10 Once Great TV Shows That Disastrously Fell Apart After Season 1 or 2

10. Altered Carbon (2018–2020) Fell Flat After S1

For all the cyberpunk connoisseurs, Altered Carbon was a breath of fresh (read, toxic) air. A phenomenal setting, compelling characters, and engaging mystery — it had it all. The hype for Season 2 was real, but halfway through, the showrunner changed… Let’s just say that very few people even finished watching the new series.

9. Heroes (2006–2010) Was Gone for Good After S1

When Heroes Season 1 premiered in 2006, it became an instant nationwide cultural phenomenon. Everyone and their grandma were talking about it non-stop, and it felt like the new TV show was there to stay. Indeed, it stayed around for three more seasons, but those were so terrible the audience decided to ignore their existence.

8. Sleepy Hollow (2013–2017) Lost Its Essence After S1

Sleepy Hollow Season 1 got all the creepy fairy tale/legend fans excited. Unfortunately, after hyping the audience up, the show changed a showrunner and went into oblivion. The Headless Horseman became a ranting idiot from a scary badass mythical figure, and most OG characters were replaced or ruined ruthlessly.

7. Wayward Pines (2015–2016) Forgot Its Source After S1

Staying faithful to the source material is crucial for any adaptation, but time and time again, showrunners decide they know better. Wayward Pines Season 1 was great and promising — but Season 2 got rid of the main character in the very first episode and started telling its own story, incoherent and incomparable to the original.

6. Westworld ( 2016–2022) Was Never Meant to Go Beyond S1

Some TV shows just don’t know when to stop, and Westworld was one of them. Had it ended with the immaculate Season 1, it would have still been considered one of the best mini-series ever. Instead, Westworld decided to go full Nolan mode and play around with time and memory, and as you could guess, it was an utter failure.

5. Killing Eve ( 2018–2022) Became Looney Tunes After S2

Killing Eve might just be one of the most infamous examples of great TV shows falling apart ever. With the phenomenal Season 1 and an almost equally as good Season 2, the show quickly devolved into a Looney Tunes parody on itself. Season 3 was somewhat tolerable, but the finale was an absolutely unforgivable disgrace.

4. Billions ( 2016–2023) Devolved Into a Soap Opera After S2

Billions was once an energetic, high-stakes, and nerve-wrecking TV show. Seasons 1 & 2 kept viewers at the edge of their seats but ultimately happy with the strongly character-driven story and a bunch of schemes both in business and in politics. But starting from Season 3, Billions began its descent into the realm of soap operas.

3. House of Cards (2013–2018) Should Have Ended With S2

At its prime, House of Cards was the best political drama thriller the world had ever seen. The brutal and cynical story reached its logical and plot conclusion in the finale of Season 2 — and that’s where it should have ended. Instead, the show kept going above and beyond, declining more and more as time went on, until it was nothing.

2. The Man in the High Castle (2015–2019) Revealed Its Sci-Fi Self in S2

Those unfamiliar with Philip K. Dick’s original novel expected The Man in the High Castle to be an alternative history tale. It remained such until the finale of Season 2 — and that was where it revealed its true sci-fi colors. Many fans dropped the show there, and those who stayed were rewarded with a horrendously anticlimactic finale.

1. Sherlock ( 2010–2017) Became a Self-Fanfiction After S2

Perhaps the king of losing an audience for no good reason, BBC’s Sherlock did the unthinkable. After two amazing seasons of high-stakes investigations and great character development, the iconic TV show became a self-fanfiction: starting from Season 3, it never felt the same again, but you could see a teenage fan writing it.