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From groundbreaking beginnings to disappointing declines! Join us as we count down our picks for TV shows that started strong but lost their way. Once must-watch television, these series have fallen victim to creative burnout, cast changes, or simply overstaying their welcome despite their earlier brilliance.
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00:00We're together. Pieces of a hole that just keep going for what we gave each other.
00:06One unstoppable life.
00:09Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for ongoing TV shows and franchises
00:16that are most notably receiving mixed to negative reviews after a strong early run.
00:21I've been coming here for a few years, and it's the same pathetic share every single time.
00:25I know, it's like I get it, your life sucks, but maybe that's because you suck.
00:30Number 10, The Morning Show.
00:33What happened?
00:35I told Claire not to go on TMS.
00:37You gave up your source to the feds.
00:41Apple TV Plus scored an early hit by turning breakfast TV fluff into an epic newsroom thriller.
00:46The Morning Show balanced complex, often tragic character arcs with nuanced explorations of
00:51America's business and gender politics, media interest, and social climate going into the 2020s.
00:56But it wasn't just the production that was impacted by COVID-19.
01:00From there, the show tackled the headlines of a paranoid, politically charged era in a
01:05way that feels more sensationalistic and dated.
01:08You know you don't have to do this, right?
01:09I know, but it's like you said.
01:14Maybe I don't have to fight every battle.
01:16Some say this betrays the initial premise.
01:19Certainly, the melodrama of a muddled, distractingly star-studded ensemble has gotten over the top.
01:24Despite The Morning Show's consistently strong production values and acting, many critics feel
01:29the storytelling is no longer worth covering.
01:31She was supposed to check in with me every three hours.
01:33It's been six.
01:35I called my contact at the IMF.
01:37They think she's being detained.
01:39What?
01:40Number nine, Gangs of London.
01:42He was paid to crash into your wife.
01:46It was a targeted kill.
01:49That's the story on the street.
01:51Sky Atlantic's adaptation of the video game, Gangs of London, never compromised on a moral
01:56characterization or grisly violence to expose the dark side of the British melting pot.
02:00Any stumble in logic was made up for with slick style and spectacular action led by The
02:06Raid director Gareth Evans.
02:07You must be Barclay's idiot nephew.
02:12All right.
02:14Line up.
02:15Look, we're really sorry.
02:17It's all there.
02:17Just take it.
02:18But after Corn Hardy took over as showrunner, only the style and action measured up to that
02:23explosive first series.
02:24Even then, the show has arguably trivialized the violence for its own sake.
02:29Behind the aggressively self-serious aesthetic is a convoluted, monotonous narrative that
02:34depends on characters' shaky motives and moral hierarchy.
02:36I don't take orders from you.
02:38You have no idea what you've done.
02:41This one here killed my daughter.
02:44Gangs of London still delivers the thrills, but it's now punching above its weight class as
02:49far as meaning anything.
02:51Number eight, Tulsa King.
02:53You're going to draw me a detailed map of the house.
02:55You're living in every room, every corner, every exit, every entrance, every inch.
03:00From prolific writer-director Taylor Sheridan came action icon Sylvester Stallone's comeback
03:06to Prestige, a New York mobster's own comeback to through-Oklahoma-thrilled audiences with its
03:11colorful wit and cast.
03:13Under co-showrunner Terrence Winter, Paramount Plus' Tulsa King particularly excelled in balancing
03:18self-awareness with morally ambiguous crime drama.
03:21I don't know what you're talking about.
03:23You want me to reach out to the big guy?
03:24I'm talking to you, Goody.
03:26Okay.
03:27But I don't know anything about your daughter if that's what this is about.
03:32Unfortunately, creative conflicts bumped the mastermind behind Boardwalk Empire down to
03:36head writer for season two, then off season three entirely.
03:40Along the way, the show has steadily become more archaic in its genre tropes.
03:44If nothing else, the exaggerated characters, comedy, and outlaw justice don't offer much
03:49payoff to the long-winded storytelling.
03:52Why don't I just go down at the front desk and ask you?
