Popular TV shows that ended on a low point

[TMC]

Bare in mind that this isn't necessarily another discussion regarding the worst series finales ever. Basically shows that just ended without a definitive series finale, shows that in general, had subpar later seasons, or shows that were once super talked and buzzed about only for it to feel like people just shrugged when it ended.

[BobbyStBlues]

Two and a Half Men. Rating's were huge when Charlie Sheen was there, then Ashton Kutcher replaced him, and after continuing for a few more seasons (with decent ratings) it basically ended with a shrug. People watched out of habit, but they mostly lost interest.

[Duster76]

Laverne and Shirley probably had the worse final season of any series in history. Cindy Williams (Shirley) left/fired at the beginning of season 8. Betty Garrett such an important part of the show left the series, her character was written out as having left her husband, Laverne's father Frank. Michael McKean (Lenny) another important part of the series was working on other things during the final season. Talk about a black cloud hanging over the series. The final episode features little more than a guest appearance by the star of the series Penny Marshall who is seen in only two scenes.


Green Acres which ran for 6 seasons finished the series run with two backdoor pilots for shows that were not picked up.

[dee2364]

The X Files definitely. Both the leading actors bailed, and then it turned out that Chris Carter hadn't really had a proper resolution for his mystery arc, so the show just meandered. Then the writers went and killed off its most popular side characters, LOL...

I didn't see Lost, but from what I remember from all the discussions, people were definitely disappointed about how it was going in the final few seasons.

ER also ended on a poor note--so badly, in fact, that hardly anyone ever talks about it anymore though it was one of the hottest shows of the 1990s. I don't remember the finale garnering a lot of fanfare in the press either, even though it was the longest running show in prime time. There were just too many new characters being introduced at the same time and so many people disliked the ones that were put on the front burner. There were also too many shock value moments (gunfire, helicopters falling on people, tanks being carjacked, rape, people getting tortured, etc.).

The last two seasons of Married with Children also ended poorly. The show had run out of steam, and the laughter from the audience was so thin they started using an obvious laugh track to fill in the gaps. It was so bad towards the end that it was canceled outright without warning by FOX. There was just a trite message at the end of the last episode thanking the show for being on the air for 11 years or something.

But I think the most famous example of a show ending on a low note is Heroes. This was the show that had an explosive first season that had everyone buzzing like crazy, and then plunged off a cliff afterwards.

[Greenbeans]

Not a Sit-Com but Castle. They thought they were going to be picked up and found out at the last minute they were cancelled. They filmed a hastily filmed ending that is still up for debate about what exactly happened. The leads were filmed separately (they didn't get along - not a new thing, but it was really edited badly) in the ending scene.

[AMackII]

A Different World: The Final Season of ADW doesnt make sense because...
- The Theme Song was ironicially changed
- Jalessa got written off, Colonel Taylor did not have a mustache
- Last Aired Episodes scheduled out of air

[favoriteshow]

Diff'rent Strokes. The full series is on Starz! on demand btw. The last episode being such a random episode to be a last episode. Willis wasn't even in it.

[favoriteshow]

Originally Posted by AMackII

A Different World: The Final Season of ADW doesnt make sense because...
- The Theme Song was ironicially changed
- Jalessa got written off, Colonel Taylor did not have a mustache
- Last Aired Episodes scheduled out of air

The last final season of ADW was very weak, but to points 1 and 2: I think a lot of shows at that time felt they needed to modernize, and that's why the theme song changed. The Arethra Franklin theme was definitely the best. Jaleesa left for Hangin With Mr. Cooper. It would have been better for her to at least have a proper farewell, but maybe the producers were upset about her leaving? I'm not sure.

For whatever reason, Dawnn Lewis was missing in the Steve Harvey reunion in 2016, but there are somewhat recent pics with her along side Jasmine Guy and Charnele Brown.

I wish she was in the last season, and the focus was on the ladies (Whitley, Jaleesa, Freddie, Kim) than on Dwayne and Whitley's relationship and new characters. Dawnn Lewis got unfortunately screwed from Hangin With Mr. Cooper as well.

Honestly though, even if the last season was better, NBC seemed ready to can it anyways. It was too black of a show on a Thursday night that was all white after Cosby Show ended.

[Tubehead]

one i can think of is
Early edition
quantum leap

[favoriteshow]

Originally Posted by dee2364

I didn't see Lost, but from what I remember from all the discussions, people were definitely disappointed about how it was going in the final few seasons.

Lost fans were disappointed in what was then viewed as excess of time wasted, but the actual final episode was rather nice. After watched, it was more like the show could have ended with that finale, like two seasons ago. But it's subjective. Game of Thrones was a little different. It had a better buildup almost all the way to the end, but the finale itself was disappointing.

Anyways, Lost didn't end in a low point, like what is being associated for this thread. A low point is like nobody is watching the final season, or finale in the first place, or this no real finale.