Worst creative team transitions

[TMC]

What was a TV show that changed its creative team for the worst, in your opinion?

[icecream]

Once Upon a Time's final season
season 3 of Under the Dome- I still liked season 2 unlike some fans.
Covert Affairs- First few seasons were good. I gradually lost interest and dropped it after 59 episodes.
Person of Interest- really good when Taraji P. Henson was the main female. Sarah Shahi is a terrible actress though, once Shaw started getting a lot of screen time combined with depressing Samaritan/Vigilance storylines is when I dropped it.
Night Court- Joleen Lutz is a horrible actress with an equally horrible gasp. Lisette never should have been added, plus there was Christine's useless marriage. I did like Buddy and the increased appearances of Quon Le though, and Bull being abducted by aliens in the series finale fits him. In an untold story Lowell Mather from Wings was abducted with Bull.
Designated Survivor- Shame on Netflix making what was not sexually explicit and profane on ABC turning it into that type of show. They had better not ruin Manifest the same way.
Too Close for Comfort season 6- Monroe was so overused, I would have rather the daughters stayed instead.
Diff'rent Strokes- Danny Cooksey is one of the most irritating actors ever, and I didn't like either Maggie.
The Facts of Life- First six seasons are excellent. Changing from Edna's Edibles to Over Our Heads in season 7 was really stupid. It went down further when Cloris Leachman replaced Charlotte Rae.
Head of the Class- Billy Connolly might have been ok in future movies, but he was an awful replacement for Howard Hesseman.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by icecream

Once Upon a Time's final season
season 3 of Under the Dome- I still liked season 2 unlike some fans.
Covert Affairs- First few seasons were good. I gradually lost interest and dropped it after 59 episodes.
Person of Interest- really good when Taraji P. Henson was the main female. Sarah Shahi is a terrible actress though, once Shaw started getting a lot of screen time combined with depressing Samaritan/Vigilance storylines is when I dropped it.
Night Court- Joleen Lutz is a horrible actress with an equally horrible gasp. Lisette never should have been added, plus there was Christine's useless marriage. I did like Buddy and the increased appearances of Quon Le though, and Bull being abducted by aliens in the series finale fits him. In an untold story Lowell Mather from Wings was abducted with Bull.
Designated Survivor- Shame on Netflix making what was not sexually explicit and profane on ABC turning it into that type of show. They had better not ruin Manifest the same way.
Too Close for Comfort season 6- Monroe was so overused, I would have rather the daughters stayed instead.
Diff'rent Strokes- Danny Cooksey is one of the most irritating actors ever, and I didn't like either Maggie.
The Facts of Life- First six seasons are excellent. Changing from Edna's Edibles to Over Our Heads in season 7 was really stupid. It went down further when Cloris Leachman replaced Charlotte Rae.
Head of the Class- Billy Connolly might have been ok in future movies, but he was an awful replacement for Howard Hesseman.

To clarify, I'm not simply talking the single worst season of a hit TV show or when a show on screen, exactly "jumped the shark". I'm talking noted examples of how a crucial change behind the scenes (such as a switch in showrunners/executive producers/head writer and writing staff, etc.) had an adverse effect on the quality of the show.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TMC

To clarify, I'm not simply talking the single worst season of a hit TV show or when a show on screen, exactly "jumped the shark". I'm talking noted examples of how a crucial change behind the scenes (such as a switch in showrunners/executive producers/head writer and writing staff, etc.) had an adverse effect on the quality of the show.

To give you a better idea of what I actually mean, imagine like how in pro sports, if your favorite team goes to the playoffs and the coach for whatever the reasons, steps down or is fired. And then in the following season, the new administration leads the team to a losing, sub-.500 record.

Best and Worst Showrunner Switches

11 Sci-Fi shows that floundered under replacement showrunners

8 TV Shows that Survived a Showrunner Swap - For Better or Worse

[RetroGuy2000]

Perhaps the very worst creative team change I can think of is that of Angel, when David Simkins took over as showrunner for three months, then was quickly replaced by Jeffrey Bell. Producers David Greenwalt and Tim Minear had also both left, and Joss Whedon was not working on the show full-time, as he was focused on Firefly.

The decline in the writing, direction, and production was palpable. I've never seen a show decline so quickly. The series went from winning many industry awards to receiving no nominations for any awards and causing a huge fan backlash. The season has been called one of the worst seasons of television ever. In the words of one blogger, "Angel goes from great to bad so fast it makes your head spin." The change in showrunners and creative team had essentially destroyed the show. WhatCulture.com called it "a never-ending parade of character assassination and poor narrative choices". The show's leading lady, Charisma Carpenter, was given a truly insulting storyline, then sidelined, but every character ended up suffering through the terrible writing.

