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On the other hand, there have been plenty of TV series in the past 20 years where the first season is excellent and then the quality steadily drops in the later

On the other hand, there have been plenty of TV series in the past 20 years where the first season is excellent and then the quality steadily drops in the later seasons.

akiselev 4y ago
I think that might be due to a change in the predominant TV format. In the Star Trek era most flagship shows were shot in the planet/crime/monster-of-the-week format which would get better as the actors developed chemistry, their characters were fleshed out, and writers figure out what works best in the show. Nowadays, the flagship shows are either based on extensive literary works like Game of Thrones and Expanse which depend on the consistency of the writing and how easy it is to adapt, or they're concept shows like Altered Carbon that barely have an idea about what they're going to do with a full eight hour season when they shoot the pilot, let alone what to do for season two. The latter tend to work out really badly if they can't hang on to their writing staff See for example the 2011-2016 show Person of Interest that went from a mediocre if interest crime-of-the-week to possibly one of the best serialized science fiction TV shows about two AIs fighting it out (I'm rewatching it now due to the relevance)
- Apocryphon 4y ago
  I caught PoI for the first time during a trip in 2015, when I watched "If-Then-Else", an utterly gripping masterpiece of an episode. That probably spoiled me on the series as I still haven't made it through the first season. But I do know that the Samaritan plot awaits, so I'll get to it eventually.
- fbdab103 4y ago
  Point of order, Altered Carbon is a novel series. Unfortunately, it is one of those where the producer knows better than the writer, and they upended the plot, for unknowable reasons. Spoilers: ..........in the book, the Envoys are the governmental elite special forces unit. In the show, the Envoys are now terrorists? Switches the allegiances of so many characters. Also weird manipulation of the historical timeline, seemingly just to bring a character into the plot.
zhengyi13 4y ago
I think this is a function of shows knowing what they want to do early on, but also knowing that there's a really good chance that they'll be unceremoniously axed, so they don't invest up front in longer-term arcs. They get picked up for subsequent seasons, go soap opera, and then just rest-n-vest.
Kye 4y ago
A little bit more than 20 years, but Earth: Final Conflict comes to mind. The vanishing character development of season 1 in season 2 was instantly tangible.
- Izkata 4y ago
  Season 5 may as well have been a different show entirely. Forget character development, they dropped everything except two actors, including most of the setting and what little plot had developed.

On the other hand, there have been plenty of TV series in the past 20 years where the first season is excellent and then the quality steadily drops in the later seasons.

akiselev 4y ago

I think that might be due to a change in the predominant TV format. In the Star Trek era most flagship shows were shot in the planet/crime/monster-of-the-week format which would get better as the actors developed chemistry, their characters were fleshed out, and writers figure out what works best in the show. Nowadays, the flagship shows are either based on extensive literary works like Game of Thrones and Expanse which depend on the consistency of the writing and how easy it is to adapt, or they're concept shows like Altered Carbon that barely have an idea about what they're going to do with a full eight hour season when they shoot the pilot, let alone what to do for season two. The latter tend to work out really badly if they can't hang on to their writing staff See for example the 2011-2016 show Person of Interest that went from a mediocre if interest crime-of-the-week to possibly one of the best serialized science fiction TV shows about two AIs fighting it out (I'm rewatching it now due to the relevance)

Apocryphon 4y ago
I caught PoI for the first time during a trip in 2015, when I watched "If-Then-Else", an utterly gripping masterpiece of an episode. That probably spoiled me on the series as I still haven't made it through the first season. But I do know that the Samaritan plot awaits, so I'll get to it eventually.
fbdab103 4y ago
Point of order, Altered Carbon is a novel series. Unfortunately, it is one of those where the producer knows better than the writer, and they upended the plot, for unknowable reasons. Spoilers: ..........in the book, the Envoys are the governmental elite special forces unit. In the show, the Envoys are now terrorists? Switches the allegiances of so many characters. Also weird manipulation of the historical timeline, seemingly just to bring a character into the plot.

zhengyi13 4y ago

I think this is a function of shows knowing what they want to do early on, but also knowing that there's a really good chance that they'll be unceremoniously axed, so they don't invest up front in longer-term arcs. They get picked up for subsequent seasons, go soap opera, and then just rest-n-vest.

Kye 4y ago

A little bit more than 20 years, but Earth: Final Conflict comes to mind. The vanishing character development of season 1 in season 2 was instantly tangible.

Izkata 4y ago
Season 5 may as well have been a different show entirely. Forget character development, they dropped everything except two actors, including most of the setting and what little plot had developed.