Top 10 WORST Final Seasons of Animated TV Shows

To say that the final season of this once universally praised series was divisive would be an understatement. While Season 8 got some positive reviews from critics, its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes doesn’t even crack double digits. Viewers were especially upset regarding the fate of Princess Allura, one of the show’s only women of color. Shiro and Curtis’ wedding might’ve marked a significant moment for LGBTQIA+ representation if the show had taken more time to flesh out their relationship. The pairing felt like an empty gesture after what happened to Adam the previous season - which showrunner Joaquim Dos Santos apologized for. The drop in quality doesn’t excuse the toxic backlash from various fans. That said, “Volton” just didn’t come together in the end.

“Star” is one of the most energetic shows that Disney has ever produced. While the series never lost that energy, it did lose focus going into its last season. Throughout its run, the show seemed to be building toward one thing, only to abandon certain storylines and characters in the end. Toffee’s presence, in particular, was missed for much of the season. While it’s satisfying seeing Star and Marco finally declare their true feelings, we should’ve gotten here much sooner. The showrunners could’ve learned a thing or two from “Kim Possible,” which used its final season to explore Kim and Ron as a couple. Where the Starco romance dragged on, the finale has the opposite problem with too many rushed elements packed into 23 minutes.

From the beginning, this animated reality show mash-up prided itself on bad taste. In the earlier seasons, though, the shock value was complemented by clever in-jokes and well-defined characters. By the time we got to the final season, virtually any wit went out the window in favor of forced dark humor and gross-out gags. This might be acceptable if the laughs delivered, but the creators seemed to get wrapped up in the mentality that if a joke is tasteless, it’s automatically funny… and if you disagree, then you’re just an easily-offended snowflake. A show can be funny and offensive, but we won’t tolerate laziness. Season 3 is so lazy that it leaves us on a clip show with many moments that aren’t worth reminiscing over.

Some say “The Flintstones” went downhill with Pebbles’ birth in Season 3. Others point to Bamm-Bamm’s arrival in Season 4. Even well into Season 5, though, the show was still producing strong episodes like “Dr. Sinister.” Yet, most agree that the series officially jumped the Brontosaurus in Season 6 with The Great Gazoo. Like Scrappy-Doo, we’re sure that Gazoo has his unapologetic fans. However, there’s no denying that his very presence undermines the show’s prehistoric premise and his grating voice doesn’t help. Gazoo aside, the final season included some of the show’s most bone-headed storylines like Fred turning into an ape. Despite Gazoo’s exit in the penultimate episode, we’re not confident that the show could’ve recovered had it gotten a seventh season.

Sugar, spice, everything nice, and a dash of Chemical X. These were the ingredients for an awesome cartoon, but “The Powerpuff Girls” lost an essential ingredient during its last seasons: creator Craig McCracken, who shifted attention to “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.” “Powerpuff Girls” was entrusted to the controversial Chris Savino, who couldn’t maintain the sharp timing that McCracken brought to the table. Following an underwhelming fifth season, the show officially lost its Mojo (and its Jojo) in a sluggish final season. With cringe-worthy episodes like “Sun Scream” and underwhelming villains like Pirate Crack McCraigen (get it?), the Powerpuffs were long past their prime. However, we will take the final season over any episode of the reboot… or that live-action show that never went anywhere.

When the OG “Ninja Turtles” series ended, audiences felt it had become too dark and brooding after starting on a lighthearted note. With the 2003 series, it was the other way around. Fans praised the first five seasons for capturing the gritty edge of the comics. With Season 6’s “Fast Forward” storyline, though, you could sense the censors urging the showrunners to tone it down. This was even more apparent in the final season, “Back to the Sewer.” The kid-friendly tone came with some jarring redesigns. The Turtles have pupils now? The stories fell flat as well with the Turtles having to fight another Shredder while April and Casey plan a wedding. At least the movie “Turtles Forever” ended this incarnation on a higher note.

“Dexter’s Lab” had two opportunities to go out in style: the Season 2 finale “Last But Not Beast” and the TV movie “Ego Trip.” While both brought a sense of finality, Cartoon Network decided to resurrect “Dexter” for two more seasons. Unfortunately, creator Genndy Tartakovsky was moving on to other projects and voice actress Christine Cavanaugh was on the verge of retirement. Chris Savino took over as the main creative force, which went over about as well as his “Powerpuff Girls” tenure. Not only did the show undergo an underwhelming visual overhaul, but the comedy became slower, weirder, and at times trollish. Tartakovsky might’ve returned for Season 4’s “Chicken Scratch,” which originally debuted theatrically, but even then, the show had become a chore to watch.

Season 3 of “Gargoyles,” aka “The Goliath Chronicles,” opens on a promising note. That’s because the premiere was scribed by creator Greg Weisman. After that, Weisman had little creative input. A shift from syndication to ABC came with stricter censorship, leading to Weisman’s falling out. The once dark, emotionally complex series was dumbed down with stories about Broadway going Hollywood while villains like Demona took a backseat. The animation was downgraded as well with the outsourced Nelvana taking over for Disney Television Animation. If you want a “Gargoyles” continuation with Weisman’s personal touch, we’d suggest checking out the comic series that started in 2006. That is, you can find/afford to collect them all. Seriously, Disney, we need a reprint!

You might’ve noticed a trend with several of these shows. Once the creator left, the series should’ve called it quits as well. “The Boondocks” may be the most obvious example. So much of this hilarious, provocative, and insightful show was grounded in Aaron McGruder’s biting commentary. With McGruder not returning for the fourth and ultimately final season, the show became a cheap imitation of itself with the commentary being sacrificed in favor of senseless shock humor. How bad was this final season? Based on the Emmy submission ballots, the crew apparently didn’t even enter it for Outstanding Animated Program consideration. There were talks of McGruder returning for a reboot, but with that project scrapped, we’ll have to settle for rewatching those first three seasons.

After the conception of Poof in Season 6 and the introduction of Sparky the Dog in Season 9, could this Nicktoon fall any further from grace? The worst was saved for last with Season 10 bringing in Chloe Carmichael, Timmy’s new neighbor who he must now share his fairies with. Just like the theme song’s updated lyrics, Chloe’s presence simply felt forced with Nickelodeon desperately attempting to milk what was left of this series. Almost a year after the Season 10 finale, Butch Hartman announced that he was leaving Nickelodeon. While the “Fairly Odd” franchise continued, Hartman’s exit essentially marked the end of the original series. We wish the show could’ve received a more ceremonious sendoff, but at this point, its cancellation was a relief.