24 Examples Of TV Seasons That Should Never Have Been Made, According To Viewers

These are the ones that actually hurt.

Damjan

• Published in Film & TV
• May 18, 2022

Even your favorite shows have both riveting seasons and disappointing low periods.  A terrible season of a television show can ruin a wonderful series, just as a rotten apple can spoil the bunch.

We treat our television shows the same way we do our friends: we invite them into our life, share experiences with them, and overlook their tiny transgressions. So it hurts when our favorite show has a particularly terrible season.

A terrible season of a TV show is a grave insult and can be heartbreaking. What are some examples of TV seasons that destroyed otherwise wonderful shows?

Some shows start strong then fizzle out, leaving viewers weeping on their knees, mourning the hours they wasted reading fan theories. Other shows have a steep learning curve that turns off viewers before they can get into the swing of things.

Others are caught in the middle. People agree that many series would have been more enjoyable if some seasons had been omitted.

We have checked what people are saying online and made a list of those seasons. Check out our list of worst seasons ever and see if you can find the one that annoyed you the most.

The one that actually hurt.

1. Season 2 of Riverdale

"It started the trends that made the following seasons range from baffling to headache-inducingly stupid to downright incomprehensible: a villain arc not planned through, Archie making exceedingly idiotic decisions, Hiram being untouchable and all controlling, and more focus on the relationships between the main four."

—jbmasta

2. Season 7 of The 100

"First off, they spent so much time on Hope. She’s a great character, but brand-new!

Way too late in the game to start giving new characters backstory when so many original characters could have used more development (cough cough, Bellamy). Next, having Clarke shoot and kill Bellamy for literally no reason since she didn’t get the journal anyway made no sense and having Octavia (his sister!) and Eco (his partner!) forgive Clarke on the spot is so beyond out of character I laughed and turned the show off.

Such a disappointment for what was once a phenomenal show."

—gardenleah5

"It had some great episodes but the season as a whole was soured by the utter ridiculousness of the final episodes. How does a show about war, survival, and attempts to get their humanity back turn into aliens deciding their fate, everyone 'dying' and joining a collective consciousness, and the human race becoming extinct? What the heck kind of message is that?"

—jrenee0587

3. Season 1 of Parks and Recreation

"It was so clearly copying The Office in every way and doing so poorly. The fact that it survived to Season 2 is a minor miracle.

But thank god it did, because they revamped the show for the second season and it was good. And once they added Ben and Chris, it became phenomenal."

—l4b8a7d01f

4. Season 5 of Chuck

"Chuck and Sarah had been through so much and had finally gotten their happy ending at the end of the previous season. The last season when they destroyed her memory and she was no longer in love was just cruel!"

—paulr18

"I am so glad that I'm not the only one who feels this way. I refuse to buy it to complete my set of DVDs.

It just broke my heart to see all of her character growth get thrown away like that."

—leticiamb

5. Season 7 of Pretty Little Liars

"I loved the show and all, but Season 7 was unnecessary. I mean, the show skipped five years only to show that the girls had separated and come back only for there to be another A and that it's Spencer's secret twin.

They should've just ended the show with the CeCe being A reveal."

—chocolate829

"It could have ended two seasons earlier, but the final one was so ridiculous and badly written I wish I didn't watch it. The time jump didn't have an impact since they basically just rebooted the plot with a new villain and drank wine to show they were adults.

There were so many plot holes, and a lot of it never made sense and questions were left unanswered. Plus the unnecessary romance drama and pulling the evil British twin card.

SO. LAZY. The show seriously lost the mystery that made it so intriguing and gripping in the beginning."

—katcloud

6. Season 4 of Veronica Mars

"I know the fans wanted more, but it should have ended after the movie. The tone was so different from the original show and it didn’t work at ALL."

—antisocialachromatic

"Ugh. Literally just ugh. And if you’re a true fan you pretend the last five minutes of the last episode didn’t happen. Logan 1,000% deserved better."

