21 TV Shows That Were Honestly Perfect At The Beginning But Then Became A Total Dumpster Fire Mess

    "Season 2 sucked eggs. It deserved its cancelation."

    Lauren Garafano
    by Lauren Garafano

    BuzzFeed Staff

    This post contains spoilers!

    A little while ago, we asked the BuzzFeed Community which TV shows had first seasons that are so perfect, they should've just been a standalone series. Y'all had SO much to say that we need to make a whole new list.

    So here are 23 more TV shows that had *perfect* first seasons, but then totally went off the rails:

    1. Derry Girls

    Screenshot from "Derry Girls"
    Aidan Monaghan / ©Channel Four/Courtesy Everett Collectio / Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 3

    "The last season was unwatchable. The overacting was painful. And the storylines just embarrassingly bad. The first season was brilliant, and the second pretty good."

    —kathrynf44deb4c8c

    2. Scandal

    Screenshot from "Scandal"
    Abc / ©ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 7

    "Maybe not just the first season, but the first two seasons of Scandal were perfection. It has its moments later on, but the storyline just gets more and more convoluted and hard to follow as time went on."

    —emilyw40fde2960

    3. The Flight Attendant

    Screenshot from "The Flight Attendant"
    Courtesy HBO

    Actual number of seasons: 2

    "What the fuck was going on in that studio?! 😂 Season 2 was like an entirely different show, of a different genre, in another universe, LOL."

    —w1tchqueen

    4. Supernatural

    Two actors portraying Sam and Dean Winchester sitting in a car, looking intently in the same direction
    Warner Bros / ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 15

    "I am a die-hard, true blue SPN fan, but that show would’ve ended perfectly and gorgeously after Season 5 (the finale episode of that season, 'Swan Song' is in itself a masterpiece). The show still had many memorable moments in the (10!!!!) seasons that followed, but in the middle years of the show, there are some real stinkers."

    —jenm47faa724d

    5. Bloodline

    Screenshot from "Bloodline"
    Netflix / ©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 3

    "They scrambled to tie up loose ends because Season 3 was announced to be its last. But the show started brilliantly!"

    —sonyacater

    6. Killing Eve

    Screenshot from "Killing Eve"
    Bbc America / ©BBC America/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 4

    "The first season was absolutely fantastic. Season 2 was still good, Season 3 really went downhill, and the fourth was a dumpster fire. None of them matched the first season, IMO."

    —rosybanana

    "Killing Eve was never the same after Phoebe Waller-Bridge left as showrunner. A lot of Season 1's brilliance can be credited to her, and after that it just started decreasing in quality. And don't even get me started on the utter sham that was the series finale...😒"

    —ravenbard

    7. Cuckoo

    Screenshot from "Cuckoo"
    Netflix

    Actual number of seasons: 5

    "On the first episode of Season 2, we learn that they killed off the main male character (played by Andy Sandberg), and recast the main female character. It feels like a completely different show, and not a better one!"

    —idreamtofpierogis

    8. Black Summer

    Screenshot from "Black Summer"
    Courtesy Of Netflix / ©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 2

    "I was so hooked by the first season, but the second was unwatchable [and] boring to me."

    —shannonmiz

    9. 13 Reasons Why

    Screenshot from "13 Reasons Why"
    Netflix / ©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 4

    "The first season was raw and emotional. The rest were messy and awful."

    —strcar

    "I liked the concept of season 2 (someone’s side of the story is not always the full story), but the actual execution didn’t work."

    —grumpasaurusbex

    10. Upload

    Screenshot from "Upload"
    Prime Video / Everett

    Actual number of seasons: 3, with a fourth and final one on the way

    "Wtf was that second season?"

    —jammih

    11. True Blood

    Screenshot from "True Blood"
    Courtesy HBO

    Actual number of seasons: 7

    "True Blood had an AMAZING first season, and it got increasingly bad with each subsequent season. There was no concise plan for the direction of the show, and it was obvious. Series creator Alan Ball even thanked the viewers for not ditching the show at the end of the third season, it was so bad."

    —aheartthatbends

    12. Dark Angel

    Screenshot from "Dark Angel"
    Greg Corp / TM and Copyright ©20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 2

    "Season 1 was awesome. Season 2 sucked eggs. It deserved its cancelation."

    —jonih48356a9d6

    13. The Following

    Kevin Bacon in a suit with badge, portraying an FBI agent in a film, with monitors displaying faces in the background
    20thcentfox / ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 3

    "The first season was a little far-fetched, but still amazing. The other two seasons just couldn’t compete."

    —grumpasaurusbex

    14. The Umbrella Academy

    Screenshot from "The Umbrella Academy"
    Courtesy Of Netflix / ©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 3, with a fourth and final one on the way

    "Season 2 and onwards just felt repetitive and boring."

    —knoosh

    15. Twin Peaks

    Screenshot from "Twin Peaks"
    ABC /Courtesy Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 3

    "The ultimate in terms of going off the rails between Seasons 1 and 2 is Twin Peaks."

    —psycwench

    16. Revenge

    Screenshot from "Revenge"
    Abc / ©ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 4

    "The first season was perfection, and then it got confusing and ridiculous."

    —kitkat0317

    17. Sleepy Hollow

    Screenshot from "Sleepy Hollow"
    20thcentfox / ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 4

    "I loved that show, but Season 1 was the best, and all the others paled in comparison. Sometimes, shows should be short in episode count and end when they're still good."

    —colleens10

    18. The 100

    Group of characters from a TV show in a tense discussion in a forest setting
    Cw Network / ©CW Network/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 7

    "Seasons 1 and 2 were good…then it just plummeted in quality every season until the end."

    —macey1997

    19. How to Get Away with Murder

    Viola Davis in a scene, holding an award, with a crowd in the background
    Abc / ©ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 6

    "Season 1 was spectacular, and it should have been left at that."

    —mellowsquid

    20. Glee

    Two characters from Glee, Rachel in a striped top and Santana in a cheerleader outfit, stand facing each other with serious expressions
    20thcentfox / ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 6 

    "I ended up skipping through most of the newbie storylines because they just felt like boring remakes of the OGs. I really only cared about the episodes where the old cast came back. Honestly, it should’ve ended after Season 3."

    —knoosh

    21. The Punisher

    Screenshot from "The Punisher"
    Jessica Miglio / ©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection

    Actual number of seasons: 2 

    "I found Season 1 to be an amazing portrayal of PTSD with a great villain. While I love watching Jon Bernthal play Frank no matter what, Season 2 just felt lacking. It felt more focused on action and making Frank a pseudo-father than any sort of nuance."

    —kelseyn40564cf1c

    Responses have been edited for length/clarity.

    Did your favorite (or least favorite) make the list? Let us know in the comments!