Top 10 Horrible Shows That Kept Getting Renewed

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most flawed shows that kept decreasing in quality the longer they lasted. Some of these series may have started off good, but their fall from grace following their forced renewals was real. Some spoilers to come!

#10: “Pretty Little Liars” (2010-17)

This teen drama had a mixed reception from its premiere in 2010. But it wasn’t without its genuine thrills. Five friends, Hanna, Aria, Spencer, and Emily, reunite after the disappearance of their clique leader, Alison. Soon they begin to receive threatening missives from a mysterious “A” who seems to know their secrets. But after “A”’s reveal, the series continued to come up with new antagonists working under the name, each more unhinged than the last. Season Five sees the Liars on their way to prison (don’t ask), only to awaken in a dollhouse lair, having been kidnapped by “A.” Oh, and Alison is alive, somehow. This scarlet letter shouldn’t have reached the seventh season.

#9: “Prison Break” (2005-17)
An audience and critic darling, this prison drama could have used a break. “Prison Break” follows Michael Scofield’s plan to rescue his brother Lincoln from execution. To do this, he deliberately commits a crime and uses tattoos of the penitentiary’s blueprints to plot the escape. Past its bonkers premise, “Prison Break” was taut and riveting… initially. But from the polarizing third and fourth seasons, things went downhill. The show began to focus more on government conspiracy drama, specifically an organization lazily named “The Company”. From then on, the plot became convoluted and ludicrous, with clichés like a shadowy cabal, family working for the bad guys, and characters returning from the dead. Not so much jumping the shark as jumping The Company.

#8: “Riverdale” (2017-23)

How can we ever forget about the highs and lows of high school football? It’s now hard to believe that this bonkers teen drama based on the “Archie” comics was ever normal. Self-aware, fun, and campy, “Riverdale” injected a murder mystery into the conventional drama of the Archie-Betty-Veronica love triangle. Soon, though, it delved into absurd storytelling that was less fun than just simply tiresome. For just a small taste of the show’s storylines, there are evil nuns, a wizard, Betty’s father being revealed as a serial killer, Season 6 taking place in an alternative reality, and Season 7 being set in 1955. In case you haven’t noticed, this show’s weird.

#7: “Homeland” (2011-20)

From tense counterterrorist espionage to government soap opera propaganda is a long fall. “Homeland” was once a critical darling, following U.S. Marine-turned-Islamic extremist Nicholas Brody and CIA officer Carrie Mathison, determined to bring him to justice. But its thrills and great performances could not withstand the increasing lack of reality in the plot. As controversial as the illogic and melodrama were in Season 3, after Brody was killed-off, the plot struggled to find direction for five more seasons. The show has also been accused of misrepresentation and stereotypes of its Muslim characters, with the Lebanese government nearly suing the show over its portrayal of Beirut. The show’s contrived plot and politics proved to be its own undoing.

#6: “Suits” (2011-19)

There is nothing like a suit. So why not several? This show set in a corporate law firm follows successful attorney Harvey Spenser and his associate Mike Ross, a college dropout with a photographic memory. However, it is a husk of a show after the departure of Patrick J. Adams as Spenser, as well as Meghan Markle as Rachael Zane, and Gina Torres as Jessica Pearson. The replacement leads just didn't have the same personality. Pearson’s spin-off show was also short-lived. Hitting Netflix in 2023, “Suits” experienced a resurgence in popularity, with more spin-offs and remakes in the works. Still, there are few shows that can withstand the departure of its leads, and this wasn’t one of them.

#5: “Westworld” (2016-22)

Based on the 1973 film of the same name, “Westworld” is a dystopian sci-fi series set in a Wild West amusement park. When the park’s abused android “hosts” gain sentience, it triggers an android revolution, as bloody as it sounds. The first season was a critical and audience darling, with praise towards its worldbuilding and prescient themes. But “Westworld”’s increasingly convoluted storylines, including introducing cloning and virtual reality, proved a struggle to keep up with. Abandoning the park was also a bad decision. In the end, we get diminishing returns on this otherwise fascinating premise.

#4: “Grey’s Anatomy” (2005-)

Someone should have driven a stake through this show years ago. This long-running medical drama is undoubtedly a pop culture juggernaut. But like too many juggernauts, it has outlived its welcome, still shuffling into the present. The problem lies in the show eschewing character development for increasingly wrought melodrama. And with many beloved characters leaving the show it is definitely a shadow of its former self. Most damnably, Ellen Pompeo as show protagonist Dr. Meredith Grey finally called it quits in the 19th season. With the departure of the original cast, there is little point in rooting for the current characters—or the show.

#3: “Glee” (2009-15)

No one will accuse “Glee” of ever being good, exactly. But the freshness of its premise of turning pop songs and musical theater standards into Glee club performances was undermined by its excesses. Criticism on the show’s stereotypical characters, melodramatic story arcs, and nonexistent character development has been rife. The show also plays fast and loose with its continuity, retconning the ages of its characters and even key aspects of their personalities. Rachel throws her long-standing dream of being on Broadway for shooting a pilot in L.A. The show’s transition from musical comedy to after school special-type of messaging was also dull as dishwater. We stopped believing in this series a long time ago.

#2: “Big Little Lies” (2017-)

Based on Liane Moriarty’s bestselling book, this critically-acclaimed show follows the families of first-graders and the murder that occurred at the school’s fundraiser. “Big Little Lies”’s first season was indeed twisty and gripping, ending with the five women tacitly covering up the manslaughter of Celeste’s abusive husband. But the network decided to expand this miniseries into its second season, which is where the cracks started to form. Even with the addition of Meryl Streep, Season 2 ultimately undoes the radical resolution of the first season, failing to justify its contrived continuation and new subplots. Despite the poor reviews, a third season raises mysteries about how far they can drag the story out.

#1: “13 Reasons Why” (2017-20)

Here’s another book-to-TV show adaptation that should never have gotten a second season. One of the most controversial teen shows in recent years, “13 Reasons Why” follows high schooler Clay Jensen, who along with twelve others received a tape from dead student Hannah Baker. These tapes are about why Hannah took her own life and whom she holds responsible. The show has been criticized for its portrayal of teen depression and self-harm. And extending the series past its first season was a wrong decision by all accounts. The subsequent three seasons are unnecessary drama-wise, besieged by poor writing and handling of sensitive topics. “13 Reasons Why” may be the biggest reason why networks should second-guess renewing a show.




What other shows do you feel should have been put out of your misery a long time ago? Let us know in the comments down below!