5 Times One Poor Decision Sentenced an Iconic Sitcom To Death
There’s no way you can come back after that failure.
In a world where there are so many studios competing for viewers and creating so much content that it's impossible to follow, it's very hard to achieve universal popularity and recognition. And if you're lucky enough to reach the stars, it's way too easy to lose it all with just one mistake.
Here are 5 examples of TV shows that were extremely popular (and extremely good), but failed and never got back on their feet.
Friends
Right after Monica and Chandler got married at the end of season 7, the show went downhill. As the cast got tired of being on the show for so long, things started moving incredibly fast for their characters, and viewers just didn't like the new pace the show was taking.
Many believe that Community died as a show with the infamous "gas leak" season. This term was used to explain why everyone was acting out of character while Dan Harmon, the original creator and showrunner, was away from the show. Although Harmon was subsequently brought back, the sitcom never recovered.
It's not hard to guess that for many fans of The Office, the show completely ceased to exist after the departure of its heart, Michael Scott, portrayed by Steve Carell. People were so outraged by the production team's decision to continue that they stopped watching, causing a significant drop in ratings.
The Goldbergs
It's hard to imagine someone who created a show about their youth and ran it for seven years, suddenly stepping down and letting someone else take over. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened with The Goldbergs, as Adam F. Goldberg left in 2019 to focus on development for Disney TV Studios.
Arrested Development
Over its five-season run, there were plenty of questionable moments in Arrested Development. However, the one where George-Michael Bluth hits his father might be the worst of them all. The tone of the show was never the same after that moment, and even if it had been, it was impossible to continue looking at the characters in the same way.