03:54Yeah, why don't we just leave a dead body?
03:56They ID you and you get your case.
03:58Right.
03:59This is not your thing, is it?
04:00No, it's not.
04:01Hopes are high as Winter prepares to return to Tulsa King, but it appears that the mighty
04:05has fallen.
04:077.
04:07Yellowjackets
04:08Are you in my drink?
04:12Or am I in one of yours?
04:14There's only one dream.
04:16There was a lot to sink your teeth into with the first season of Showtime's Yellowjackets.
04:20A group of teens surviving the wilderness and how that affects them decades later consistently
04:25served up tension, twist, and bold themes on trauma.
04:29But after a nuanced debut, season two was accused of getting lost in the woods.
04:33Season three was downright campy in its clunky logic and pacing.
04:37It certainly doesn't suggest that I killed her if that's what you're implying.
04:41You're right.
04:42Implications are for the timid.
04:43Thaisa, did you murder Lottie?
04:46Why would I?
04:47Even more frustrating was the manipulative, anticlimactic fate of several characters.
04:53To go so hard on dual melodrama and mind-bending mysteries, Yellowjackets has fallen into soapy
04:58storytelling sensibilities.
05:00It can't be a coincidence that after so many production delays, a narrative that was originally
05:04planned for five seasons, is set to end on the fourth.
05:07Living on the edge of the road.
05:09Living on the edge of the road.
05:10Come on.
05:12Living on the edge of the road.
05:14Come on.
05:15Number six, The Power Universe.
05:17I came to visit my daughter.
05:18Tell her about my future.
05:20Lieutenant Governor St. Patrick.
05:25The intense crime drama Power was such a top earner for Starz that expansion was a natural
05:31move.
05:32Granted, many fans felt betrayed by the disjointed conclusion to six seasons of building James
05:37St. Patrick's empire in downfall.
05:3950 Cent and company were clearly eager to set up the spinoffs.
05:42So, what's the excuse for the quality of the shows themselves?
05:46Opinions on Ghost, Raising Kanan, and Force vary considerably.
05:50But most agree that they lack the depth of the original.
05:52Any idea who it was?
05:54Who?
05:55The snitch that ratted us out?
05:56Oh, absolutely.
05:57Who was it?
05:58You don't know?
05:59If I knew they'd be dead already.
06:01The storytelling is still no less dense for the pacing to feel even more hurried.
06:05The Power Universe's parody of the OG's Cool Factor may be commercially effective, but
06:11the epilogue may be even more stained than the initial ending.
06:14Tell me more about this school.
06:16So, this is a mission statement.
06:21They have different programs.
06:23Number five, NCIS Franchise.
06:25She took them out to cover her tracks.
06:27Those guys with the guns.
06:28Russian hitmen.
06:30Walsh hired them as an insurance policy.
06:32Originally a spinoff of JAG, NCIS has distinguished itself as one of CBS's leading franchises.
06:39On top of impressive ratings, the Naval Police Procedural was praised throughout the 2000s for
06:44its dynamic cases and character arcs.
06:46This led up to six spinoffs with different settings, but not particularly different sensibilities.
06:51The gimmicky stories and inconsistent writing lost the brand's early sense of consequence.
06:55Slipped some cyanide in your coffee before the waitress gave it to you.
06:59Enough to kill you.
07:01I mean, not immediately, but within the hour.
07:05Meanwhile, NCIS Prime has been in a creative rut since entering the double digits and writing
07:10off a number of key characters.
07:12It's hard not to admire the show's longevity and number of offshoots.
07:15With no signs of slowing down, unfortunately, audiences feel that the case has long been
07:21closed on serious television.
07:39It seemed that Netflix's trend of teen dramas had found gold with Outer Banks.
07:44That just made its decline all the more sharp.
07:47The Pogues' treasure hunt was initially distinguished by elevated production values and class themes,
07:52though some were disappointed by the first season's contrived finale.
07:55So where in the hell was y'all trying to go?
08:00Could you just drop us off at the next port?
08:03It doesn't matter where.
