Life isn’t fair. Especially when the show you love gets canceled, but somehow awful shows find a way to get multiple seasons. Here are some picks for the worst TV shows that got more than two seasons, according to the internet.
The Worst TV Shows That Got More Than 2 Seasons, According to the Internet
Some of these shows had hundreds, sometimes even thousands, of people agreeing that they’re awful. It’s hard to understand why some of these shows kept airing for so long… I guess we really love our guilty pleasures and terrible TV!
19 Kids and Counting
As someone who watched their original TLC special long before they got a show, I have so many feelings about this family. The abuse was the final straw, but before that came out, there were plenty of red flags that this family shouldn’t have been broadcast to the masses for ten seasons.
“I don’t know how people didn’t immediately get creeped out by Jim Bob.” a commenter said about 19 Kids and Counting.
I’m inclined to agree.
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo
While I do appreciate that we got some amazing gifs thanks to this show, most folks can agree it was exploitative to that poor kid. Once you dig a little deeper, though, you can really see the damage that was done to Alana Thompson. Now 17, she at least seems to be doing well despite everything.
With four seasons and several specials, folks couldn’t get enough. It was only canceled due to reports that her mom, June Shannon, was dating a convicted sex offender.
Toddlers and Tiaras
See above… But it also deserves mentioning on its own. As if the pageant circuit wasn’t toxic enough, adding the extra layer of being on TV exacerbated the pressure on those poor kids for nine seasons.
Someone on Reddit dropped this tidbit: “Early in my career, I worked on this show. A lot. I honestly almost quit multiple times [..]”
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
The premise of this show, in essence, was about Christian teens feeling a lot of guilt for their unchristian behavior. I’m going to let you decide the quality of this one for yourself on this one by sharing a very real quote from the show:
“I had sex, and now Dad is dead. He had a horrible death because I had incredible sex. It’s just the way life works. And death. I did this. I did it. And if I hadn’t done it; if I hadn’t had sex, and if I hadn’t enjoyed having sex so much, then Dad would still be alive and you know it Mom.”
Somehow this one ran for five seasons.
Keeping Up With the Kardashians
Whether you love them or love to hate them, the Kardashians gave us 20 seasons of guilty reality TV pleasure (not including the new series, now in Season 3, on Disney+). Clearly, the show was successful, but that doesn’t stop plenty of folks absolutely despising this reality TV family.
“A lot of people out there watched this, making them richer. Like stupid rich!” a commenter complained.
Riverdale
I’ve never seen Riverdale – but apparently, a lot of people didn’t like it. While I assumed its popularity sat with the teen crowd, what makes this show polarising is that it apparently goes off the rails into season 2.
“I actually really liked the first season, went completely nuts after that, though.” one person said. Another disagreed, arguing, “Really? I’d always heard that it starts off as a really, really lame teen drama but eventually escalates into pure madness, which sounds like an improvement to me.”
13 Reasons Why
Have to share my favorite reply to this one: ‘More like “13 Seasons, Why?”’
Besides being a pretty bad show by all accounts, a lot of people (myself included) felt it glorified suicide to its teen audience. Despite this, it somehow ran for four seasons before the story ended.
Glee
Glee is one of those shows, at least in my opinion, that started off well but should have ended way sooner to keep it that way. Most people agree it went downhill after season 1, so how it ran for six seasons is anyone’s guess.
The Big Bang Theory
So much of this show’s jokes were cheap; relying on harmful stereotypes and problematic tropes. Between the slut shaming, mockery of neurodivergent tendencies, and racial profiling, it’s easy to see why The Big Bang Theory is often the subject of criticism.
In my personal opinion, the show was best in season 1, when it seemed to be written more with the nerds and geeks it was portraying in mind.
“Sheldon is basically every anti-nerd stereotype distilled into a single character.” someone on Reddit said.
Prison Break
Without giving too much away, the plot of Prison Break was… Drumroll, please… Breaking out of prison. Spoiler alert: They’re successful at the end of season 1, which leads to a second season of evading capture. Fun, great, thrilling. Loved it.
But, oh man, it just kept going. After they had to break out of another prison, I bailed on this show, but apparently, some other loyal viewers kept it going through season 5.
Heroes
I’m still way too emotional about this one. Like so many people, I like to pretend that it did end after season 1 – that way, I can forget that seasons 2-4 ever existed. Such a shame that this show didn’t realize its full potential.
2 Broke Girls
When discussing 2 Broke Girls, someone said, “God, I hate that show. Some of the worst acting in sitcom history.” Ouch.
2 Broke Girls ran for six seasons and was eventually canceled, with critics saying it couldn’t survive rehashing the same jokes and formula any longer.
12 TV Shows That Are Often Called “The Best TV Show Ever”
This is such a subjective topic. While I’d love to share my thoughts on the best TV show ever, I thought it would be better to scour the internet to find out what, in your opinion, is the best show ever from a variety of fans.
12 Shows Often Called “The Best TV Show Ever”
The Abrupt Endings of These 8 Netflix Shows That Left Viewers Unsatisfied
The worst part of having your favorite show canceled is that you never get to see the ending and never find out what happened to all the characters. If there was a good ending, the fans might not be upset!
The Abrupt Endings of These 8 Netflix Shows That Left Viewers Unsatisfied
10 Overrated Netflix Shows That Didn’t Live Up to the Hype
Ever watched a show that was so hyped up but you thought was terrible? The show everyone was talking about and watching and you just couldn’t see the appeal? That was the question posted on Reddit, “Which Netflix show is overrated?”
9 Most Overrated Netflix Shows
7 True Crime Shows on Netflix That Are Criminally Addictive
Love learning about real-life crime and can’t get enough? Netflix has become the go-to for binge-able series about crimes and the criminals who commit them.
7 True Crime Shows on Netflix That Are Criminally Addictive
Unpopular Opinion: 15 Shows Everyone Raved About, But We Couldn’t Stand
Ever been excited about a show that someone recommended, but you couldn’t get into it? A show that everyone loved, but you couldn’t stand it? Here are 15 shows people couldn’t get into despite the hype.
Unpopular Opinion: These 15 Shows Everyone Raved About, But We Couldn’t Stand
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Everett
Everett has been writing about media, technology, and parenting since 2014. His work has been featured on MIT Technology Review, HuffPost, and various blogs. When not writing or binge watching TV shows, you'll find him playing video games or spending with with his kids.