—gracefulsince85

7. Season 3 of New Girl

"Seasons 1 and 2 are so well done and funny, and Seasons 4–7 are also good. There are definitely good jokes and episodes in Season 3 but not enough to make up for the missteps.

Schmidt cheating on both Cece and Elizabeth was awful, and we were supposed to accept 'I used to be fat' as his justification?! It made it really hard to love him and Cece getting back together.

While I like that Nick and Jess ended up together in the end, their relationship did NOT work this season. They should have broken up when they got back from Mexico.

This season also has some of the worst episodes in the series, like 'The Captain' (offensive and hard to watch), 'Menus' (boring), and the three-episode arc with Jess's 'never heard of nor seen before/since' sister."

—afrankfother

8. Season 10 of Roseanne

"Roseanne was one of my favorite shows growing up, but the final season after they win the lottery was just awful. The whole point of the show was that they were a realistic, blue-collar working family.

To make a change like that and then to have it all be part of a book she was writing at the end just seemed lazy and insulting to me."

—ashleyl31

"OBVIOUSLY, the now retconned original 'final season' of Roseanne where Dan and Roseanne break up, the Conners win the lottery, the Prince of Moldavia falls in love with Jackie, Roseanne fights a group of terrorists holding her family hostage, that episode where Rosanne is driving and talking to herself the whole time, and the bonkers ending where the whole series had been a book she was writing and most of it never happened."

—matthewschonmorgan

9. Season 3 of Westworld

"It felt like I was watching an entirely different show. My husband and I watched it together and I told him multiple times that if someone had described Season 3 to me, I wouldn't have believed that they were talking about Westworld."

—yamreviews007

10. Season 9 of How I Met Your Mother

"Completely ruined characters, their development, and the whole premise of the show. If it had ended at the Season 8 finale, it would have been perfect."

—foureyedshark

"Don’t get me wrong. I love the show so much and it has its good moments: 'Thank you Linus,' Zabkatage, and more Captain content. But it was terribly drawn out.

The wedding did NOT need to extend the entire season. Not to mention that cheesy AF scene on the beach where Ted FINALLY lets Robin go (and she just lifts up in the air?), only for the finale to forget that even happened.

What was the point? The Season 8 finale was perfect.

Less conclusive but at least we finally got to see the mother and their lives seemed to be changing for the better; plus it had that amazing song playing at the end that fit it perfectly."

—kiwitin

11. Season 8 of That '70s Show

"They should’ve just ended it when Topher Grace left. He was the heart of the show and his (and Ashton Kutcher’s) absence was definitely felt and it didn’t even feel like the same show anymore. Also, fuck Randy."

—redbear745862

"Yes!!! Also Jackie ending up with Fez!

What WAS that?! It’s like they undid all the growth that she had done over the last seven seasons."

—elisabethl4c0a461fa

12. Season 8 / "A Year In The Life" of Gilmore Girls

"The only two redeeming things about it were Paris and Emily. Everything else, like everything to do with Rory or Lorelai’s midlife crisis, at best is meh and at worst is absolutely unsympathetic.

The fat-shaming opener to Summer for example and the 'We saw Hamilton so we’re doing a subplot around that.'"

—jbmasta

"The characters’ actions made no sense given how the show ended. Even beyond the inconsistency, so much of the dialogue/storylines were cringeworthy, like the weird Life and Death Brigade sequence, the weirdly out-of-place fat-shaming...

It was all-around rough."

—mlv91

13. Season 8 of Game of Thrones

"The clear standout worst season of television ever. When you get handed the keys to the kingdom and you throw them away and burn down the kingdom literally and figuratively for no reason."

—ireneg4a08ff92f

"Just a disaster, especially considering how the first few seasons were almost perfect television."

—amyhayford

14. Season 2 of Heroes

"Heroes Season 2 doomed the show. They had created a catchy slogan ('Save the cheerleader, save the world') and then couldn't recapture that magic.

Also they had to nerf the villain because they realized they made him too powerful to continue the story."

