6 Beloved TV Shows With Weak First Seasons…That Got Amazing Later On

Like all the best things in life, TV shows need time to grow and improve, expanding upon characters’ story arcs while also laying the groundwork for new narrative possibilities. While certain shows hit the ground running when it came to an impressive first season, other TV series struggled to find their voice, ushering in fairly lackluster seasons. From hit NBC comedies to now-iconic sci-fi series, here are six fantastic TV shows with disappointing opening seasons.

The Office

Despite eventually becoming one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, the American remake of The Office debuted to unremarkable early reviews in the spring of 2005. Like most television remakes, The Office simply took too much inspiration from its British counterpart, utilizing a drier sense of humor that failed to satisfy mainstream audiences in the U.S. Starting with season two, the series managed to flesh its characters out a bit more, differentiating the American cast from their predecessors in the British series. As a result, most characters’ personalities improved and grew slightly more likable from the inaugural season, allowing The Office to weave in more cringe-worthy comedy that Americans instantly loved.

Parks and Recreation

When it first aired in 2009, Parks and Recreation seemed like little more than a thinly-veiled spin-off of The Office, complete with a similarly eccentric cast and a mockumentary format. Swapping in the everyday office workplace with the mundane reality of small-town politics, Parks and Recreation’s opening season was…okay, but far from amazing. Starting around season two, however, the series managed to add further personality to many of their lead characters–most especially Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), who started off as a Michael Scott knock-off and became more of a plucky, idealistic workaholic. In addition, the series also introduced several new characters that became staples of the show, including Rob Lowe’s overly-optimistic Chris Traeger and Adam Scott’s stone-faced Ben Wyatt.

Seinfeld

By the time Seinfeld’s finale aired in 1998, the series had become something of a pop culture phenomenon, garnering soaring viewership numbers in its final few seasons. In its initial incarnation, though, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David’s comedy series did little to differentiate itself between most other sitcoms of its era. On paper, the characters seemed realistic, but were not the unforgettably wacky New York caricatures they’d grow into with later seasons. Only when the characters grew more selfish and misanthropic did Seinfeld ultimately improve, resulting in increasingly absurdist storylines that grew darker, funnier, and more memorable as time went on.

The Simpsons

In its earliest inception, The Simpsons acted as an animated spin-off of The Tracey Ullman Show (an ‘80s variety series The Simpsons would eclipse in popularity by the end of the decade). Gearing itself more towards older audience members than younger viewers, The Simpsons introduced the world to the famously dysfunctional Simpsons–a seemingly ordinary middle-class family in the suburban town of Springfield. Debuting in 1989, this first iteration of The Simpsons bore little resemblance to the series it eventually became. With rough animation, two-dimensional characterization, and strange vocal performances, the series’ peak period came once the The Simpsons’ creators began to focus on the surrounding cast, rather than simply following the family’s mischievous ne’er-do-well, Bart Simpson.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

While commonly considered a high-water mark in the science fiction genre, Star Trek: The Original Series has endured some degree of criticism for its slower pace–a complaint often lobbed against series creator, Gene Roddenberry. As an extension of this often-cited fan critique, Roddenberry’s distinct view of sci-fi influenced the creative trajectory of The Next Generation in its earliest seasons. 

With Roddenberry hammering home the idea that the future would be devoid of conflict between human beings, viewers had very little reason to tune into The Next Generation on a weekly basis—aside from witnessing some dry exchanges between intergalactic explorers. Once Roddenberry stepped away from the series at the end of its first season, The Next Generation’s writers were able to reintroduce more substantial conflict between the characters, adding some much needed drama and breathing fresh life into the waning space opera series.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

When looking at It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s first season, viewers notice a glaringly obvious flaw: there’s no Danny DeVito. While FX would eventually pressure series creator Rob McElhenney to draw up a character for the famed comedian, DeVito’s absence as the crass millionaire Frank Reynolds makes It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s debut season feel like it’s missing its secret ingredient. Of course, like Seinfeld, it also helped that the characters grew more and more unlikable over time, glorying in an increasingly darker brand of comedy that few shows could effectively pull off (save for, perhaps, South Park).