The first sequel is often the hardest to make in both cinema and television. Many movies have a terrible “Part 2” whereas several TV shows have a weak Season 2. In the TV arena, various factors might contribute to the poor second seasons. While making the first season, the showrunners put their best feet forward, eager to do everything right to avoid cancelation. Once they win a network or streaming service’s heart, they let their foot off the gas.
There are also cases where Season 1 grows so popular that it becomes impossible to match it. Hitting the jackpot twice is never a guarantee, so, for most TV shows, an excellent first season is often followed by a good or average second season. Beyond that, there are instances where the story doesn’t need to continue. Such was the case withSquid Game, but because the industry is all about numbers and money, the adventure had to go on.
10‘True Detective’ (2014 – Present)
True Detective
True Detectivegenerally lives up to its title. Each season of the anthology crime show featuresa bizarre case that can only be solved by a law enforcement officer who sees things differently from their peers.Most seasons have been well-received, with the first and fourth considered the best and Season 2 the worst. What went wrong?
Great Actors, Let Down by a Poor Script
Exploring themes of religion and philosophical pessimism, Season 1 ofTrue Detectivewas a major hit,earning an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series, and scoring 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Matthew McConaughey, who was at his peak at around this time, was widely praised for his performance, and so was Woody Harrelson.
Season 2 had an equally great lead in Collin Farrell, but the story, about three officers investigating a corrupt city manager’s death, just wasn’t exhilarating enough. The choice to use different directors for the second season alsogave it a tonal inconsistency.The critic score dropped to 47% and no major accolades came in.
9‘13 Reasons Why’ (2017 – 2020)
13 Reasons Why
13 Reasons Whystarted as a powerful story that addressed bullying, sexual assault, and mental health. The show’s events oscillate around Hannah (Katherine Langford), a teenager whocommits suicide and leaves behind 13 cassette tapes containing reasons why she made the choice.Each of Season 1’s thirteen episodes thus focused on a different season. Where would the story go from there?
The Best Story Was in the Tapes
Most fans and critics agree that the once-perfect show didn’t need a follow-up. Its premise was ideal for a miniseries. Regrettably, Netflix couldn’t let Hannah rest in peace, and in what was one of the most bizarre plot choices of all time,she was brought back as a ghost. The critic scoredropped from 77% in Season 1 to 28% in Season 2. By Season 3, it had dropped to 11%.Unsurprisingly, only the show’s first season received accolades.
8‘The Following’ (2013 – 2015)
The Following
Kevin Bacon on TV? Bring it on? Everyone was excited aboutThe Followingand Season 1 didn’t disappoint. Here, Bacon is former FBI agent Ryan Hardy, who ishell-bent on recapturing the serial killer Joe Carroll(James Purefoy), who has just escaped from prison. The task proves hard because Joe is surrounded by loyal cult members.
Fun While It Lasted
The show starts strong and in those first few episodes, Joe will remind you ofHannibal Lecter fromThe Silence of the Lambs. He is just as intimidating, with the kind of quotes that deserve to be printed and framed. Beyond that, there is endless violence (perfect for a story like this).
The show’s Rotten Tomatoes figures reveal thatSeason 2’s figures only represented a slight dip. Despitedropping to 50% (from 63%), the show regained its score in Season 3. Sadly, the viewership figures weren’t good enough to keep the series around for long. The network thus turned into Joe Caroll and killed the show.
7‘Westworld’ (2016 – 2022)
It’s a crime to mess things up when you have actors like Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Wright, and Ed Harris, yet somehow the team behindWestworldmanaged to do so.Based on the 1973 movie of the same name, the show isset in a futuristic Wild West-themed amusement park where guests interact with androids.What could go wrong? AI malfunction.
‘Westworld’ Went South
In the beginning,Westworldwas widely praised for its visuals and performances, earning multiple Emmys in the process. However, the characterization and plotting began tumbling from Season 2 and never recovered, resulting in the cancelation of what many critics felt would be one of the greatest HBO shows of all time. By the end of Season 4, viewership had fallen to nearly 80% from Season 1.
6‘Designated Survivor’ (2016 – 2019)
Designated Survivor
Designated Survivorwas an ideal vehicle for Kiefer Sutherland after24,and it started with a bang. The story revolves around Thomas Kirkman, the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development,forced to take over as President when an attack on the Capitol Building kills the entire government.
