Nine TV shows that should have stopped after one season

A TV show quitting while it’s ahead is rare enough to be considered headline news

It’s a tragedy that avid TV watchers will be familiar with: some shows don’t know when to end. Limited series don’t look so limited anymore. Shows that seemed promising in their infancy loose focus come season two or three.

It’s always sad to see something you once liked fall below its own standards. There are, of course, notable exceptions to this phenomenon – some series manage to show even more promise in their second instalments than they did in their original ones. Just look at Fleabag and its Emmy-and-Golden-Globe-winning second series.

Even more recently, Netflix’s YOU managed to put out a second season that proved just as good, if not better, than the first one.

Still, a show quitting while it’s ahead is still a rare enough event to be considered headline news. Some Watchmen fans even rejoiced when it was reported that the show could be unlikely to return for a second season, and the existing season was so well-crafted it could stand alone. Creator Damon Lindelof told USA Today that he’s not interested in taking the series further.

From Big Little Lies to 13 Reasons Why, here are nine shows that would have been wise to follow Watchmen‘s example:

In the case of Watchmen, Lindelof told USA Today that he has “given [his] blessing” to HBO if the network wants to continue the show with someone else.

It remains unclear whether HBO will take him up on the opportunity.