still means Flip was an burnout to me.

What's Happening hit instantly with audiences, but by the third season, you can say it was on life support.

How bout that reality show Joe Millionaire? They tried a second season with that, but it burned. If I remember correctly it turned out Joe wasn't a millionaire after all. So how could a second season work?

How bout that reality show Joe Millionaire? They tried a second season with that, but it burned. If I remember correctly it turned out Joe wasn't a millionaire after all. So how could a second season work? i didnt even remember that it had a second season

what about "MOONLIGHTING"? It was a hit in the ratings (despite the behind-the-scenes battles between stars Cybil Shepard and Bruce Willis), and a lot of peple were talking about it, and the "will they or won't they" ascpect of it, and when they finnally "did it" iit was a big dissapointment to fans and the show "crashed and burned" right in front of everyone.

I think, Chicago Hope would qualify in that it never really lived up to all the hype that surrounded it when it first debuted and though it's first season got decent ratings, it never maintained those ratings at all.

Melrose Place hit big and then just as suddenly as it hit, it fell out of popularity; mostly due to bad writing.

Mork and Mindy - 1st season was a Top 10. When S2 came to town, ratings dipped and continued to dip over the course of every season afterwards.

Chico and the Man - Top 30 show in its 1st 2 seasons. S3 came, things took a turn for the worst with this show...and one of its stars. S4...the loss of Freddy couldn't do anything to salvage this show.

My Sister Sam - was a Top 30 show when CBS had it on Mondays w/ fellow hit CBS sitcom stalwarts in Kate and Allie and Newhart. By S2, CBS made the bonehead move by airing it up against NBC's Saturday Night juggernauts, ratings dipped to one of the lowest in tV history at the time.

My Two Dads - Started off strong in the Top 30 in S1. When production for S2 was to kick off, NBC stalled on it and didn't start S2 until early 1989. When S3 came, ratings never recovered and it was done for in 1990.

Sanford - NBC promoted the heck out of this incarnation. It started off good with its 1st episode. But as the run progressed, the rataings regressed and it was towed after two short seasons.

Desiging Women was so popular for so many years but then the exits of Jean Smart and Delta Burke coupled with CBS's moving it out of Monday nights killed the show and it was cancelled after it's 7th season, which was one of the better ones.

"Phyllis" was a top 10 hit in the beginning of the first season it spun-off from "The Mary Tyler Moore" show (1975-76). Then it was plagued by cast changes, storyline changes, etc. and crashed in season 2 (1976-77) until CBS put it out of it's misery for good.

"Rhoda" was also a top 10 hit for most of it's first and second seasons (1974-75, 1975-76) but by the third season - with cast changes, storyline changes, etc. - it started to fall like a meteor ...until CBS gave up on it in season 5 (1978-79) and cancelled in promptly.

The Arsenio Hall Show - his late-night talk show was huge for a while, then...nothing. It would have helped if the guy was funny.

dont forget about Dallas that show went on forever

dont forget about Dallas that show went on forever

Umm . . . what? lol. Dallas lasted 13 seasons. I'd hardly call that "burning out."

Batman - Priemiering in January 1966, was an overnight sensation, airing 2-part stories that ran on Wednesday and Thursday. By the fall of 1967, the novelty had worn off, and the ratings began to fall. It only aired on 1 day, Thursday until its cancellation in March of 1968.

...in the case of "MORK & MINDY", ABC made the incredible mistake of moving it, after its first season, from Thursdays at 8pm (et) to SUNDAYS at 8 in the fall of 1979...failing to notice that more people were watching CBS' "successor" to "ALL IN THE FAMILY", "ARCHIE BUNKER'S PLACE", at the same hour. ABC tried to build an entire two-hour "comedy block" on Sundays from 7-9pm {"OUT OF THE BLUE", "A NEW KIND OF FAMILY", and "THE ASSOCIATES"}, with "MORK & MINDY" as the "linchpin". By the end of December, "MORK & MINDY" was back on Thursdays; "OUT OF THE BLUE" disappeared completely; and "THE ASSOCIATES" and "A NEW KIND OF FAMILY" were allowed to slowly vanish by the end of the season.

:tv:

some are family matters. they changedthewife theytook out grandmama rachel judy richic and then laura had awufl looking hair. then they madei t about steve gadits. they went back in time they add stevfun which wasgood then they had cloning.

boy meets world it went down hillafter the wedding. i didn't likethe wedding epsidoe they prented to be someone els. erica got dumber each espdieos. he was funny kind of dumb. it didn't seem the same after they got married



lincon height it becam a sope orapa afterthe thirdseason when they had Cassie dating her white guy it became sope orapp

kyal xy whenthey added jesses it seemed to go down hill

the dead zone it became about politics i just didn't care for it any more.

