The dead keep walking: TV shows that limped past their use-by date
The only part of The Walking Dead’s ninth season people are talking about is how done they are with the show. While we’ve all tried to hold on in the hope the producers bring back the same bingeworthy allure of the first few seasons, it’s becoming increasingly evident The Walking Dead is simply an undead version of its former self – it walks, it talks, but it’s simply got no soul.
The producers should’ve ended the show after season six – seven at a stretch – but instead they’re carrying on with the same old storylines for a tenth. Still, they’re not the first to make this mistake. Just take a look at the shows below that limped on well past their use-by date.
Two and a Half Men (2003 – 2015)
The Two and a Half Men plug should’ve been pulled when their main attraction – Charlie Sheen (Wall Street) – left the show following his massive tiger blood breakdown. Instead of calling it a day, CBS brought in Ashton Kutcher (Just Married) to play the role of Walden Schmidt for four more lackluster seasons. Definitely not winning.
The Office (2005 – 2013)
The mockumentary based on a group of office workers enjoyed a strong start thanks to its unique comedic style and addictive love story between Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer). However, The Office over-welcomed its stay when Steve Carell (Michael Scott) left after seven seasons, leading to ignored plotlines and inconsistent character replacements.
The Simpsons (1989 – )
Does anyone even watch The Simpsons anymore? The once-favorite animated American family is far removed from its allure of the 90s and experiments of the 00s, lost among a sea of far more watchable cartoons like Rick and Morty and Bob’s Burgers. “Eat my shorts!” stopped being funny a long time ago.
The Big Bang Theory (2007 – 2019)
This show shouldn’t have even started, let alone run on for eleven motherf***ing seasons. Giving birth to the kind of humor that sinks lower than the toilet, The Big Bang Theory took us backwards in the pursuit of all things funny. Any show that relies so heavily on canned laughter is simply not worthy of screen time.
The O.C. (2003 – 2007)
What started out as one of the defining shows of the early 00s turned into a big fat example of what happens when writers run out of things to do. As the show progressed, the storylines got increasingly outrageous, reaching rock bottom when Mischa Barton‘s character Marissa was killed off. Bad move.
Scrubs (2001 – 2010)
NBC’s hit comedy drama starring Zach Braff (Garden State), Donald Faison (Skyline), and Sarah Chalke (Chaos Theory) ran for seven seasons before moving to ABC for the eighth. Instead of wrapping things up with the final episode titled “My Finale”, ABC decided to drag it into a ninth season with an entirely new group of people, leaving all of us singing “no, I don’t want no Scrubs!”
True Blood (2008 – 2014)
Do you remember when True Blood first came out? It was one of the hottest shows on TV in its first season, a gritty drama filled with verisimilitude in the face of a newly resurgent vampire community. However, the fantasy storylines got old fast and by the time the show ended on its seventh season, viewers had been subjected to werepanthers, serial killer ghosts, and fairies.
Dexter (2006 – 2013)
When Dexter (Michael C. Hall) and his serial-killing ways launched onto our screens, we were delighted with this clever, tense, and endlessly addictive new crime drama. However, the show turned at about season four, needlessly stretching out the formerly engaging plotline and setting up for the final four seasons of total yawnfest.
Family Guy (1998 – )
Watching the new episodes of Family Guy is like watching someone flog a very dead horse, over, and over, and over. Much like the Adam Carolla-voiced Grim Reaper character, the show has been dicing with death for years. And yet, for some reason it’s miraculously still going, despite the fact it’s lost its humor, edge, and reasons for anyone to still give a shit about Griffin and his family.
