When it comes totelevision, everyone has an opinion. It’s our passion to critique and share our thoughts—good, bad, or indifferent. While we could easily criticize the worst shows in the history of television, that’s just not so interesting.It’s time to criticize them all- some of the most beloved shows in television history, and those who rightly were panned.
As we explore the reputations of these various shows, it’s important to remember that they earned these reputations on their own. There’s something that occurred during their run that impacted their reputation. I’m usually one who can find something in anything to defend, butwith these ten series, I simply cannot help them.I apologize in advance. Fromdramas,comedies, talk shows, andreality series, I’m about to share with you why these shows have earned their bad reputations.
10’American Horror Story’
2011–Present
Every single season,American Horror Storystarts off exceptionally well. The premise is brilliant. The casting is spectacular. We’re sat asRyan MurphyandBrad Falchukset up everything destined to make an iconic season of television. And then, about halfway through, we lose the plot. Sometimes literally. Television viewers love a good twist and turn, butAmerican Horror Storyconsistently has trouble maintaining consistency. Unless you call consistency losing steam season after season. And yet, it’s still one of the most beloved series.
When the show began, we were promised that there was a connective tissue between every season in the shared universe. And fans hung on to every word of that promise. Theories would be tossed out. Predictions would be made. Andwe would receive those occasional crossovers, including characters like Pepper (Naomi Grossman) inAsylumandFreak Show, and the mic drop inclusion of previous lore utilized inApocalypse. But were we ever fully satisfied? Especially when it’s not always done naturally. I mean, how long did we have to wait for anything alien-related after thatAsylumfinale?
American Horror Storydeserves immense praise for its fearlessness to explore the horror genre while reigniting our need and desire for an anthology series.And yet, it may be the only reason whyAmerican Horror Storycarries on today. HadAmerican Horror Storykept the same characters season after season, it’s inevitable that we would have fallen off. Instead, we latch on in hopes thatthisis going to be the seasonRyan Murphysticks the landing. We continue to be drawn back thanks toAHS’s impeccable casting. Yes, there are those stunt casting moments, butAmerican Horror Storygave us a reason to tune in and watch the masterclasses performed by everyone fromSarah PaulsontoJessica Lange, withEvan Petersthrown in. One day, we’ll get the perfect season, right?
American Horror Story
Let me preface this now,Lostwas “my” show. When the series debuted on ABC in 2004, it was a pivotal moment in my life, as I was eager to find that adult show I would tune into week after week. That first season was simply epic. The world of mystery and intrigue thatJeffrey Lieber,J.J. Abrams, andDamon Lindelofcrafted was groundbreaking. The supernatural thriller was a show you not only had to pay attention to, but you had to focus on every tiny detail because those clues would ultimately lead to our mysteries being revealed. For longevity’s sake, the creators played with time, introducing flashbacks and flashforwards, even a sideways timeline. And then, well,they put themselves into a pickle as they had far too many loose ends to tie up.When you invest years into a show, you want resolution. You crave that satisfaction of completion. ButLostended in a manner that had some of us, including myself, screaming at our television screens.
We knew after six seasonsthat we would not have every mystery revealed.We knew that there would be some mysteries that would remain for us to banter and discuss for decades. But it’s that final scene that made the devoted fans clamor for answers.It’s been fifteen years, andwe are still debating the ending.The August 13, 2025 episode ended in ambiguity. With multiple timelines still in play, the final scene watches as Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) saves the island and is reunited with his friends in a church. The always mysterious John Locke (Terry O’Quinn) walks up to him and says, “We’ve been waiting for you.” Meanwhile, we head back to the island timeline where we watch Jack die. But to confuse everything, the final credits featured the plane fuselage, harkening back to the first episode.So…they were dead all along?!
The creators had to jump into the debate immediately to simmer the fury, claiming that the final footage was a transition into commercial.Executive producer Carlton Cuse told Vulture, “We put that footage at the end of the show, andI think that the problem was that the audience was so accustomed onLostto the idea that everything had meaning and purpose and intentionality.” Well, sir, you trained us to do so! Fans were disappointed that some intriguing elements were left unanswered in order for an emotionally tinged character reunion. So, pairing it with the perceived finale,Lostalmost flopped trying to stick the landing. Pun perhaps intended.