While the series was renewed for a fifth season, it was not without major behind-the-scenes changes, and the show never entirely recovered from the disastrous choices made the previous year.

[howilu]

When Jim Brooks, David Davis, Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels left MTM during the run of Rhoda to form their own production company that created and produced Taxi, Charlotte Brown became the new executive producer and the episodes declined in quality. It also resulted in the show being cancelled midway through the fifth season.

[biffbronson]

Worst: 77 Sunset Strip, totally changed for the final season under the production of Jack Webb & William Conrad with disastrous results -- sadly, completely stripped of beloved supporting actors and aspects that had made Seasons 1-5 special. Cancelled halfway through S6.

[TMC]

This pretty much ties into my past thread about the all-time worst TV showrunners but Saturday Night Live going from Lorne Michaels to Jean Doumanian for its sixth season (1980-81) has to rank up their among the very worst creative team transitions. The single season that Doumanian produced is to this day, widely considered to be the absolute worst if not the lowest point in the 40+ history of the show.

That season did give us Eddie Murphy, who likely single-handedly "saved" the show/kept it afloat, so it wasn't all for naught. But even Doumanian wasn't quick to realize what she had in her hands.

[TMC]

On the contrary, which shows managed a mid-series change in behind the scenes creative staff best?

[TMC]

10 TV Shows That Got Worse After Changing Showrunners

• Mayans MC (2018 - Present)
  
• Gilmore Girls (2000 - 2007)
  
• The West Wing (1999 - 2006)
  
• The Walking Dead (2010 - Present)
  
• Designated Survivor (2016 - 2019)
  
• The Simpsons (1998 - Present)
  
• Seinfield (1989 - 1998)
  
• Dexter (2006 - 2013)
  
• Community (2009 - 2015)

6 TV Shows That Changed Showrunners & Suffered Because Of It (And 4 That Got Better)

• Better: Michael Piller Salvaged Star Trek: The Next Generation
  
• Worse: Most Prefer To Forget Gargoyles Season 3, Greg Weisman Included
  
• Better: The Simpsons' Golden Age Was Shepherded By Al Jean & Mike Reiss
  
• Worse: The Simpsons' Decline Coincided With Mike Scully Becoming Showrunner
  
• Worse: Seinfeld Wasn't Quite As Good After Larry David Left
  
• Better: American Dad! Became More Than A Family Guy Clone When Seth MacFarlane Stepped Back
  
• Worse: Community's Season 4, Made Without Dan Harmon, Is Its Worst
  
• Worse: Dexter Took A Downward Turn After Clyde Phillips' Departure
  
• Better: Manny Coto Turned Star Trek Enterprise Around
  
• Worse: The Walking Dead Was Never As Good As It Was When Frank Darabont Was In Charge

[70s show watcher]

Originally Posted by TMC

This pretty much ties into my past thread about the all-time worst TV showrunners but Saturday Night Live going from Lorne Michaels to Jean Doumanian for its sixth season (1980-81) has to rank up their among the very worst creative team transitions. The single season that Doumanian produced is to this day, widely considered to be the absolute worst if not the lowest point in the 40+ history of the show.

That season did give us Eddie Murphy, who likely single-handedly "saved" the show/kept it afloat, so it wasn't all for naught. But even Doumanian wasn't quick to realize what she had in her hands.

but to be fair to jean dick ebersol was no prize at running snl ethier

[merlinjones]

When the creators of That 70's Show left to do the ill-fated That 80's Show, the tone/authenticity changed.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by 70s show watcher

but to be fair to jean dick ebersol was no prize at running snl ethier

I went back to look at the "13 Week Theatre" episode on the 1980-81 SNL season, and I came across this interesting comment:

Dick Ebersol, who took over production of the series from Jean Doumanian in April 1981, did NOT appreciate Al Franken's biting comments about him, or mentioning some of his previous failures at NBC. This is what Franken said that pissed Ebersol off:
"Now, let me give you some background on Dick 'Mr. Humor' Ebersol. His credits include 'THE WAVERLY WONDERS' starring Joe Namath, 'ROLLERGIRLS', and a show called 'JOE & VALERIE', about a kid from Brooklyn who dances every night at a disco. Now, to this day, Dick claims that he never saw 'Saturday Night Fever', and that it was all an amazing coincidence. Anyway, I know Dick, and I can tell you that he doesn't know ----."
When the writers' strike ended, and the series began a new season that fall, Ebersol "conveniently" forgot to contact Franken and Davis about hosting the show. In fact, they never appeared during the remainder of his tenure as producer. They had to wait until Lorne returned in the fall of 1985 before they were involved in the show again.