State of Grace on the ABC Family Channel ... I remember in the late spring and early summer of 2001 I heard promotions for it on the radio out the wazoo. From what I remember this show changed time slots quite often, and the last episode aired August 19, 2002. The cancellation (which I never knew for sure until October 21) came as a stunner. I know, I watched the last episode ... from a motel room in Sioux City, Iowa! Oh, and Fred Savage aka Kevin Arnold was a guest star, which is not surprising considering it's from the ABC family of networks--remember, ABC canceled his most famous work when it wasn't to be expected (after all, it followed Home Improvement which was at or near #1 in the Nielsens!).

What about House? It had a great first 2-3 seasons - and then it just got so farfetched and boring (just my opinion, of course).

"Cosby"... the show that was so overhyped in 1996. Also Roseanne sort of. It started so great and got sooooooo bad. It lasted a long time though.

What about House? It had a great first 2-3 seasons - and then it just got so farfetched and boring (just my opinion, of course).
In ratings; however, it started pretty low and didn't become a hit until it aired behind American Idol. Of course it's gone down a bit since then, but still a hit in terms of ratings.

If they're not careful, then Glee might be the next show to fall into this trope. The most recent Fox TV show that I guess could be argued about is The OC.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SeasonalRot

When The O.C. premiered in 2004 it became a pop culture sensation overnight. Critics praised the show for its clever dialogue, excellent writing, and interesting characters, and it was one of the highest-rated television shows in its time slot. For its second season Fox moved the show to a competitive Thursday night time slot, which ended up costing it viewers. There's also a general agreement among fans that the quality of the show declined in the second season, although it was still pretty good. Season 3 is almost universally considered to be the show's worst season due to it introducing several new characters who were disliked by fans as well as the overall tone becoming more serious and angsty, thus causing the ratings to drop even further. When Season 4 rolled around the show began to improve in quality, returning the focus to the main cast members and bringing back the comedy. Unfortunately, by that point most people had given up on The OC and it was cancelled due to low ratings.

what about "MASH"? It was good in its first 3 seasons; but then they made a BIIIG mistake in letting Alan Alda take over some of the writing and directing chores and it became "Oh, we're doctors and nurses, and we're so good cause we save live; and this, that and the other, and death is such a bummer, and war is hell":rolleyes: :rolleyes: :dizzy:

dont forget about Dallas that show went on forever
oh, I know!! It just became a shell of it's former self most of the time the last few seasons!!:mad: Like that story line about J.R. being forced into that shotgun marraige with Callie, and being arrested and later winding uo in that mental institution; the early J.R. would have NEVER, NEVER let all that happen to him.

I think this thread gradually became misinterpreted. M.A.S.H., Dallas, Roseanne, The Cosby Show, and Designing Women were long lasting shows that (some think) lost their mojo sometime during their run. This is supposed to be about shows that rose to popularity then nose-dived and were gone with 1-2-3 or 4 seasons.

in response to the thread, any show that lasted no more than 4 seasons or less.

oh, I know!! It just became a shell of it's former self most of the time the last few seasons!!:mad: Like that story line about J.R. being forced into that shotgun marraige with Callie, and being arrested and later winding uo in that mental institution; the early J.R. would have NEVER, NEVER let all that happen to him.cally got on my nerves

me too!!! Also, that guy-J.R.s illagitamitte son-what the hell was that goofy guys name again??Well, whatever it was; he was a big dork!!!

"Doogie Howser, M.D." was popular and successful during its first two seasons but the novelty of a young doctor wore off quickly. Neil Patrick Harris grew up fast between seasons 2 and 3. NPH has said that is why it was canceled after only four seasons.

ALF is another one that comes ot mind.

ALF - started as a movelty hit show in its 1st 2 seasons but by the time S3 and especially S4 came along, the show's novelty wore off to the point that the ratings lagged severly. It's poor ratings in S4 also dragged the ratings of its Monday night stablemate The Hogan Family down with it and NBC canned both shows, although the The Hogans went to CBS and performed no better in the ratings along with the constant timeslot changes and pre-emptions in its 6th season.

Lost in Space - The 1st season started off good. But by the time S2 came, the ratings dipped a smidge but still held its own against the caped crusader in Batman. But when S3 came, the format took a turn into more of the Batman-like format w/ the campy style. The show could've had a 4th season, in spite of middling ratings but CBS turned down Irwin Allen's proposal.

Ugly Betty?

Regarding some earlier posts:

I don't recall Moonlighting as having lost too much of its audience, at least compared with other series that fell sharply. It seemed popular to the end more-or-less.

Regarding Mork & Mindy: Classic example of network intervention to take a top show and screw with it -- the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" axiom applies!

There was a time when "Heroes" was popular with TV fans and critics alike, when the ratings were big, when the show was being held up as getting right everything that "Lost" at the time was doing wrong, when its first season was named Program of the Year by the Television Critics Association (over the fourth season of "The Wire," no less, which has since acquired a "best season of TV drama in the history of ever" reputation).

As the show comes to the end of its fourth — and, barring some weird accounting from NBC, what should be its last — season tonight at 9, those glory days feel like a very long time ago. Today, some of the most die-hard "Heroes" fans I know are hoping NBC will put it out of its misery.

