13 TV shows you should have finished earlier

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

By the start of the final season of "Supernatural", Lifehacker recalls projects that were too late on the screens.

1. Office

• USA, 2005-2013.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 9 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 8.

The American remake of the TV series of the same name from Great Britain became more popular than the original and lasted nine seasons on the screens. Filmed in a pseudo-documentary manner, the comedy project tells about the everyday life of the office staff of Dunder Mifflin, a paper supplier.

The series was based on bright and charismatic characters. And most of all, the audience loved Steve Carell, who played the intolerable narcissistic boss Michael Scott. But at the end of the seventh season, he left the project - according to the plot, his hero moved. Then the authors should have stopped. From that moment on, new characters began to appear in the "Office", and the old actors were on the sidelines. In this form, the popularity of the series fell.

2. Dexter

• USA, 2006-2013.
• Thriller, drama, crime, detective.
• Duration: 8 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 7.

"Dexter" is often referred to as a series with one of the most unfortunate endings. In the first seasons, the audience was conquered by a hero with an ambiguous morality. Dexter Morgan is a maniac who is unable to contain his passion. But at the same time, he tries to kill only criminals who could not be arrested. Thus, Dexter seems to make the world a better place.

Many believe that the project should have been stopped after the fourth or fifth season. For example, the hero could take the blame for the crimes committed by his ward Lumen. Because in the subsequent parts, all the action was focused exclusively on the internal problems of Dexter himself. His character began to change in a strange way, and the ending turned out to be a kind of half-measure without a sensible denouement.

3. X-Files

• USA, Canada, 1993–2018.
• Science fiction, drama, crime.
• Duration: 11 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 6.

One of the main series hits of the nineties introduced viewers to the FBI agents Mulder and Scully, who stubbornly tried to find aliens and faced either monsters or government conspiracies.

After the seventh season, David Duchovny almost stopped appearing in the project. This would be worth putting an end to. But the authors filmed two more seasons, where Gillian Anderson had a new on-screen partner. Of course, the ratings were pretty low.

In 2016, the series was resumed, again inviting old actors. The tenth season was a great success, but after the eleventh "X-Files" again closed. According to management, because of the departure of Gillian Anderson. According to the actress herself, due to the loss of 70% of the audience.

4. Supernatural

• USA, 2005-2019.
• Horror, fantasy, detective.
• Duration: 15 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 4.

Only in 2019 will the adventures of the Winchester brothers come to an end: the 15th season will be the final for the long-running project. Over the years, the main characters have already encountered many monsters, demons, leviathans, angels, horsemen of the Apocalypse and other representatives of various myths and religions.

Sam and Dean Winchesters died and resurrected several times, lost their parents, found and lost again, visited the real world, where they are the heroes of the series, and even ended up in the cartoon "Scooby Doo". But nevertheless, the project lost its originality 10 years ago. The first seasons were a good procedural, where in each episode the heroes faced new manifestations of supernatural powers. Then came the turn of more global problems and the apocalypse.

Perhaps, if the series were closed after the fifth season, the project would not have become a reason for jokes that the actors are not given documents, and the authors no longer know what topic to come up with.

5. Clinic

• USA, 2001-2010.
• Comedy, drama.
• Duration: 9 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

But this series, one might say, has a very good ending. But only if you don't watch the last season.

A positive and at the same time vital project about the everyday life of the hospital held up perfectly for eight years. The whole action was presented from the perspective of the main character John Dorian (or simply J. D.). And at the end of the eighth season, the authors said goodbye to the project with him, remembering many of the favorite moments of the audience.

And after that, a sequel was released, where the entire cast, the presentation, and the mood itself changed. Familiar characters flashed only in the background, and new students were in the center of the plot. Therefore, many fans prefer to pretend that the ninth season does not exist.

6. Stay Alive

• USA, 2004-2010.
• Science fiction, adventure, drama.
• Duration: 6 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

"Lost" conquered everyone with an incredibly exciting plot: a group of people who survived the crash find themselves on the island. But it soon becomes clear that this is not just an accident. At first, the series seemed more mystical, then the riddles were replaced by serious science fiction. And all this is only in order to turn into a strange philosophical drama with alternative realities and religious overtones by the end.

The authors claimed that they initially knew how and when they would finish the series. But still, after the fourth season, it often seems that the writers are just playing for time: a significant part of the episodes consists of the heroes' memories, and the dramatic lines are unreasonably long.

If the series had been closed earlier, then viewers might not have seen the full-fledged ending. But in the case of Lost, even the understatement would have been better than what was shown at the end.

7. Escape

• USA, UK, 2005-2017.
• Crime, action, thriller, drama.
• Duration: 6 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 3

The story of two brothers who are planning to escape from prison is interesting, first of all, for many small details. In the first season, the action develops like a good quest: the heroes need to get the necessary items, face the prisoners and the guards. And only the fulfillment of all the points will lead to a successful salvation.