08:05After that, the adventure got too outlandish to sustain the organic pathos
08:09that made it so promising at first.
08:11The increasingly cheesy writing and jarring character shifts don't help.
08:15You're alive.
08:16Yeah.
08:17You're alive.
08:24I was drowning.
08:26Changing saved my life.
08:28By season three, it was as if viewers were watching an entirely different show.
08:32Now, even those who embrace Outer Banks as campy escapism
08:36are anticipating misfortune for the fifth and final season.
08:39Number three, American Horror Story.
08:41You're a monster.
08:43Oh, no, babe.
08:46I'm so much worse.
08:48The ambition of the FX anthology American Horror Story was initially exceeded by its success.
08:53Each season pushed the dimensions of genre storytelling and the range of actors in various
08:58roles, earning accolades along with a massive fan base.
09:01The acting standards have largely held up, but Jessica Lange's departure after four seasons
09:06marked the end of an era.
09:08AHS became more involved in dragging out pulp horror concepts with less convincing character drama.
09:16Find our sisters.
09:17Some fans even said that season eight's attempt at a crossover lived up to the subtitle apocalypse.
09:22The occasional acclaimed installment suggests that the quality has become more inconsistent than
09:27anything.
09:28Compared to earlier runs, though, it's now closer to trash TV than peak TV.
09:32Oh, sweetie.
09:34I'm obsessed with my song.
09:36Just get away from me.
09:38I never will.
09:41We're blood bound.
09:42Number two, Grey's Anatomy.
09:44I want a direct line to that OR.
09:45I need to know if my doctors are okay.
09:48Meredith, you don't have to stay.
09:49That's my family in there.
09:51ABC cut deeper than most contemporary medical dramas when Grey's Anatomy debuted in 2005.
09:57The show's impact on the genre and pop culture was immediate thanks to its character-driven,
10:02often gusty storytelling.
10:03It wasn't long before critics began to turn on the show's melodrama and unreliable changes in cast.
10:09You are a gifted surgeon with an extraordinary mind.
10:13Don't let what he wants eclipse what you need.
10:16He's very dreamy, but he is not the son.
10:21You are.
10:21The shift began to get drastic as Shonda Rhimes brought in co-showrunners before stepping down
10:26entirely.
10:27Two decades later, Grey's Anatomy has managed to become one of the longest-running dramas on the air
10:32by resting on tropes and toying with emotional investment in the ensemble.
10:36The show obviously still has its fair share of fans, but
10:39it just might represent the anatomy of a show's downfall over time.
10:43I think it's because we're suddenly faced with the fear
10:48of not knowing what's next.
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11:11Number one, The Walking Dead franchise.
11:13We need more than just save ourselves.
11:15We need to.
11:18I'm in.
11:18I'm with you.
11:19I got you.
11:19I'm in.
11:19Me too.
11:20Let's finish this.
11:21Let's do it.
11:21Yeah, I'm with you.
11:23Lead the way, brother.
11:23AMC's adaptation of the comic series The Walking Dead lived up to the awesome initial hype.
11:29The aftermath of a zombie apocalypse was driven by slow burn suspense, profound world building,
11:34and uncompromising drama that earned some of the highest ratings on TV.
11:38Fatigue was just setting in by the time the spinoff Fear of The Walking Dead premiered in 2015.
11:43The key is not one size fits all.
11:44We'll die in here.
11:46My friend, you're more likely to die out there.
11:48You're not going to help them?
11:49We're not going to help them.
11:50Why?
11:50Because helping them could hurt us.
11:52The original show ultimately ran for 11 seasons, having long endured growing criticism for monotonous,
11:58plotting, and contrived characters.
12:00Fear was even more maligned by the time it ended its 8-season run, and yet,
12:04AMC continues the green light spinoffs of dwindling creative and escalating gimmicks.
12:09Though the fans keep lumbering back, there's little hype left for this TV franchise that refuses to die.
12:15What are some other shows that you've become disheartened with?
12:31Give your review in the comments down below, and don't forget to like and subscribe for more WatchMojo videos.
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