12 Beloved TV Shows Everyone Enjoyed—Except That One Infamous Season

12 Beloved TV Shows Everyone Enjoyed—Except That One Infamous Season

Even the most popular TV shows can stumble.

Sometimes a beloved series hits a rough patch where everything feels off—the stories drag, favorite characters leave, or the writers make choices that confuse longtime fans.

These disappointing seasons stand out because the rest of the show was so good, making the drop in quality impossible to ignore.

1. New Girl – Season 6

After Nick and Jess finally got together, fans expected fireworks.

Instead, Season 6 delivered slow-moving domestic stories that felt more like chores than comedy gold.

The writers seemed unsure what to do once the main romantic tension resolved.

Side characters got storylines that went nowhere, and the sharp humor from earlier seasons disappeared.

Many viewers found themselves checking their phones during episodes.

The spark that made New Girl special—quirky charm mixed with genuine emotion—felt absent.

Critics noted the season lacked the urgency that kept audiences hooked before, making it a disappointing chapter in an otherwise delightful series.

2. That ’70s Show – Season 8

Imagine your favorite band losing its lead singer right before the final album.

That’s what happened when Topher Grace left before Season 8.

The show tried replacing Eric Forman with new characters, but the magic chemistry vanished.

Episodes felt hollow without the central character who grounded the group’s dynamics.

Storylines became forced and repetitive.

Fans noticed immediately that something essential was missing.

The emotional core that made audiences care about the Forman basement gang disappeared.

Even beloved characters like Red and Kitty couldn’t save scripts that felt rushed and uninspired, making this final season a letdown after seven strong years.

3. Friday Night Lights – Season 2

The Writers Guild strike of 2007 hit Friday Night Lights hard.

Season 2 introduced bizarre murder plots and soap opera drama that clashed with the show’s realistic heart.

Characters acted completely out of character.

Landry, the sweet nerdy kid, suddenly became involved in a killing?

Fans couldn’t believe what they were watching.

The grounded storytelling that made the show special disappeared.

Most critics and viewers rank this as the worst season by far.

The melodramatic choices felt desperate rather than compelling.

Thankfully, the show recovered afterward, but Season 2 remains a cautionary tale about what happens when great television loses its way.

4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Season 4

High school ended, and Buffy headed to college.

Sounds like natural progression, right?

Unfortunately, Season 4 struggled to find its footing in this new world.

The Initiative storyline—involving secret military operations—felt disconnected from what fans loved.

New characters like Riley lacked the depth of earlier additions.

The experimental episode “Beer Bad” became infamous for all the wrong reasons.

Fans missed the tight focus of high school years.

The emotional stakes felt lower, and the Big Bad villain seemed forgettable compared to previous threats.

While some episodes shined, the season overall diluted what made Buffy special during its earlier, more focused storytelling years.

5. How I Met Your Mother – Season 9

Spending an entire season on one weekend wedding tested even the most devoted fans’ patience.

Season 9 stretched a single event across 24 episodes, and the pacing crawled.

Then came the finale twist. After years of buildup, the ending felt like a betrayal.

Ted ended up with Robin anyway, undoing seasons of character growth and making the entire journey feel pointless.

Viewers felt cheated.

The mother character, Tracy, barely got screen time before being written off.

Critics slammed the decision to reverse years of development for a controversial ending that satisfied almost nobody.

It remains one of television’s most divisive final seasons.

6. Sons of Anarchy – Season 3

Sons of Anarchy worked best when exploring gritty California biker club drama.

Season 3 decided to ship everyone to Ireland instead, and fans weren’t happy.

The Ireland arc dragged on way too long.

What could have been a three-episode adventure stretched across most of the season.

The domestic club tensions that made earlier seasons compelling took a backseat to confusing Irish politics.

Many viewers found the storyline bloated and less engaging.

The show lost its edge when separated from Charming and SAMCRO’s home turf.

Critics agreed the season felt like a detour rather than essential storytelling, making it the weakest link in an otherwise intense series.