Running out of Steam
The showonly stays exciting until the big question gets answered. Who was responsible for the bombing? Once the answer is given, it’s all downhill. Season 2’s poor reception(60% Rotten Tomatoes score from a previous high of 87%), coupled with dwindling ratings caused ABC to cancel the show.
Surprisingly, Netflix picked it up andtried to turn it into anotherHouse of Cards. That didn’t work. Worse still, Maggie Q’s character was killed off, denying fans of the ‘Bauer-Nikita’ dynamic they had signed up for.
5‘Heroes’ (2006 – 2010)
Heroesis all aboutordinary people discovering they have powers.As expected, there are consequences. The show emulates the tone, aesthetic style, characterization, and storytelling approach of comic books, using lengthy story arcs to build upon larger, encompassing narratives.
Factors Beyond Control
The decline of heroes is oftenblamed on the 2007-2008 WGA Writers Strike.The development caused the show’s second season to be shortened from 24 to 11 episodes. Consequently, the plot was rushed, and the conclusion felt illogical.
The high-stakes and world-building that had made Season 1 great were nowhere to be found. Moving forward, the show just couldn’t recover. Whilethe first season had a fresh 82% critic score, the second had 50%and the following seasons were even lower. By the final season, the ratings had halved (from 13.9 million to 6.5 million).
4‘Wayward Pines’ (2017 – 2020)
Wayward Pines
Wayward Pinescould be mistaken fora Stephen King adaptation. The mystery sci-fi show followsa U.S. Secret Service agent investigating the disappearance of two colleaguesin the mysterious small town of Wayward Pines, Idaho. Awakening in a car,he realizes he can neither leave nor contact the outside world.
A Wayward Followup
Building from a pilot directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Wayward Pines was off to a great start. The first season’s numerous twists made it palatable to fans of all genres. Sadly, the second season dove into community drama, causing audiences to lose interest. Ratings fell sharply, causing Fox to cancel the once-promising show.Yahooreports thatby mid-Season 2, the viewership figures had dropped by almost 11%, proving that no one liked where this ship was going. Unfortunately, there was no time to course-correct.
3‘Big Sky’ (2020 – 2023)
Based onThe Highwayseries of books by C. J. Box. Katheryn Winnick and Kylie Bunbury,Big Skyfollowsa group of investigators working on complex cases in Montana.The show has one of the greatest TV pilots, featuringthe shocking death of a would-be main character, and it gets even better. Unfortunately, the magic doesn’t spill over to the second season.
Abandoning the Good Stuff
A change in the narrative approach is to blameforBig Sky’s decline. Season 1 focuses on a single, thriller-themed narrative involving missing girls, whereas Season 2 has numerous subplots that often veer into soap opera territory. The first season also has two strong villains; one, a deranged trucker, and another, a murderous paratrooper. The second season, and subsequent ones, have no memorable antagonists. So bad is the second season that there isn’t even a critic consensus for it.
10 Burning Questions We’re Hoping to See Answered in ‘Squid Game’ Season 3
‘Squid Game’ season 2 left audiences with a giant cliffhanger, and as we await season 3, we have so many questions.
2‘Prison Break’ (2005 – 2017)
Prison Break
InPrison Break, structural engineer Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) makes the daring decision tocommit a crime and get himself imprisoned so that he can help his brother, Linc (Dominic Purcell) escape.Linc is set to be executed after getting falsely accused of murdering the Vice President’s brother, and Michael won’t let that happen.
Life Was Better Inside Prison Walls
The first season ends with Michael and Linc escaping. And they have baggage with them in the form of a few other prisoners who hopped onto their plan. That’s where the show stops being good, according to most fans and critics. Life outside Fox River Penitentiary isn’t as fun as it was on the inside. Interestingly,Fox originally turned downPrison Break, due to concerns about the long-term prospects of such.The execs were right. This story was stretched way past its elastic limit.
1‘Squid Game’ (2021 – Present)
Squid Game
Has there ever been a TV sensation likeSquid Game? The series centers arounda secret contest where 456 people with money problems get to play a series of deadly gameshoping to win ₩45.6 billion prize money.
The Latest Cash Grab
When the show premiered, it became Netflix’s most-watched show and received numerous awards,including six Primetime Emmy Awards. It was a perfect show, with a perfect conclusion, and series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk admitted thathe didn’t want to make another season, but money convinced him. Like13 Reasons Why,this ought to have been a miniseries, and many fans have openly stated so. The second season has a solid story, but it moves slowly and lacks the endless thrills that made the first season special.