This column isn’t an excuse to beat up on "Heroes" again. Lord knows I’ve done that enough over the years. Instead, I want to point out that the weird arc of "Heroes" — from phenomenon in its first season to afterthought in its fourth — isn’t that unusual.

ABC recently announced that this will be the last season for "Ugly Betty," which debuted the same fall as "Heroes," and to similar levels of buzz.

We can argue about the reasons why each show ultimately failed to have cultural staying power — with "Heroes," I’ve long believed that the creative team was good at laying a foundation (introducing the original characters and their powers) but had no idea how to build on it with interesting stories or additional heroes and villains — but TV history is riddled with other shows that similarly burned hot, burned bright, and burned out, even if the realities of the business meant that they kept on flickering for years after anyone stopped paying attention.

Heroes kind of created its own TV colloquialism called "Heroes disease" (http://officialfan.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=offtopic&thread=444711&page=1#8830708). This is where a show that is popular in the first season (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SecondSeasonDownfall) starts burning through plotlines like coal in a steam train race, throws everything at the wall to see what sticks, and changes characters on a whim to fit whatever storyline is happening that week.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/look-out-for-that-cliff-15-tv-sensations-whose-pop,2023/

'Heroes,' 'Ugly Betty,' and other TV shows that burned hot, then burned out - Sepinwall on TV (http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2010/02/heroes_ugly_betty_and_other_tv.html)

I'll say The OC. The ratings were good for season 1 and it never recovered. I would say The Apprentice as well. Remember, the first season was huge and it never really recovered until The Celebrity Apprentice started.

Married With Children
Mork and Mindy
Happy Days
Battlestar Galactica the original series
Buck Rogers
Square Pegs
Miami Vice
Friends
Cheers
I realize this post is 3 years old but this is a hilariouly inaccurate list. Happy Days, Friends and Cheers are probably some of the longest-lasting sitcoms in TV history. And Cheers and Happy Days actually started off slow and exploded around their 3rd seasons.

Anyway, Glee should probably be included here. Huge first two seasons, but after that it really fell off a cliff. It still does okay, but nothing compared to what it was at its peak. The OC followed a similar path.

I think this thread gradually became misinterpreted. M.A.S.H., Dallas, Roseanne, The Cosby Show, and Designing Women were long lasting shows that (some think) lost their mojo sometime during their run. This is supposed to be about shows that rose to popularity then nose-dived and were gone with 1-2-3 or 4 seasons.

The Cosby Show was never mentioned.

Here's a few shows that were hot then not....

"Gimme a Break"-Once Cheif (Dolph Sweet) died, the show's fate was there. Then by Season 6...only Nell Carter was the original cast member left.

"Bewitched"-I'm sure the Dick York Years were good, but once Dick Sergant played Darrin...some people probably were turned-off.

"Family Matters"-Once Jalell White's character Steve Urkel got TOO zany and pushed-out the other characters.

"Valerie/The Hogan Family"-Proabaly when Valerie Harper left and her character was killed-off.

"Kirk"-I felt that this show did ok on The WB in the 1st season, but once Kirk got married...the show was basically done. And yes...I still hope this show gets DVD or Netflix release.

"That 70's Show"-The first 3 seasons were funny, but the 5 other seasons just didn't add up and it was more like "That Sex Show"!

Here's a few shows that were hot then not....

"Gimme a Break"-Once Cheif (Dolph Sweet) died, the show's fate was there. Then by Season 6...only Nell Carter was the original cast member left.

"Bewitched"-I'm sure the Dick York Years were good, but once Dick Sergant played Darrin...some people probably were turned-off.

"Family Matters"-Once Jalell White's character Steve Urkel got TOO zany and pushed-out the other characters.

"Valerie/The Hogan Family"-Proabaly when Valerie Harper left and her character was killed-off.

"Kirk"-I felt that this show did ok on The WB in the 1st season, but once Kirk got married...the show was basically done. And yes...I still hope this show gets DVD or Netflix release.

"That 70's Show"-The first 3 seasons were funny, but the 5 other seasons just didn't add up and it was more like "That Sex Show"!
Bewitched, Family Matters, and That 70s Show remained popular for nearly their entire runs. Maybe you think they got worse, but this thread isn't about quality, it's about popularity.

mRjvw-8yR7o

Talk about peaking too early. Welcome to http://www.WatchMojo.com and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Shows that Lost Steam After a Great First Season.

Twin Peaks
Moonlighting
Rhoda

Sons Of Anarchy the first two seasons were good but it went down hill with season 3 and beyond.

Revolution (NBC, 2012-2014)

Following The Voice, Revolution, a post-apocalyptic science fiction series, started out very strong in the fall of 2012, with over 11 million viewers, but with a four-month hiatus midway through its 20-episode first season, its viewership fell over the course of the season, sometimes hitting lows of 5.5 million. The season averaged 7 million. NBC renewed Revolution for a second season of 22 episodes anyway, and moved it to Wednesdays at 8 pm. It struggled in that timeslot, sinking to an average of just below 5 million viewers and sometimes hitting below 4 million. Because of the ratings declines and its high production cost, NBC decided not to order a third season of Revolution, cancelling it.