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From beginning to end - two totally different shows!
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00:00The TV game is a hard one to break. Myriad shows are chucked against the wall every season,
00:05and it's almost impossible to predict what will stick. Many a long-running program has started
00:10out providing one kind of content, and ended up doing something totally different. With that in
00:15mind, I'm Adam from WhatCulture, and here are 10 TV shows that change dramatically.
00:20Number 10. New Girl
00:21In 2011, Fox felt absolutely certain that the sheer force of Zooey Deschanel would be enough
00:27to sell a sitcom. Every advert and poster for New Girl featured Deschanel as Jess,
00:32the titular character, front and center, with her co-stars way out in the background if pictured
00:37at all. She was, we were promised, adorkable. And to be fair, Deschanel was a great fit for TV.
00:43Then at the peak of her powers, her public persona worked perfectly in 20-minute chunks.
00:48This simple premise saw her quirky school teacher character move into an apartment with a disparate
00:53bunch of boys, wearing hijinks couldn't help but ensue. Quickly though, the writers realized
00:57that there was life in this project beyond Zooey Deschanel, the show.
01:01As the rest of the cast, Jake Johnson, Lamorne Morris, Hannah Simone, and the exceptional Max
01:06Greenfield, found their feet in the supporting roles, the show was reshaped around the ensemble.
01:11It transformed from a star vehicle to the era's best hangout show.
01:15So distinct was this transformation that Jess could be written off the show for a spell
01:19while Deschanel gave birth. Smart writing and great cast chemistry turned what could have been
01:24a flash in the pan into one of the great modern network comedies.
01:28Number 9. The Leftovers
01:30This masterful drama created by Damon Lindelof and Tom Parada, on whose novel it's based,
01:35is by design in a constant state of flux. We're dropped into a terrifying reality in which
01:402% of the world's population has disappeared without trace or explanation. And from there,
01:46we follow an evolving cast of characters as they make sense of the new reality and hope to rebuild.
01:51Most obviously, each season takes place primarily or entirely in a different location.
01:56For the first run, we're in a small town in New York State, where our series-long protagonists,
02:01Kevin and Nora, find each other among a landscape of religious fundamentalism, nihilism, and grief.
02:07After this, we decamp first to Miracle Texas, a town unblighted by the rapture-like event,
02:12and later, Australia. Beyond this though, the tone and genre shift perceivably, sliding from
02:17psychological drama into something akin to sci-fi. The series remains rooted in realism
02:22commendably throughout. As time passes, we see the departure fade into the background.
02:27Life, as it must, goes on for those who remain.
02:30Number 8. Peep Show
02:32Jesse Armstrong and Sam Baines' sitcom will rightfully be remembered as one of the 21st century's best.
02:38But uncommonly for a British comedy, it didn't half-outstate its welcome. For long-term fans of
02:43the show, watching the dying days of Mark and Jeremy was like watching an entirely different
02:47programme. At the outset, Peep Show was as well observed as British comedy had been in years.
02:52Everybody is a Mark or a Jez, two diametrically opposed characters who were nonetheless equally
02:58dysfunctional. From romantic failures to thwarted careers, delusions of grandeur, and unreliable
03:03mates, Peep Show was a painful laugh precisely because so much of the content was recognisable.
03:08Somewhere along the way though, it turned into a cartoon. While that's hardly uncommon for long,
03:13running comedies, it's rare to see a show once so grounded go so totally wild. Low-key
03:18disappointments were replaced by snakes, electric fences, and decisions no human would ever make.
03:24The show never forgot how to tell a joke, but the limping form of Peep Show's final days
03:28is something of a blight on a show that could have been perfect had it ended earlier.
03:32Number 7. Entourage
03:34For the first few seasons of HBO's Entourage, we were presented with a satire of the vacuity
03:39and banality of modern Hollywood. We followed burgeoning actor Vincent Chase and his co-tail-riding
03:44friends as they enjoyed life in the lap of luxury without much in the way of discernible
03:48talent. For the remainder of its run, Vince and the boys got everything they could imagine,
03:53be that wealth, material goods, beautiful women, or inexplicable career success, again
03:58without a discernible talent between them. Each season was more pointless than the last,
04:03setting up conflicts that would overcome an episode later or some of the most ludicrous
04:07deus ex machinas in TV history. While the show initially poked fun at these greedy,
04:11amoral characters, by the end it was clear the writers thought they were to be celebrated.
04:16The incessant product placement, meaningless celebrity cameos, and casual hate speech entirely
04:21replaced the compelling stories of the first three seasons. The movie, in which it transpires
04:25Vince is also a great director as well as the world's greatest actor, is the cherry on top of the sundae.
04:32Number 6. Parks and Recreation
04:34This Amy Poehler-led sitcom went through several iterations in its seven-season tenure.
04:39When it started off, it was quickly dismissed as another office imitator, not least because of
04:44its mock-doc style and the personnel involved on both sides of the camera. It quickly switched
04:49its tone into something akin to a live-action Simpsons, much for the better. The town of Pawnee felt
04:54incredibly well-realized, and while they maintained the talking head format, creator Michael Schur was
05:00less strict with the folks' reality format. As the show became more satirical of modern politics,
05:05it changed again, with seasons three to five carefully plotted, perhaps hitting its peak
05:09with Paula's Leslie Knope running for city council in a massively compelling run of episodes.
05:15In its endgame though, it pioneered a bizarre trend of modern comedy, and became a show about how
05:20important it is to be nice to one another. Gone were the well-crafted relationships and dramatic
05:24tension. Gone were the jokes, for the most part. Unfortunately, Parks and Recreation limped over
05:29the line, and was indirectly responsible for the likes of Ted Lasso.