8’Kathy and Kim' (US)
We here in America love taking successful international series and making it our own.Pop IdolinspiredAmerican Idol.The Officebecame one of the greatest sitcoms ever thanks to the blueprint its British counterpart laid out. So, why not explore an American iteration of the biggest Australian sitcom?Kath & Kimis as Australian as the Outback. As one of the most successful comedies down under, NBC announced they were going to take on the endeavor, with series creators and starsGina RileyandJane Turneron board. But not in their infamous roles! Oh no, instead, they brought inMolly ShannonandSelma Blairto play the respective titular roles.
The reason why the Australian version worked was because of the chemistry of its stars, the dry comedic sensibility, and its inherent tone that worked for these characters in this world. Instead,what was produced was terribly amiss, and the original series all but lost in translation.The American adaptation of the comedy just did not work. And it caused networks to question if they should continue to borrow established IP for their own creation. There’s a reason why it will forever be one of the worst remakes ever, and why executives call back to this disaster before greenlighting remakes of international IPs.
Kath & Kim
7’The Idol'
It is very rare that HBO misfires with a flop, especially when all signs should have pointed to success. But despite the names attached, the engaging premise, and high-profile intrigue,The Idolhas just been riddled with controversy. The five-episode series followeda female pop star, played by Lily-Rose Depp, and her complex relationship with sleazy nightclub owner, self-help guru, and cult leader Tedros, played byThe Weeknd. The hope for the show was to push the boundaries regarding difficult themes within this complex relationship, but the execution was a complete bust.
Rather than fostering a conversation about the difficulty of fame and the danger of relationships in the entertainment industry,it was a bit of a snoozefestthat tried to do morethan it was capable of achieving.With an essentially lacking plot, there was little room for viewers to care. It was voyeuristically sleazy. Although the series seemed to be plagued from the very start, with some crucial creative changes made to align with the new vision,The Idolwas misguided, and HBO provided it with little support.I beg of you to defendThe Idolbecause I’m always eager to understand how I got it wrong. But the consensus has been,The Idolis one of the worst showsever made. Though that’s a pretty sick reputation to own!
6’Cavemen'
As we know fromMad Men, we know how incredible an ad campaign can change the world. The advertising world is difficult, but sometimes, when you capture lightning in a bottle, you want to explore it to its full potential. In 2004, GEICO debuted a series of television ads using Neanderthal-like cavemen in modern settings. In a time before viral videos were truly a thing, the GEICO cavemen were everywhere, so ABC greenlitCavemen, a sitcom inspired by the ads.
StarringNick Kroll,Bill English, andSam Huntingtonas the titular characters, the show was not only a flop, it was panned. And it’s all to do with the unaired pilot. The twist on certain stereotypes and treatment of minorities needed retooling, causing the show to change locations from Atlanta to San Diego. From there, the series just didn’t make sense. To say it was a bad idea from the jump is an understatement.Though Nick Kroll still stands by it. Perhaps the marketing lesson here wasa 30-second adspot isjust enough time to watch cavemen. A thirty-minute episode? Way too long! As the series star has previously said, “Beloved commercials, despised show.”
5’Jersey Shore'
2009–Present
If there is anything thatJersey Shoregave us, it was “GTL.” And if you didn’t know that stands for “gym, tan, laundry”, then congratulations. Mark yourself safe from the shockingly groundbreaking MTV series. The early 2000s were when the reality television boom began. Whether it was competition shows, talent shows, or docufollow shows, reality television changed the shape of television. For everySurvivorandAmerican Idolwas aJersey Shore.
The show was trash TV at its finest. MTV had a lot of success in the reality TV world withThe Real World, but when they mastered the art of trash TV with it changed the face of the game. Maybe it was the impact ofThe Sopranosending andThe Real Housewives of New Jerseybeginning, the network took viewers to the beach with a group of twentysomethings asthey partied, fought, and destroyed any semblance of positive stereotypessurrounding the Garden State and the Italian American community. Once it was revealed that perhaps the show’s stars were not even from New Jersey, a new freedom was given forJersey Shoreto do literally whatever it wanted.
And yet,Jersey Shorehas not left our screens from 2009. The show produced reality superstars.You hear the names"Snooki," JWoww," or “The Situation,“you are immediately transported back into the show. It didn’t matter how “bad” the show was, it was a guitly pleasure. It spawned multiple spin-offs featuring their cast, as well as other location-based iterations around the world.When the cast returnedforJersey Shore: Family Vacation, the stars were able to portray their lives since the early days whilegiving fans the nostalgia they desire. But no matter what,those early trashy and fraudulent accusations will never escape the series.
