8 Once Great TV Shows That Lasted Too Long

Few TV shows can keep up the quality over an extended runtime. While they might start at the top of their game, a few seasons later the bar starts to drop and before you know it your favourite series has become a shadow of its once great self.

A famous example is Happy Days, from which the phrase ‘jump the shark’ originates. By its fifth season, the show had grown so outlandish that the Fonz comically jumped over a shark while skiing. Since then, the term has come to signify a moment where a TV show took an irreparable turn for the worse.

But what other series that were once great eventually just became grating? From Smallville to The Simpsons, read on for 8 TV series that sadly didn’t think to quit while they were still ahead.