The second season continued the story perfectly, showing that even after the escape, the heroes somehow have to hide from the authorities. But then the plot went in a circle. In the third season, the heroes are in prison again and plan to escape. Such self-repetitions don't look very interesting.

The Escape would have been worth completing in Season 2. However, the authors filmed two more. And in 2017, after a long hiatus, the series was returned with a fifth season, where it was shown that the allegedly deceased hero is actually in prison again, only under a different name.

8. The big bang theory

• USA, 2007-2019.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 12 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

The famous sitcom, which has been successfully published for 12 years, can be roughly divided into two parts. Both of them seem to be good, but there is practically no connection between them.

The Big Bang Theory began as a series for geeks and geeks. This is the story of nerdy friends who are well versed in physics and comics, but have absolutely no idea how to deal with girls. And so the first seasons are filled with geek culture references and hilarious relationship jokes.

But gradually Raj began to communicate with girls, Penny and Leonard became a permanent couple, Howard had a child, and then even Sheldon got married. As a result, The Big Bang Theory turned into a comedy about family relationships. Therefore, for those who like geeky jokes, it is better to stop somewhere in the fourth season.

9. The Walking Dead

• USA, 2010 - present.
• Horror, thriller, drama.
• Duration: 10 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

The series about a group of survivors of a zombie apocalypse is still one of the most popular projects of the AMC channel. That is why they keep filming him. However, the project loses viewers year after year.

The thing is that at first the famous director Frank Darabont, who created The Shawshank Redemption, worked on The Walking Dead. Therefore, at the start of the series, it was perfectly possible to combine the atmosphere of horror with the personal relationships of the characters. But then everything switched to the drama.

After the fifth season, the ratings began to fall rapidly, and then the leading actors began to leave the project. Therefore, many believe that The Walking Dead should have been closed, if not immediately after the first season, then at least in the fifth.

10. Babylon 5

• USA, 1994-1998.
• Science fiction, action, drama, adventure.
• Duration: 5 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

With this project, things are a little more complicated. According to the original idea, it was supposed to consist of five seasons. As a result, so many were removed. But still, many considered the final one superfluous.

The series about the space station, which became the center of negotiations of various civilizations and political intrigue, was planned as a complete story with a plot, culmination and ending. For the first three years, history developed consistently and logically. But while working on the fourth season, the channel on which Babylon 5 was broadcast was close to closing, and the authors did not know if they could shoot the fifth. And so showrunner Joseph Michael Strazhinski tried to fit the entire plot in fewer episodes.

In the end, the series was still saved, and the fifth season was released on another channel. But it turned out that all the best stories had already been shown before, and the finale could not have been filmed.

11. Family Guy

• USA, 1999 - present.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 18 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

Of course, such humorous cartoons can go on almost indefinitely. But still, over time, even their authors feel tired.

Family Guy appeared as a copy of the legendary The Simpsons, only with more straightforward and often rude humor. But it was the funny gags that made this project so popular.

However, in recent years, many fans have noticed that humor has become somehow strained, and there are fewer and fewer bright episodes. The fact that the "Family Guy" should have been closed earlier is evidenced by the words of the author, Seth MacFarlane. Back in 2011, he talked about this to Family Guy writer Seth MacFarlane wants show to end. However, business is business, as long as the ratings are high, the project continues to be released.

12. Once upon a time

• USA, 2011–2018.
• Fantasy, melodrama, adventure.
• Duration: 7 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

In 2011, the authors of the series offered an interesting and unusual interpretation of classic fairy tales, transferring familiar characters to our modern world. True, this concept was based more on unexpected combinations of characters, and therefore quickly ceased to seem original.

There is an opinion that “Once Upon a Time” should have been closed after the very first season. But good ratings allowed it to continue. However, in the end, even those who followed the project for several years were disappointed with an unnecessary seventh season. In the likeness of "Office" and "Clinic", he was dedicated to new heroes and, moreover, looked like a new version of the very plot of the story.

13. Two and a half people

• USA, 2003-2015.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 12 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

The comedy series was originally built around three main characters: two brothers, completely different in character, live together and, as they can, raise the son of one of them.

But by the ninth season, the main favorite of the public, Charlie Sheen, had become completely unbearable on the set, and even demanded an increase in the already huge fee. Then the management of the series decided to end its story. But instead of the expected closure of the project itself, they introduced a new hero, played by Ashton Kutcher.

Strictly speaking, after a very sad ninth season, where the writers seemed to want to write more jokes making fun of Shin, a good tenth followed, and only then the project began to lose ground again. Still, without Shin, "Two and a Half Men" looked like a completely different series.