TMC
10-23-2025, 09:08 PM
https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?rf=homepage
Every TV show has its bend or break moment, and these episodes bounce back like rubber bands.
by Alisdair Hodgson
October 21st, 2025
Fittingly, the idiom 'jump the shark' began on a TV show, when The Fonz (Henry Winkler) jumped over a shark on water skis, signaling the point at which Happy Days had reached the end of its original creative tether and had descended into absurdity. Thereafter, the phrase entered the popular vernacular, and since then, we have been collectively declaring not just TV shows, but films, bands, and trends to have jumped the shark when they have gone overboard and are past their prime.
For TV in particular, any show that lasts beyond four or five seasons usually faces an artistic breaking point, when the writers have exhausted their capabilities and the networks are keeping them going for profit rather than art. After all, there are only so many times Gibbs can take down an international terrorist cell, a new manager can take charge of The Office, or Dexter can get away with murder.
But not all shows jump the shark, with many merely either fading into obscurity or becoming a formulaic, unwatchable slog. And sometimes, just sometimes, the shows that do have their jump-the-shark moments manage to use them to their advantage. The following ten episodes sucker punched the formula, re-energized the fanbase, and surprised everyone involved.
10. ER - Ambush
9. Smallville - Noir (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=2)
8. The X-Files - The Post-Modern Prometheus (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=3)
7. Angel, Smile Time (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=4)
6. Supernatural - Scoobynatural (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=5)
5. Community - Remedial Chaos Theory (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=6)
4. Atlanta - The Goof Who Sat By the Door (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=7)
3. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Dee Reynolds: Shaping America's Youth (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=8)
2. Breaking Bad - Fly (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=9)
1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Once More With Feeling (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=10)
Every TV show has its bend or break moment, and these episodes bounce back like rubber bands.
by Alisdair Hodgson
October 21st, 2025
Fittingly, the idiom 'jump the shark' began on a TV show, when The Fonz (Henry Winkler) jumped over a shark on water skis, signaling the point at which Happy Days had reached the end of its original creative tether and had descended into absurdity. Thereafter, the phrase entered the popular vernacular, and since then, we have been collectively declaring not just TV shows, but films, bands, and trends to have jumped the shark when they have gone overboard and are past their prime.
For TV in particular, any show that lasts beyond four or five seasons usually faces an artistic breaking point, when the writers have exhausted their capabilities and the networks are keeping them going for profit rather than art. After all, there are only so many times Gibbs can take down an international terrorist cell, a new manager can take charge of The Office, or Dexter can get away with murder.
But not all shows jump the shark, with many merely either fading into obscurity or becoming a formulaic, unwatchable slog. And sometimes, just sometimes, the shows that do have their jump-the-shark moments manage to use them to their advantage. The following ten episodes sucker punched the formula, re-energized the fanbase, and surprised everyone involved.
10. ER - Ambush
9. Smallville - Noir (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=2)
8. The X-Files - The Post-Modern Prometheus (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=3)
7. Angel, Smile Time (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=4)
6. Supernatural - Scoobynatural (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=5)
5. Community - Remedial Chaos Theory (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=6)
4. Atlanta - The Goof Who Sat By the Door (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=7)
3. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Dee Reynolds: Shaping America's Youth (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=8)
2. Breaking Bad - Fly (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=9)
1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Once More With Feeling (https://whatculture.com/tv/10-tv-episodes-that-should-have-jumped-the-shark-but-didnt?page=10)