7. Friends – Season 9

Ross and Rachel broke up, got back together, broke up again, and by Season 9, fans were exhausted.

The season reignited their romance in ways that felt like retreading old ground.

Character development from earlier seasons seemed forgotten.

Ross became more annoying, and Rachel’s choices felt inconsistent.

The momentum heading into the final season weakened considerably.

Critics often rank this near the bottom of all Friends seasons.

The writing felt tired, and storylines lacked the freshness that kept audiences laughing for years.

While still watchable thanks to the cast’s chemistry, Season 9 represented a creative low point before the series finale attempted to wrap things up properly.

8. Sex and the City – Season 5

Sarah Jessica Parker’s pregnancy led to Season 5 being cut to just eight episodes.

While understandable, the shortened season felt rushed and disconnected.

Storylines that normally would develop over time got compressed.

The tone shifted lighter, losing some of the show’s usual depth.

Character arcs felt incomplete, and the usual rhythm fans expected disappeared.

Both critics and longtime viewers noticed the difference immediately.

Episodes lacked the cohesive flow that made earlier seasons binge-worthy.

The season felt like a placeholder rather than essential viewing.

Though the show recovered afterward, Season 5 remains the weakest entry in an otherwise groundbreaking series about female friendship.

9. Parks and Recreation – Season 1

Here’s a secret: most Parks and Rec fans tell newcomers to skip Season 1 entirely.

The show hadn’t discovered its identity yet, and it showed painfully.

Leslie Knope came across as an annoying Michael Scott clone rather than the competent, lovable character she’d become.

The tone felt too similar to The Office, and characters remained underdeveloped.

The pacing felt awkward and uncertain.

Only six episodes long, Season 1 represents the show finding its feet.

Once the writers retooled Leslie’s character and embraced optimism over mockery, Parks and Recreation became brilliant.

But that first season?

Even the creators acknowledge it’s the weakest, making it a rare case where skipping ahead improves the experience.

10. Game of Thrones – Season 8

Perhaps no season finale in television history sparked more outrage.

After years of careful buildup, Season 8 rushed through major plot points in just six episodes.

Characters made decisions that contradicted their entire journeys.

Daenerys’s sudden villain turn felt unearned.

The Night King threat ended anticlimactically.

Battle strategies made no sense.

The finale left millions of fans furious.

Petitions demanding a remake gained hundreds of thousands of signatures.

Critics who praised earlier seasons condemned the rushed pacing and poor writing.

Despite massive production budgets and stunning visuals, Season 8 became a cautionary tale about how quickly beloved shows can lose audience trust through careless storytelling choices.

11. Scrubs – Season 9

Calling it Season 9 was generous—this was essentially a different show.

Scrubs moved to a medical school setting with mostly new characters, and original fans rejected it immediately.

The chemistry that made the first eight seasons special vanished.

New characters couldn’t match the warmth of J.D., Turk, and the original Sacred Heart gang.

Stories felt forced and unfamiliar.

Most reviewers and fans pretend Season 9 doesn’t exist.

The original ending of Season 8 provided perfect closure, making this continuation feel unnecessary.

While some moments worked, the season lacked the heart that defined Scrubs.

It proved that sometimes shows should end rather than reinvent themselves poorly.

12. Supernatural – Season 7

After six seasons of angels, demons, and apocalypses, Supernatural introduced the Leviathans as Season 7’s big threat.

Unfortunately, these black goo monsters failed to intimidate.

The storyline suffered from uneven pacing and an underwhelming villain.

Compared to previous Big Bads like Lucifer or the Yellow-Eyed Demon, the Leviathans felt generic and forgettable.

Episodes dragged without clear direction.

Longtime fans viewed Season 7 as a rare misstep in the show’s mythology.

The brothers’ adventures felt aimless, and the threat never seemed genuinely dangerous.

While Supernatural recovered in later seasons, this remains a low point that even devoted viewers admit struggled to maintain the show’s usual compelling monster-hunting momentum.