5 Superhero TV Shows That Got Worse With Every Season

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https://www.looper.com/2190377/super...-every-season/

BY MICHAEL JOHN PETTY JUNE 14, 2026 12:18 PM EST



A decade ago, it seemed that superhero television shows were a dime a dozen. Almost every major network aired some sort of comic book-inspired program, and streamers eventually caught up to the craze. While there was once a time when superheroes on television were somewhat hard to come by, that all changed in the 2010s. Comic book fans everywhere were delighted that their favorite heroes could now be revisited on the small screen, be they DC Comics or Marvel — but some shows were more consistent than others.

While we've already highlighted the five biggest superhero shows that changed the genre forever, this time around, we're putting a spotlight on five series — both live-action and animated — that failed to stick the landing. Over the course of every new season, the quality of these once-promising programs diminished, straying away from what made them great to begin with and leading to an inevitable cancellation that (often) is somewhat tragic looking back.

From traditional superhero fare to alternate universe shenanigans, and to the exploration of how superpowers might interact with our world, these are the shows that struggled to maintain the high quality they offered at the beginning. Make no mistake, we still love them for what they are. But there's also no denying that they got worse with every new season.

Supergirl



When "Supergirl" first aired on CBS, it was its own thing, divorced from the growing trend of the superhero shared universes on "Arrow," "The Flash," and "DC's Legends of Tomorrow." Meant to be a modern reinterpretation of the Maiden of Might, the series showed promise from the start, even after giving in and crossing over with "The Flash" after 18 episodes. But once the network pulled the plug, The CW took over — and it was all downhill from there.

Aside from introducing frustrating romances and sidelining the Man of Steel himself (played by Tyler Hoechlin, who would later headline his own unrelated but superior series, "Superman & Lois"), "Supergirl" continued to spiral into what essentially amounted to a mixture of self-parody and constant virtue signaling. The longer the series ran, the more overtly preachy it got, trading in most of the fun superheroics that drew us to Melissa Benoist's Supergirl in the first place for a half-baked attempt to "say something" about the world on the other side of the TV screen.

"Supergirl" held a boatload of potential, and while it still had its moments in future seasons (like Jon Cryer's Lex Luthor), it ultimately failed to live up to its own expectations. The first season was fun, cheerful, and perfectly embodied the youthful optimism of the comic book character. The last season, well, let's just say there was a reason "Supergirl" ended when it did.