8 Once Great TV Shows That Lasted Too Long

8) The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory is arguably the biggest comedy hit of the last ten years, as the sitcom about a bunch of science geeks has gained worldwide popularity. It was also a reliably funny show, with the obvious highlight being Jim Parson’s great performance as the hilariously anti-social Sheldon. However, in recent seasons the show has really lost its groove.

While it was in many ways a good idea to increase the female cast beyond only Penny, pairing all of the characters off took away from the original hook of the series. In particular, the Sheldon and Amy romance is often a lot of fun but it ‘s dampened what made Sheldon such a terrific comedy character to start with. Now coming to its tenth season, TBBT has little to do but recycle the same jokes and endlessly break up and reunite its various couples until it’s given the chop.

7) Heroes

Ordinarily, four seasons would be a solid length for a show to reach without running itself into the ground. Unfortunately, Heroes is an exception as it burnt itself out after just one season.

In short, season one was a terrific piece of fairly grounded superhero drama with a well-told epic storyline that unfolded across the 23-episode run. Its tagline ‘save the cheerleader, save the world’ entered into pop-culture and it gave us great characters like Zachary Quinto’s villainous Sylar.

After that, the show totally failed to live up to the hype the first season generated and instantly stumbled, never to get back up again. Overly elaborate plotlines and ridiculous twists came thick and fast, to the extent that even its most ardent fans had deserted it by the end of its fourth season.

The spinoff, Heroes Reborn turned out to be even more forgettable and, just as Heroes should have done, finished after just one season.