05:33Number 5. Moral Oral
05:35This criminally underrated adult swim stop-motion series from Dean Ostamatopoulos,
05:40Community Starburns, was a bold proposition from the off. Spoofing American sitcoms and religious
05:45kids' programming, it was an acidic take on small-town fundamentalism. The gist of the early show saw our
05:51titular character get into scrapes through far too literal interpretation of Christian messages.
05:56For the ensuing havoc, he'd then be punished severely by his father, Clay, one of the most
06:01hauntingly well-realized stop-motion characters ever depicted. The episonic nature of the first two
06:06seasons was turned on its head for the final full-length run. Season three is one long arc,
06:11delving into incredible darkness, as Stamatopoulos and his co-writers shift focus primarily to Clay,
06:17his past, and what made him the abusive, hate-filled figure we've followed and laughed at thus far.
06:23It's easily the show's finest season. The writing is immaculate, maintaining moral aurels
06:28often shocking comedy while presenting a character study as well as a note of genuine earned hope
06:34that the majority of live-action shows could only hope to achieve.
06:38Number 4. Orange is the New Black
06:40One of Netflix's earliest hits, Orange is the New Black is a show whose lofty aims only grow as it
06:46goes on. Set in a women's prison, by design, viewers are introduced quickly to a large cast
06:51of inmates and guards. The entry point, though, is Piper Chapman, who sticks out like a sore thumb
06:56in her capacity as an unworldly wasp convicted of a historic one-off offense.
07:01As the show goes on, though, the writers smartly realize that Piper is by no means the most
07:05interesting character they have at their disposal. Indeed, Orange is the New Black is commendable
07:10for the diversity of its cast, and through flashbacks, we're introduced to women from all walks of life.
07:16With Piper's story pushed to a supporting role, it allows showrunner Jenji Cohen to examine
07:20topics like the education system, immigration, mental health, and the cycle of poverty.
07:25The show isn't always the most subtle, but its ability to reshape and refocus allows it
07:30to examine important issues on a major platform. While Piper remains the de facto lead, by its
07:35conclusion the show is a true ensemble piece, and arguably has its finest moments in the last
07:40couple of seasons.
07:413. Line of Duty
07:43What a difference a budget makes! The first three seasons of Line of Duty were made from
07:48the standard British drama purse, that is to say, savings were made possible. The cast was kept small,
07:54AC12's internal affair coppers, their subject, and a few baddies. Plots were sharp, plenty of moving
08:00pieces, but action, location, and set pieces were at a premium. Once the broadcaster realized they had a
08:06genuine sensation on their hands though, things changed sharpish. From a small team of straight
08:11arrow police investigating a few bad apples, Line of Duty's plots became labyrinthine, involving vast
08:16conspiracies, gunplay, code names, and a lot of scenes involving baddies piling into or out of Black
08:22Land Rovers. It's a matter of taste which you prefer, but as the show and the budget took off,
08:27it's noticeable that the stories became a whole lot wackier, the stuff of action movies rather than the
08:32stuff of real newspaper headlines. The final left a lot of fans disappointed, but the mundanity of the
08:38ending was almost the point. Crime often isn't exciting or glossy. After three seasons of daftness
08:44though, that's not what the viewers were conditioned to expect.
08:482. Atlanta
08:49FX's Extraordinary Atlanta is an example of what can happen when a network puts total faith in a creator.
08:56When the show began in 2016, star and writer Donald Glover was already somewhat of a hot commodity.
09:01Around this time, he blew up to a significant degree thanks to his renaissance man, prolificacy.
09:06Luckily for fans, the network was smart enough to leave well enough alone. Atlanta's elevator pitch
09:12and the focus of its first season is simple enough. Glover plays Earn, a smart but often
09:17unlucky man attempting to break his cousin, a rapper on the rise by the name of paperboy.
09:22The show is a character piece, a slice of life in the titular city as well as a satire of the music
09:28game, one Glover knows well in his childish Gambino guise. There were surreal moments from the off,
09:34but once Glover is let off the leash, things go really wild. As in when he wishes, Atlanta goes
09:39off on location, set episodes in a haunted house, with Glover playing Teddy Perkins, one of TV's
09:45wildest one-off characters, or excuse the main cast altogether. TV is hardly an auteur's medium,
09:51but Atlanta more than almost any show has a defining vision throughout, even when it shifts its style,
09:57personnel and continent from episode to episode.
10:001. Breaking Bad Watching Walter White laugh
10:03manically wedged under his floorboards, or inadvertently cause the death of his brother-in-law,
10:08or barely flinch as a child is murdered, and it can be easy to forget that Breaking Bad was,
10:13at one time, a black comedy. One of TV's great premises, Breaking Bad sees a meek teacher decide
10:19to make a fortune from crystal meth after being diagnosed with cancer. The measured pacing of season
10:241 gave us plenty of time to watch Walter Blundell through the drugs game, enjoy a culture clash
10:29with former student Jesse Pinkman, and gradually assert himself in a world that has often made him
10:34the butt of the joke. It doesn't take too long for things to take an incredibly dark turn though.
10:39Creator Vince Gilligan's intention was to show us a good man turned evil, how logically that might play
10:45out, and as Walter embraces villainy, the laughs certainly dry up. The show embraces a lot of genres,
10:52western, gangster, thriller, but the most shocking transformation is its tone. In comparison to the
10:57weighty themes and plots examined in its last days, the first season is a downright knockabout.
11:03But what did you think of our list there? Please do let us know about our entries,
11:07and also let us know which TV show do you think changed the most for better or for worse.
11:12If you want to follow me on socials, I am at strong87 on Instagram and on Twitter,
11:17come and chat to me on there if you like.
11:19Thank you for watching everybody, I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, and until next time, take care.
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