As any veteran of the entertainment industry would likely say,just because something is popular at the time of its release does not necessarily mean that it’s good. On the film side, this is consistently seen when poorly reviewed installments in theTransformersandTwilightfranchises consistently do well at the box office. The same thing can be said for television, asmany of the greatest shows of all-timewere not necessarily hits when they were first released.
There are many reasons why a show may have aged poorly; sometimes the references are dated, new events can color the past in a different light, or the show can develop new installments thatdon’t share the same consistency of quality. It’s easier to judge a work of television objectively when some time has passed since its initial release. Here are ten modern television dramas that have aged poorly.
10‘The Offer’
Created by Michael Tolkin
The Offeraimed to tell the amazing true story of the creation of the 1972 classicThe Godfather, a film often cited as one of the best within the history of cinema. Unfortunately,The Offeris a rather shallow examination of the creative ingenuity ofThe Godfatherthat doesn’t really delve into the strangeness ofFrancis Ford Coppola’s creative process. Most of the show’srecreations of real people simply feel like caricatures.
It’s harder to get invested in a show about the making ofThe Godfatherwhen many of its original participants are still actively involved in the industry.Coppola recently unleashed his long-standing passion projectMegalopolisat the Cannes Film Festival to mixed reviews, andAl Pacinohas had a recent surge in popularity thanks to his acclaimed performances inThe IrishmanandOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood.
9‘Killing Eve’
Created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
The first season ofKilling Eveis easily one of the most compelling works of espionage fiction in recent memory. While the performances byJodie ComerandSandra Ohwere both stellar, it was the strong and clever writing byPhoebe Waller-Bridgethat made the show so consistently surprising. Unfortunately,Killing Evesuffered a severe decline in quality once Waller-Bridge exited the series after the end of its first season,leaving other showrunners to pick up where she left off.
Killing Evequickly stretched the lines of believability by focusing too much on the espionage mythology, and spending less time dedicated to the main characters and their unusual relationship.The show’s ending was particularly controversial, as its recitation of the “burying your gays” cliché felt very disrespectful to the LGBTQIA fanbase that had supported the show since its inception.
Killing Eve
8‘House of Cards’
Created by Beau Willimon
It’s impossible to talk aboutHouse of Cardswithout discussing Kevin Spacey, who starred as the protagonist Frank Underwood for the first five seasons before he was fired for allegations of sexual harassment. Even for those that can differentiate the art from the artist, it’s frankly uncomfortable to watch Spacey play a corrupt, abusive character who is entirely toxic.Removing Spacey may have been the best decision the show ever made, but the last season spent so much time trying to explain why he wasn’t there that it still couldn’t escape his legacy.
The real issue withHouse of Cardsis that real-life politics have become far more hectic and uncomfortable than anything that the show could have imagined.After four years of the administration of President Donald Trump, everything thatHouse of Cardspredicted about the dangers of political corruption felt rather tame in comparison.
House of Cards
Created by Jeffery Liber, J.J. Abrams, and Damon Lindelof
Lostwas one of the earliest “water cooler shows” that managed to generate a significant amount of discourse surrounding the plot twists and moments of character development. While this resulted in a fun and active fan community in earlier seasons,Losthad a season finale that failed to address many of the questions that viewers had from the beginning.The explanations made by showrunnerDamon Lindelofsimply felt cheap and unearned.
Lostis more difficult to watch now due tothe allegations that it was a toxic working environmentthat frequently disrespected its female and minority cast and crew members. Considering how often thatLostfailed to give appropriate screen time to its characters of color and women, it’s hard to distinguish the behind-the-scenes stories from what is seen on screen. There’s a strong connection that is very difficult to ignore.
6‘The Mandalorian’
Created by Jon Faveau
The Mandalorianwas initially praised as theStar Warsproject that “saved” the franchise afterStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerproved to be a disappointing conclusion to the cinematic saga. Many viewers likedThe Mandalorianbecause it was a standalone adventure that didn’t require extensive knowledge of the universe. Unfortunately,The Mandalorianbecame a convoluted show that was impossible to follow for those who weren’t already caught up withThe Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, Rebels,andThe Clone Wars.
