I'm wondering if anyone knows of any shows which have a significant shift in genre/tone during their run? I'm looking for changes in genre which were made intentionally by the writers for the sake of advancing the plot.

To clarify, when I say change in genre I mean a change in structure and/or tone, like how for example, a show changing from a procedural show to a serialized plot. I don't strictly mean a show changing from, let's say, science fiction to romantic drama, because that type of genre change rarely if ever happens.

MASH went from a comedy to a comedy-drama when they made a HUUUGE mistake by letting Alan Alda take over the typewriter and directors chair and it became "Oh we're doctors and we're nurses and we're so good because we save lives, and death is such a bummer and war is hell..."

Oh yeah because doctors and nurses don't save lives and war isn't Hell and death isn't sad in the least. Wow. Do you actually listen to yourself? The changes in M.A.S.H. weren't a mistake. All of that is true and war should always be a last resort and should always be avoided at all costs but it is sadly a necessary evil at times. If you can't see that then that's your problem I guess and not mine.

Ed.

Oh yeah because doctors and nurses don't save lives and war isn't Hell and death isn't sad in the least. Wow. Do you actually listen to yourself? The changes in M.A.S.H. weren't a mistake. All of that is true and war should always be a last resort and should always be avoided at all costs but it is sadly a necessary evil at times. If you can't see that then that's your problem I guess and not mine.

Ed.
I'm just saying, why did they have to make it all dramatic and preachy? What was wrong with the way it was in the first 3 seasons?

The first show that came to mind was ABC's "Anything But Love" which during the course of its four season/56 episode run went through retooling and huge changes nearly every season of its run.

The only truly consistent part of the series was its lead actors, Jamie Lee Curtis and Richard Lewis.


Another series that comes to mind is Family Matters, which started off as a run of the mill family sitcom focused on the trivial issues faced while raising children. However, when next door neighbor Steve Urkel dropped by for what was supposed be a one-off visit mid-way through the first season it changed everything as he became extremely popular and the show shifted its focus towards him, at times almost exclusively on him. As a result of this, the show quickly became more broad in tone, more absurd and less realistic.

MASH went from a comedy to a comedy-drama when they made a HUUUGE mistake by letting Alan Alda take over the typewriter and directors chair and it became "Oh we're doctors and we're nurses and we're so good because we save lives, and death is such a bummer and war is hell..."

Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce is perhaps a perfect example of a character who is written to be virtuous but is really a jerk. He's obviously highly skilled surgeon whom we are supposed to like because he "cares". But in truth, Hawkeye was a sex-obsessed, womanizing alcoholic (hell, Hawkeye was even a jerk even when he was sober but that was likely more Alan Alda than the original conception of the character)/slob who got so hung up on his self-righteousness that in one episode he takes the side of a enemy spy who tried to kill one of his patients. And M*A*S*H progressed and Alana Alda got more and more control over the scripts, this gradually becomes more evident.

Couldn't agree more about MASH getting more maudlin and preachy as Alan Alda took control of the show.

Shows that changed genre... The one that comes to my mind is The Brady Bunch/The Brady Variety Hour (or whatever the hell that thing was called). Going from comedy to variety show was a real Jump the Shark moment.

Factsoflife mentions Family Matters, and that is another good example. They even ended up with a robotic version of Urkel, so I'd say it meets the true definition of genre-changing: general sitcom to sci-fi-tinged, over-the-top sitcom.

ABC daytime soap "Port Charles" originally focused on a med school program and was said to feature more medical stories over its parent show "General Hospital".

Later on, "Port Charles" introduced supernatural-based plots like vampires, werewolves, and black magic.

good to know others feel the same as I do about MASH.

The character Lou Grant from the Mary Tyler Moore Show went from a sitcom to his own show but it was a 1 hour drama.

So did Trapper John from M*A*S*H, albeit with different actors-- on M*A*S*H, he was played by the late Wayne Rogers; on Trapper John,
M.D., the show the character moved to (set in S.F. and on CBS from 1979-86), the late Pernell Roberts played him.

Married with Children went from sitcom to an adult live action cartoon
Happy Days went from nostalgia sitcom to fantasy sitcom

Married with Children went from sitcom to an adult live action cartoon
Happy Days went from nostalgia sitcom to fantasy sitcom

You put that perfectly. Happy Days was my first thought, but I lacked a way to illustrate the genre change. Going Fonzie crazy killed the show to me, it was like he had super powers and all the character work of the first couple of seasons went to the background.

I suppose Ron Howard was just glad to have the paycheck since he kind of became the sidekick on what had been mostly his lead role.

Couldn't agree more about MASH getting more maudlin and preachy as Alan Alda took control of the show.

Shows that changed genre... The one that comes to my mind is The Brady Bunch/The Brady Variety Hour (or whatever the hell that thing was called). Going from comedy to variety show was a real Jump the Shark moment.

And the last version of the Brady Bunch was the hour-long drama The bradys on CBS.

Murphy Brown Went from being a grounded, issue-based comedy to a rather funny, zany workplace comedy. Garry Marshall was a great addition to the cast as the network boss and Paul Reubens was memorable too as his sneaky nephew. The final season when Diane English returned to wrap things up the show tried to go back to a more-grounded tone with MB's breast cancer. I didn't watch much of that season when it moved to Wednesdays.

I don't strictly mean a show changing from, let's say, science fiction to romantic drama, because that type of genre change rarely if ever happens.

Put it in the rarely column because the hour long drama "Tattinger's" was retooled and became the half hour comedy "Nick & Hillary".

Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce is perhaps a perfect example of a character who is written to be virtuous but is really a jerk. He's obviously highly skilled surgeon whom we are supposed to like because he "cares". But in truth, Hawkeye was a sex-obsessed, womanizing alcoholic (hell, Hawkeye was even a jerk even when he was sober but that was likely more Alan Alda than the original conception of the character)/slob who got so hung up on his self-righteousness that in one episode he takes the side of a enemy spy who tried to kill one of his patients. And M*A*S*H progressed and Alana Alda got more and more control over the scripts, this gradually becomes more evident.
I'm glad somebodyelse agrees with me Hawkeye. Looking at the show now, there are times I applauded Major Winchester more than Hawkeye and B.J. who are a - holes at times. The same goes for Potter. This show I say goodbye to.

I don't know if it counts, but I always think of The Doris Day Show because it went through several format changes. It started as a rural sitcom, where she lived on a farm with 2 kids and Gramps. Then the next season, she got a job in the city, and in season 3 she and the kids moved to San Francisco. In season 4, the kids were dropped from the show and never mentioned again as if they never existed! Season 5 put more emphasis on her romantic life.

Dark Shadows is another show that comes to mind. It started as a gothic soap opera, but was failing in the ratings. After about a year, it was facing cancellation, so in a last ditch effort, the writers introduced a new character: vampire Barnabas Collins and the ratings skyrocketed! He became the star of the show, and it became a full blown supernatural soap and introduced science fiction aspects like time travel.