—mattr1016

15. Season 7 of True Blood

"I know it was the last season, but honestly it would’ve been better if it hadn’t happened at all. Tara’s death was handled so horribly IMO, having Jessica and Hoyt get back together last minute was confusing, and the series finale was boring and a big letdown."

—darkai

16. Season 7 of Once Upon a Time

"I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I could not watch the final season of Once Upon a Time. I tried for like four episodes but could not do it.

I tried to like it because I love the show, but it was just too different and I didn’t like how there was a totally new set of characters that we weren’t familiar with, and the ones we were familiar with were gone or had their memories erased. Also, the fact that it was the same plot as the first season, but with an older Henry and different characters."

—lafoutloud

17. Season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"Buffy is my favorite show of all time. And yet, Season 4 was a tough watch.

The show struggled to find its voice and redefine itself after they all graduated high school. And it is obvious that they were struggling to find their footing again.

Granted, this season did give us 'Hush,' a great episode. But it also gave us 'Beer Bad,' the undisputed worst episode of the series.

It was just a mess. And the main villain was boring and unoriginal.

Plus, Riley?! Buffy’s worst boyfriend?

Yeah, [Season] 4 is just a mess. Fortunately, Season 5 came along and redeemed the whole thing."

—tadh2

18. Season 5 of Dawson’s Creek

"I skip it every time. They ruined character relationships, not to mention Mitch being killed by an ice cream cone.

Season 6 isn’t much better, but at least Pacey and Joey end up together."

—ryland1203

19. Season 4 of Sherlock

"Up until that point, it had been a mostly fun mystery series about a crime-solving duo and their allies, but it took such a turn in the fourth season. All of a sudden, everyone was hiding these dark secrets and people were coming back from the dead as ghosts.

The last episode especially was a letdown, with Eurus appearing suddenly and fucking with everyone."

—321missmaximoff

20. Season 2 of Big Little Lies

"The Season 1 finale was perfect and should have been the series finale. And yeah, Season 2 gave us some incredible moments like Meryl Streep screaming at the dinner table and Laura Dern's 'I will not NOT be rich,' and I'm also glad we got more Zoe Kravitz/Bonnie in Season 2.

But the implausible courtroom drama custody battle just seemed so contrived and uninteresting. And I wanted to scream at the women turning themselves in at the end.

They honestly had nothing to feel guilty for and there was nothing satisfying about these women potentially facing repercussions for the death of an abusive, manipulative rapist. On a more macro level, I also find it incredibly frustrating when showrunners and networks just create more of a popular show to meet the demand even though the story they wanted to tell has been told."

—afrankfother

21. Season 6B of Teen Wolf

"The writers and the actor talked about how Scott was going to stay single for the season, which I thought was a good choice, but then they just said, 'Hey, Malia's in love with Scott,' which I think ruined any chance she had at character development. Malia was always with a guy pretty much and it would have been nice to see her on her own for a while. ...

IMO the show should have ended at 6x10. The rest was yikes!"

—chloedbrown25

22. Season 4 of Community

"Community Season 4. ... The entire season just felt like a parody of the first three. In the next two seasons, they even call it the 'gas leak year,' explaining that everyone was acting out of character because of a gas leak."

—apaturairis

23. Season 5 of Glee

"Season 5 of Glee sucked so much. If they'd kept the Cory Monteith memorial episode and maybe the concept of the Beatles and Billy Joel episodes, and added those onto what generally happened in Season 6, I think that it would have wrapped up the show in the best way it could.

They did not do that, however, and Season 5 really took itself off the deep end. What was even happening anymore?"

—monicarj2247

24. Season 13 of Grey's Anatomy

"I love Grey's Anatomy, but Season 13 was so frickin' boring until the finale, which was the only decent episode. They introduced characters nobody cared about like Minnick and then made every plot revolve around them, and I could hardly bring myself to watch it."

—xcherrybombx

We are all aware that shows are made for profit. Someone out there is trying to make money by pining us to the screen for a certain amount of time.

But when we come across a good show, we forget that. And a bad episode or a season feels like a betrayal and makes us angry.

Can you blame us for reacting that way?

Damjan