The announcement of a new season for your favorite show should be exciting news. It should create anticipation for what will happen next and leave you itching for a new episode every week. However, recently, this hasn’t seemed to be the case. Within the past couple of years, the dramatic downfall of some of the most popular shows has been obvious.
I first noticed the trend of a show simply running out of ideas a few years ago when I watched Riverdale. The CW released this show in 2017, and what had been my favorite show for years became something that I was unable to finish once it reached its sixth and seventh seasons and finally ended in 2023. The show completely switched gears, taking on a supernatural theme, filled with witches and alternate universes, which replaced its original “murder-mystery” style plot. Although to some this may seem appealing, as someone who had been a fan of the show since the very beginning, it was disappointing to see how much it had changed to the point where it felt like an entirely different story.
Similar to Riverdale’s dramatic shift is season seven of All American. The seventh season, which is currently being aired, displays an entirely different set of characters with the exception of about three who remain recurring characters. Additionally, the show seems to have cycled back to its plot from season one, once again showing high school football players with large aspirations. This reversion completely ignores and eliminates all of the plot and character development from seasons one through six, and feels more like a spin-off show rather than a continuation of the same one.
Another popular show in which I completely lost interest during the latest season was Outer Banks. Contrary to Riverdale and All American, the fourth season, released in 2024, maintained a lot of similarities to its previous three, focusing on the treasure-hunting and adventurous aspects along with similar dynamics between all of the characters. However, despite my high interest and enthusiasm going into the season, it quickly became boring as the season was filled with repetitive and redundant aspects,which seemed more like recycled and reused ideas rather than developing the plot and characters.
With several new shows expecting new seasons, including season 3 of The Summer I Turned Pretty, season 5 of Stranger Things, season 3 of Ginny and Georgia, and season 5 of Outer Banks, I hope that this trend of faltering shows does not continue. Although the goal of continuing a show for as long as possible is understandable, I believe these ending seasons have diminished or outright ruined the reputation of many of these shows as the creators try to unnecessarily drag out the plots. Whether it’s a lack of new ideas or a complete change in direction, the shows that should’ve been outstanding and rewatchable have now become quickly forgotten due to their wasted potential.
