BuzzFeed

"When The Shippers Won, Everybody Lost": 15 TV Shows That Were Ruined When They Became Too Popular

By Kristen Harris,

16 days ago

Recently, I asked the BuzzFeed Community which TV shows they think were ruined once they became too popular.

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Here are 15 of their top responses:

1. Grey’s Anatomy

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1zuaRw_0tuNcGs900 — "Once major characters started leaving or being killed off, it just wasn't as interesting or impactful. The show writers didn't do a great job of getting viewers to care about new characters."
— freshdragon41
" *Grey's Anatomy* was amazing and deserved to be popular. Problem is, they didn't know when to stop, which should have been many seasons ago, back when we still had amazing characters, friendships, romances, and medical cases.
It has nothing to do with the great medical drama it used to be. I gave up after Season 16 but should have done it way earlier."
— silverhera
"That show became so popular, I feel like they are still making more seasons just to keep the fanbase growing, even though it's long exhausted all the stories, and at this point, it's recycled cases."
— smellyogre72
"It should have ended with Meredith and Derek going to DC, Cristina going to Switzerland, and Alex going into private practice outside Grey-Sloan."
— lindastarr
ABC / Via Netflix

4. Scandal

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1nIAht_0tuNcGs900 — "The first season was great because it was short. But then, when it got popular, they had to fill the 22/24 episodes per season that the networks request, and it became a lot of fillers and convoluted storylines by the end."
— grhngrg
ABC / Via Hulu

5. Gossip Girl

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2LsA9l_0tuNcGs900 — "The show got so popular that fans were giving their theories about who Gossip Girl was, and [the writers had to change the planned ending after a leak]. So dumb."
— grhngrg
The CW / Via Max

6. Game of Thrones

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2ALAwU_0tuNcGs900 — "It became so popular that people just focused on the hype and didn't pay attention to what was actually happening — especially regarding popular, way overhyped characters. The finale would have been much better received if certain characters hadn't been so overhyped."
— witchyfish58
HBO / Via Max

7. Orange Is the New Black

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2xs6HY_0tuNcGs900 — "Such a stellar cast of women, but once they killed off Poussey, it all went downhill."
— lmclaughlin
Netdlix

8. The Umbrella Academy

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2daq2d_0tuNcGs900 — "The showrunner bought into his own hype, and Season 3 was a complete disaster. There were too many characters, and they were all either extremely out of character or just dropped without really being mentioned again.
Now, Season 4 is the final one, and it's not even a full one. Everyone suffered so badly in Season 3 that there's no way to pull off even a vaguely satisfying ending at this point."
— namelessliberty
Netflix

9. Riverdale

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1JVcBn_0tuNcGs900 — "[It] had fewer episodes in the first season and an interesting story that needed adjustments, but it was a good teen mystery show. Then it went downhill when they wanted to fill seasons and seasons without knowing what to do."
— grhngrg
The CW / Via Netflix

10. Lost

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3MVWGK_0tuNcGs900 — "All the unexplained situations on the island were so exciting in the first three seasons. I loved the characters and the structure of the show.
I never saw the finale. They 'lost' me in Season 4 or 5, I think. The vibe was gone, the characters got weird, and the story was convoluted. When I heard how it eventually ended, I was glad I spared myself the major disappointment."
— younglatte48
ABC / Via Hulu

11. Pretty Little Liars

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3k2XNG_0tuNcGs900 — "[It] went on for too long. The first few seasons are dumb and fun teen drama (even though it had several questionable romances). But then, it was so big, they wanted to keep going and going, and then A was AD, and Ali was alive all along, and OMG, enough!"
— grhngrg
Freeform / Via Max

12. MA*SH

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4gXWJd_0tuNcGs900 — "When Alan Alda started taking over and adding more pathos to the scripts, it became more tragedy and less comedy."
— sillytree12
20th Century Fox Television / courtesy Everett Collection

13. Law & Order: Criminal Intent

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3drA5M_0tuNcGs900 — "The first three or four seasons were excellent. Detectives Goren and Eames were a superb match.
In later seasons, guest stars started to be a regular feature of the show, along with diving too much into the detectives' personal lives.
The first three seasons are beyond reproach, though."
— jasonlefler
NBC / Courtesy: Everett Collection

14. Dexter

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0QqBhI_0tuNcGs900 — "Popular opinion agrees that it just got terrible at the end, but it had already faded after Season 4."
— ruchav
Showtime / Via Hulu

15. And finally: True Blood

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1wsbM3_0tuNcGs900 — "The first few seasons were an absolute down-and-dirty blast. I loved everything from the casting to the plot to the amazing world-building.
Then when showrunner Alan Ball left , it went off a fucking cliff. Fast! Culminated in one of the worst serious finales of all time."
— tendtomebollocks
HBO / Via Max

Which other TV shows do you think were ruined by becoming too popular? Why? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Note: Some responses have been edited for length/clarity.

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"When The Shippers Won, Everybody Lost": 15 TV Shows That Were Ruined When They Became Too Popular

Recently, I asked the BuzzFeed Community which TV shows they think were ruined once they became too popular.

Here are 15 of their top responses:

1. Grey’s Anatomy

2. Stranger Things

3. The X-Files

4. Scandal

5. Gossip Girl

6. Game of Thrones

7. Orange Is the New Black

8. The Umbrella Academy

9. Riverdale

10. Lost

11. Pretty Little Liars

12. MA*SH

13. Law & Order: Criminal Intent

14. Dexter

15. And finally: True Blood

Which other TV shows do you think were ruined by becoming too popular? Why? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Comments / 0

"When The Shippers Won, Everybody Lost": 15 TV Shows That Were Ruined When They Became Too Popular

Recently, I asked the BuzzFeed Community which TV shows they think were ruined once they became too popular.

Here are 15 of their top responses:

1. Grey’s Anatomy

2. Stranger Things

3. The X-Files

4. Scandal

5. Gossip Girl

6. Game of Thrones

7. Orange Is the New Black

8. The Umbrella Academy

9. Riverdale

10. Lost

11. Pretty Little Liars

12. M*A*S*H

13. Law & Order: Criminal Intent

14. Dexter

15. And finally: True Blood

Which other TV shows do you think were ruined by becoming too popular? Why? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Comments / 0

12. MA*SH