Regularly, many TV shows make the mistake of extending past their prime. As a series becomes popular, networks have difficulty letting go of a sure income. This sometimes ends with a perfectly good show getting one more season than the writing can justify.
Whether it's because part of the cast had to leave the show, the series worked better as a miniseries, or there was no good way of stretching the plot, some shows got a disappointedly underwhelming last season, and fans would prefer if it had ended just a little bit before.
10 Scrubs
Scrubs is one of the most hilarious sitcoms from the 2000s, but its last season shouldn't have happened. The show was supposed to end in its eighth season, but ABC announced a new season centered on a new group of students in the fictional town of Winston University.
Predictably, the new season didn't do well at all, as most of the main characters from Scrubs didn't appear, and the ones who did only appear in a couple of episodes, such as J.D. This is an excellent example of networks trying to get the most money out of a show instead of giving them a gracious closure.
9 That '70s Show
That '70s Show is a fantastic sitcom about a group of teenagers navigating life's difficulties in this decade. Kelso, Donna, Hyde, Fez, and Jackie spend most of their days hanging out in Eric Forman's basement. The show's great success was primarily due to the great chemistry between the characters.
However, it was a huge mistake when That '70s Show decided to release another season without Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher (who played the iconic characters of Eric and Kelso). The show should have ended in its seventh season instead of trying to keep on going without two of its most beloved characters.
8 Once Upon a Time
Once Upon a Time revolves around a group of classic fairy tale characters living in the "real world" without knowing their origin because of the Evil Queen's (aka Regina) spell. The series mainly focuses on a woman named Emma Swan, who wasn't affected by Regina's magic, and it's up to her to change everything back.
While the show explores these characters' past and present struggles (both in the fairy tale world and the real one), the seventh and last season of the series focuses on the life of Emma's son, Henry, in another city. A series changing the main cast and premise of the show is never a good idea, and Once Upon a Time should have ended in its sixth season.
7 Supergirl
One of the most iconic series from the Arrowverse, Supergirl, follows the life of Kara Danvers and her journey to become one of the most important superheroes on Earth. As it's already common for the Arrowverse, Supergirl's quality decreased as the show progressed, but up until the fifth season, the show made sense.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fifth season couldn't be entirely wrapped up. Hence, the sixth season consists of the ending of the previous one plus adding some new storylines that end up being all over the place -- with Kara in the Phantom Zone, and Lex showing up as the antagonist again. Lena obtains magical powers out of nowhere. It would have been better to wrap up the fifth season's plot after Kara and Lena make up and give the show a more natural conclusion.
6 The Flight Attendant
The Flight Attendant follows the lead character Cassandra Bowen (played by Kaley Cuoco), a flight attendant whose life changes after waking up in a foreign country beside a dead man. Cassie completely panics and tries to figure out her best next step while struggling with a drinking problem.
The Flight Attendant had a tight premise in the first season that shouldn't have been extended to yet another one. The series has a natural conclusion in the first season when Cassie proves her innocence and manages to escape the bad guys. While the second season has an interesting insight into mental illness and the journey to getting better, it seems like overkill to add yet another layer of criminal activity to an already convoluted plot.
5 One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill is one of the most popular dramas from the 2000s. For over a decade, people followed the convoluted lives of Lucas, Nathan, Haley, Peyton, and Brooke, as they navigated High School life, and, later on, their professional careers, families, and various unexpected dramas.
However, while the series wasn't ever afraid of including sordid dramas, the last season truly took it too far. In the ninth season, One Tree Hill follows some of the main characters (including some added in later seasons, like Julian and Clay) as they try to find and rescue Nathan, who was kidnapped. This is the moment the show stopped making sense for good.
4 Chuck
A hilarious yet heartwarming show, Chuck follows the title character, a regular tech company worker who becomes valuable for the CIA as he subliminally acquires crucial knowledge for this agency. From then on, Chuck works as a spy, and the show follows him as he develops a romantic relationship with his co-worker, Sarah Walker, and tries to balance his regular life with his dangerous career.
However, many people believe the fifth and last season of the show was incredibly disappointing. At this point, the fandom was very invested in Chuck and Sarah's relationship, so they believed that having a storyline where Sarah loses all her memories was too devastating for the lighthearted series.
3 Big Little Lies
There is no doubt that Big Little Lies was an amazing series, but the show should have been a miniseries that only included the first season. The series follows four wealthy women and their complicated and surprisingly entangled lives, as one of them, Celeste, is part of an abusive relationship with her husband. Eventually, the four characters will form an alliance that connects them beyond their personal and petty fights.
The first season ends with the four women killing Celeste's husband. The second season picks up in the aftermath as detectives try to figure out how Celeste's husband dies. While the second season still features excellent portrayals, including Meryl Streep's terrific acting, many viewers feel like the story had naturally concluded in the first season, and the second season was overkill.
2 The Office
The Office is famously known for jumping the shark several times, but to be fair, the show only completely derailed in its last season. Even though Steve Carell left the show in the first few episodes of the eighth season, with Andy at the helm of Dunder Mifflin, The Office show manages to keep the charming and quirky vibe of the hilarious sitcom.
The ninth season, however, is a whole other story. In this season, The Office goes downhill as the series creates a gap between Jim and Pam, and completely flanderizes Andy's character. It seems like the writers officially ran out of storylines, and were trying to keep the audience hooked with unnecessary and boring twists and storylines. The season's finale was still superb, but it would have been better if it had been the last episode of the eighth season.
1 How I Met Your Mother
People widely agree that How I Met Your Mother went on a season too long. The sitcom had featured an established dynamic for eight seasons, where Ted, Robin, Marshall, Lily, and Barney would hang out around New York City (mostly in their houses or at McLaren's Pub), and often get entangled in absurd situations.
However, in the ninth and last season of the show, the sitcom decided to follow the weekend of Barney and Robin's wedding. This especially didn't work because the pacing was off, as there were too many episodes for only the following three days of these characters' lives. This season ended up being boring, underwhelming, and incredibly disappointing for the audience, so it's better to stop watching the show in its eighth season.