19 Shows That Started Off Great, But Became Completely Unwatchable

Warning: This post mentions rape/sexual assault.

When it comes to pop culture, there's nothing quite like the high of finding an incredible new show to watch. And there's nothing quite so disappointing as when that show literally loses the plot and the quality drops. Here are some shows that were so, so good — until they really weren't...

1. Euphoria. When it premiered, it felt like the kind of high school show we hadn't really seen before.

But it inevitably ran into the same problem every other show in the genre does: losing direction when the characters actually leave high school. The latest season is pretty gross and hard to watch.

2. Game of Thrones. When it was good, it was one of the best shows in the history of television. And when it got bad, it hurt worse than the Red Wedding itself.

It started going downhill around Season 5, although there were still some great moments in the next couple of seasons. Unfortunately, for most of the final season, many things that had once made the show great were completely missing.

3. Riverdale. Season 1 was slightly ridiculous, but it made sense. The characters and their dynamics were heightened and soapy but not completely unreal, and the murder mystery was a thrilling twist.

...And then it became like a live action mad-libs, with every season progressively more nonsensical. What do you mean Archie's fighting a bear? There's a cult? Everyone's got superpowers? It's now the 1950s???!?!

4. Pretty Little Liars. This show felt like an elaborate, tightly-plotted mystery in the beginning. It was fun to search for clues and come up with theories.

By the end, it became clear that viewers had put more thought into the plots than the actual writers.

5. Dexter. The first few seasons were compelling, darkly funny, and the good kind of horrifying.

The later seasons slipped further and further in quality until we somehow wound up with Deb confessing her love for her brother — and there was no coming back after that.

6. Heroes. When it premiered, Heroes felt unique, exciting, tightly plotted, and well-paced. "Save the cheerleader, save the world" is iconic to this day.

Unfortunately, the quality dropped off pretty quickly in Season 2 and continued downhill from there. An utter waste of so much talent and potential.

7. Westworld. Season 1 was peak prestige TV. Beautiful and thought-provoking, with an incredible cast and twists that felt shocking but earned.

Subsequent seasons were increasingly less watchable. Westworld wound up feeling like a completely different show, with an ending that was confusing, grim, and unsatisfying.

8. The Walking Dead. For a show about zombies, The Walking Dead was always about being human; not just what it takes to survive, but what it means. It was a rich show with a cast of characters you cared about.

As the show went on, the gore factor and bleakness increased, while characters you cared about were killed off or went on journeys you didn't want to follow. Glenn's fate was the final straw for many viewers.

9. Misfits. The first two seasons of Misfits are quirky, fun, and addictive. The third season, while losing a little of its charm thanks to the exit of Robert Sheehan, who played Nathan, was still a great watch overall.

Then most of the remaining cast left at the end of Season 3, and the following two seasons felt like nothing but a poor imitation of what came before.

10. True Blood. Like the books the show was based on, True Blood worked best in its early stages when it was simply a sexy, gothic Southern vampire story.

The more supernatural creatures that appeared, the less interesting the series became, and Sookie's messy love-life stopped being fun, too. The final season was pretty painful.

11. Younger. The premise of Younger was always a bit of a stretch, but it was fun enough that you could suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride.

It became harder to do that as the series progressed, as Liza's secret — and the fact that many didn't know or suspect the truth — became more difficult to believe, while the characters themselves became less layered and more annoying.

12. Once Upon a Time. In the beginning, the show felt fresh and interesting, incorporating fairy tales into its central plot in ways that were clever and fun.

By the time the last few seasons rolled around, the original characters that remained had mostly well and truly worn out their welcome, the new ones weren't engaging, and it all felt very overdone.

13. The 100. A great premise that was initially very well executed and compelling, with characters that were complicated and imperfect but whom you wanted to root for.

Then the creative team and showrunner made certain choices that almost seemed designed specifically to annoy fans, and the last season was frankly a slap in the face to anyone who had stuck with the show.

14. Outlander. Stunning settings, beautiful cinematography, hot and talented actors, great costumes, and an intriguing time-travel romance made this show highly addictive.

Unfortunately, the repeated, graphic, gratuitous rape scenes made it completely unwatchable, starting from the end of the first season and continuing throughout the series, if you did manage to persist.

15. Stranger Things. Season 1 was a perfect, Amblin-esque '80s adventure. Controversial opinion, but it should have stayed as a limited series.

While there were a lot of great moments in subsequent seasons, the way the story expanded was inelegant and the last season in particular was a disappointing mess that undermined what had come before.

16. Yellowjackets. The first season was exhilarating in how new, fun, and brutally dark it felt. With a fantastic cast across two timelines, the show kept viewers guessing and excited, offering rewarding twists and turns.

But subsequent seasons have made the plot feel less like an intricate web and more like an unruly tangled knot. While the cast is still great, the storylines have become more frustrating and less compelling.

17. The Umbrella Academy. Season 1 was a quirky and refreshing superhero romp, with flawed characters you couldn't help but love. The second season was also strong and fun overall.

While the third season wasn't quite as good, it was still worth watching. But the fourth and final season was a slog from start to finish (especially that finish), flattening the characters and world to the point that they felt unrecognizable.

18. Glee. There had never been a show quite like Glee when it premiered. It was offbeat, it was camp, it was ridiculous, it was fun, and it was full of bops.

Glee always had flaws, but as the show wore on they became more glaring, and it just became way too ridiculous and not much fun. It still featured some bops, though.

19. Lastly, The X-Files. The early seasons of The X-Files are classics for a reason — perfect monster-of-the-week viewing, with electric will-they-won't-they chemistry between Mulder and Scully and a background mystery that was interesting without overtaking the whole show.

The later seasons turned the show into a caricature of itself, with not enough Mulder-and-Scully screentime, and far too much alien conspiracy plot. Not a lot of it made any sense or felt satisfying.

What shows do you think started out great but ended up unwatchable? Share in the comments or the anonymous form below!

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE, which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here.