With Lucasfilm announcing that the spinoff filmThe Mandalorian & Groguis expected to hit theaters in 2026,interest in a fourth season ofThe Mandalorianis at an all-time low.There is far more anticipation for the subsequent installments ofAndorandThe Acolyte, which have managed to push the saga in bold new directions.
The Mandalorian
5‘Westworld’
Created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy
Westworldhas one of the greatest first seasons in the history of science fiction television, as showrunnersJonathan NolanandLisa Joycreated an epic mystery that kept fans guessing as to how things would wrap up. Unfortunately,the weekly release strategy really hurtWestworldin the long run.The show became harder to casually watch for viewers who weren’t totally invested, and massive fans began to predict the major twists well before they actually occurred.
Westworldalso suffered from being an incomplete story, as HBO made the shocking decision to cancel the series after the end of its critically maligned fourth season. Considering that Nolan and Joy had intended to have a fifth season that wrapped up the story that they wanted to tell from the beginning, it’s harder to rewatch earlier seasons knowing that it’s leading to nothing.
4‘Big Little Lies’
Created by David E. Kelley
Big Little Liesis a great example of a limited series that shouldn’t have been renewed for a second season.The first season ofBig Little Lieswas a powerful mystery that exposed the haunting effects of abuse and sexism, and featured powerful performances fromNicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Adam Scott, Alexander Skarsgaard, andLaura Dern.Unfortunately, the appeal of seeing famous movie stars in a prestige drama series for HBO was significantly diluted when the show’s second season proved to be undercooked and not as compelling.
Big Little Liesmade the mistake of continuing a story that already had a proper conclusion.While Kidman’s recent comments seem to suggest thata third season may be in the works,it would be better ifBig Little Lieswas remembered as a singular achievement that didn’t require an unnecessary follow-up.
Big Little Lies
3‘Bloodline’
Created by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman
Bloodlinewas one of the first major drama shows on Netflix, and instantly earned acclaim for the powerful performances byKyle ChandlerandBen Mendelsohn.Unfortunately,interest inBloodlineseverely declined afterthe show killed off Mendeloshn’s characterat the end of the first season.The attempts to bring him back through a combination of flashbacks and ghostly appearances frankly felt cheap and pandering. The new characters introduced in subsequent seasons failed to fill the massive gap of charisma that Mendelsohn had added.
Bloodlinecompletely lost track of what made it good in the first place.While the series began as a straightforward family drama, it slowly became an epic crime saga that was far too convoluted for its own good. After a disappointing finale that left even the show’s most passionate fans scratching their heads, any good will thatBloodlinehad earned for its first season had completely evaporated.
2‘The Newsroom’
Created by Aaron Sorkin
One of the best decisions thatAaron Sorkinmade when creatingThe West Wingwas setting the series in a fictional reality that didn’t reference recent events. Unfortunately, his follow-up series,The Newsroomtried to introduce recent news stories and show how the characters in the series would react to them.In many ways, it felt like Sorkin was trying to “correct” the news media by showing how things should have played out. Other times, it just felt disrespectful to those who had earnestly tried to produce good coverage.
The Newsroomwas ultimately too idealistic about corporate oversight and political stability to work as a conceivable drama,as Sorkin’s idealism prevented the series from digging in deeply into any issues. Althoughadmittedly the show had a very strong pilot, the subsequent seasons got progressively more irritating and less authentic.
The Newsroom
1‘Iron First’
Created by Scott Buck
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has gradually begun toreintroduce the characters from the Netflix showsDaredevil, Jessica Jones, andThe Punisherinto the Disney+ era, acknowledging the fans that had been invested in that corner of the franchise. However,Iron Fistis a show that it seems both fans of Marvel and Kevin Fiege have compeltely forgotten about.While both Matthew Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio)have returned, there hasn’t been any mention of Danny Rand (Finn Jones) or any of the other characters that appeared inIron Fistyet.
Iron Fistultimately failed to modernize the source material in the same way that bothDaredevilandThe Punisherdid.Focusing on a wealthy, privileged character who is trained overseas may not have been the best decision that Marvel ever made, as it frequently feels like the series has a “white savior” complex.