Jersey Shore
4’The Swan'
Though absolutely not an excuse, 2004 was a very different time. No, literally, because FOX allowed not one, but two seasons ofThe Swanto hit the airwaves. In a time when every network threw spaghetti at the wall to create the next breakout reality show, FOX explored a show about ugly ducklings and transforming them into beautiful swans. With a premise completely revolving around body image, beauty, and the stereotypes and ideals of perfection,The Swanbecame an eventual cautionary taleof what not to do.
Documenting a group of women’s physical transformations over a three-month period as personal trainers, therapists, dentists, and cosmetic surgeons completely makeover women just to be told if they are pretty enough. It was a horrid concept. The fact that after each season, it ended with a seriously-toned beauty pageant was completely sadistic and misogynistic.The Swanhas served as a learning tool of how television can go too far.And yet, it was a reminder that people will tune in just to be in the conversation. Everything thatThe Swanwas could never be celebrated today. It forced the genre to put a mirror up to its own face.
Here’s what you missed onGlee. In 2009, Ryan Murphy had already found success in the world of television. With the success ofNip/Tuck, he was able to branch out and play on FOX. He createdGlee, and the world was forever changed. The wholesome musical drama gave those weirdos and outsiders individuals to look at who represented them. Maybe it was borrowing some plotlines fromHigh School Musicalabout a jock entering the world performing arts, but at its core,Gleewas wholesome. Chances are, if you hear “Don’t Stop Believing,” you’ll either know it because you grew up with Journey or because you were raised onGlee. The series was a celebration of being an other. It was a celebration of music. It was a celebration of being a dreamer. Butthe longer the show went on, the more the show changed.
The way thatGleequickly shifted from being a feel-good fun hour of television into agenda-pushing plotlines completely changed the core of the series. It was essential thatGleeaddress social issues in the manner they did, as there were very few shows doing so with the audience they were attracting. It was just the execution that flopped. But to sacrifice the integrity of the characters just to have episodes about school shootings, Glee was merely a tepid after-school special. Fans feared they were entering Seattle Grace territory, in which thoseGrey’s Anatomycharacters would experience everything and anything imaginable.Gleehad too much freedom, and the more freedom it had, the less it felt likeGlee.I mean, weren’t we all just here for the songs each week to add to our iPods?
Daytime television to some was about game shows and talk shows and lighthearted fluff. And then there were those mid-afternoon shows that were meant to elicit a reaction. Running for 31 seasons beginning in 1991,Maurywas the home to find out who exactly that baby belonged to! Hosted byMaury Povich, the show was intended to treat each story as seriously as possible. However, the topics covered became so over-the-top that people tuned in for the theatrics.
If Maury was on, there was a 100% chance that it would be filled with expletives, fighting, and drama. Whether it was pregnancy, sexual infidelity, social taboos, or shocking stories, Maury was unafraid of bringing anything to the air, making the subjects feel as if it were authentic journalism. It was provocative for provocative’s sake.The series was trash TV that established a legacy and a genre of its own.At the end of the day, Maury was destined to entertain, no matter how vile the content was.
1’Game of Thrones'
Game of Throneswill forever be considered one of the greatest television shows in history. The hit HBO series inspired byGeorge R.R. Martin’sA Song of Ice and Firebecame a global phenomenon. In a world of spoilers,GoTwas that show that would create its own “Red Wedding” if someone spoiled an episode. You’re warned not to get too attached to your favorite characters because their fate is never for certain. Super fans make the filming destinations their meccas. If there is a fan convention and a star is present, the lines are long.Game of Thronessuperfans live and breathe everything about it. But as exceptional a show as it is,fans will never forgive the final seasons.Oh, boy, they’re still talking about it.
The problem with howGame of Thronesended its television journey was that it was forced to stray away from the source material. Why? Because the books were not complete yet. And so, with very little to base itself on aside from the whims of a creator going through his own creation process,Game of Thronesinherently felt different.But then, it was those final stories. The whole point was to discover who would be sitting on the Iron Throne at the end. But the journey to get there was a major yikes. Between Season 7 and Season 8,fans are still up in armsabout decisions made.There was always a realm of possibility that Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) would experience a drastic character change, but her sudden fall into “crazy” severed seasons of build-up for the beloved character.
Part of the issue was the time it took to tell the story. Six episodes were never going to be enough. Yes,GoTis an expensive show to make. And it takes time. Ten episodes a season was a sweet spot. Shrinking the final two seasons was a massive disservice to the loyal fanbase. It’s no wonder opinions were had.The lack of time left to truly care for the characters we began with stalled the legacyGame of Throneswas building.It will always be called one of, if not the best, television show ever. But it will also be paired with the scrutiny of how it ended.
