What shows rebounded in quality after hitting a low point?

[Ogodei]

Show/Cartoon/Anime: Star Trek The Next Generation
Lull: S1-2
Rebound: S3+
Did it stick?: Yes

The first couple of seasons of Star Trek The Next Generation are pretty bad. Riker grew a beard and things got better.
Writer changes may have also helped.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GrowingTheBeard

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Does it count if the show started poor and got better? That is the trope that you quoted, which is fairly common (for instance, like The Simpsons not really hitting GOAT status until about Season 3 or Seinfeld getting over its clunky first season). What the OP is after is rarer.

The Office somewhat recovered in Season 9 after Season 8, although that was mostly in terms of just creating satisfying conclusions for the end of characters' stories.

 

[Timeaisis]

Supernatural

 

[E.T.]

Twin Peaks. Hit a bad lull in S2 after Laura Palmer's killer was revealed and Lynch had essentially no involvement afterwards. Then it rebounded at the very end of S2 when he came back, and S3 was great. The quality was heavily based on how much Lynch was involved, basically.

There's even a chart someone made that shows where the quality dips are:

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We need one of these for GOT. Would save so much time.

 

[Strax]

The Big Bang Theory got kinda bad during season 5 and 6 when they put the main focus on Howard and his space travel and wedding but it bounced back in season 7.

 

[Tabs2002]

The Wire after a boring season 2

 

[Dr Doom]

Supergirl
Lull: Season 2-3
Rebound 4.
Writing this season miles better. Antagonist is better build up with interweaving storyline between antagonist

 

[Lotus]

Supergirl
Lull: Season 2-3
Rebound 4.
Writing this season miles better. Antagonist is better build up with interweaving storyline between antagonist

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S1 a lull too, but yea

 

[TheBeardedOne]

The Simpsons seems to have. I stopped watching it in the early 2000s. The last episode I remember watching was the one where the graveyard is moved behind the Simpsons' house. The episodes around then were awful.

But the movie was good, and when I had time off and slept poorly, I'd watch reruns because nothing else was on. Reruns of episodes after that era, and they were a lot better. Actually good.

 

[Morrigan]

I can't think of any example really... and those in the OP, well, let's just say I couldn't disagree more lol

Hoping Lucifer S4 will be an example of this though, after the rather awful S3!

 

[jb1234]

Show/Cartoon/Anime: Star Trek The Next Generation
Lull: S1-2
Rebound: S3+
Did it stick?: Yes

The first couple of seasons of Star Trek The Next Generation are pretty bad. Riker grew a beard and things got better.
Writer changes may have also helped.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GrowingTheBeard

Click to shrink...

Except its final season was perhaps the second worst of the series (after S1).

I pick Frasier, which had a pretty poor three season lull (S8-S10) and then recovered somewhat for its final season.

 

[Pascal]

Oh this is a good one, S2 left me very cold, but S3 was so damn good and reminded me why I liked the show

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Yeah I'm not sure what happened with S2 (I barely remember it honestly) but I'm glad S3 was a return to form. Really looking forward to S4.

 

[Master Of Illusion]

Twin Peaks. Hit a bad lull in S2 after Laura Palmer's killer was revealed and Lynch had essentially no involvement afterwards. Then it rebounded at the very end of S2 when he came back, and S3 was great. The quality was heavily based on how much Lynch was involved, basically.

There's even a chart someone made that shows where the quality dips are:

Click to shrink...

Yep. A lot of the runtime for episodes 11 thru 17 is practically unwatchable.

At least we were recently able to get the greatest season of television ever made, and I'm grateful for that.

Oh this is a good one, S2 left me very cold, but S3 was so damn good and reminded me why I liked the show

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I feel like I'm the only person who prefers S2 to S3 of Mr. Robot. Something about it being mindfuck after mindfuck after mindfuck.

 

[Deleted member 31817]

Show/Cartoon/Anime: Mr. Robot
Lull: Season 2
Rebound: Season 3
Did it stick?: We'll find out when season 4 drops.

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Season 2 was so fucking draggy goddamn. I never finished it but I never found season 1 to be goddamned amazing either so what do i know lol

 

[vypek]

Weeds lulls in seasons 4-7. Rebounds in season 8 and it sticks because season 8 was the final season.

 

[Korigama]

Show/Cartoon/Anime: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Lull: Season 1 Episodes 1-15. S3 debatable
Rebound: S2, S4+
Did it stick?: Yes, it's legit. Season 4 is the best single season of any comic book show.

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Show/Cartoon/Anime: Legends of Tomorrow

Lull: S1 was pretty much trash. At best you could say the concept of the show, where they take characters from previous shows to form a team, showed some small promise. But the big bad and some of the team members really dragged down the season.

Rebound: S2 is when the show began making a lot of changes. It got rid of the big bad, as well as the weakest team members (Hawkpeople).The show also began leaning a lot more towards humor and goofiness, framing the Legends as a group of lovable idiots, a makeshift family that gets the job done despite their unorthodox methods. The villains were also much better.

Did it stick?: Yes, S3 was even better about its new approach, with it reaching its apex in the S3 finale in how they hilariously dealt with the main villain. S4 is also quality as well.

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These two for me. Still haven't had the chance to see S3 of Twin Peaks.

 

[Deleted member 46958]

For me, the lull in LOST came during season 5 (until everyone is back in the present). It sticks for me after that.

 

[moeman]

The Wire after a boring season 2

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Agree. It was weird to take the focus away from the Barksdale clan in the second season. The whole Sabotka family angle didn't do much for me. I didn't feel for any of those characters they all just felt like huge assholes with no redeeming qualities.

 

[Pedrito]

Although I personally liked it, S5 of the Americans is widely considered to be its weakest. It's then followed by arguibly its best season, and one of the best final seasons of any show ever.

 

[HustleBun]

Agree. It was weird to take the focus away from the Barksdale clan in the second season. The whole Sabotka family angle didn't do much for me. I didn't feel for any of those characters they all just felt like huge assholes with no redeeming qualities.

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I felt this too. After the intense ending of Season 1 it was pretty jarring to be thrown a completely new setting with new characters that, save for Frank, were extremely unlikable.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Season 2 of The Wire is arguably the best one tho.

 

[moeman]

Season 2 of The Wire is arguably the best one tho.

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Ehh agree to disagree I guess. So much of The Wire's strength is in the way it builds characters and relationships. The development of the Sabotka family was underwhelming and the "big bads" of the season (The Greek etc.) were weak. The way they built up the Barksdale crew and how they developed even the minor characters like Michael B. Jordan's around the Barksdale family was excellent. They all had their own arcs, progressions, and motives for doing things. I just didn't feel the same way for Nick or his cousin, or anyone involved with them.

 

[It’s Time To Go]

The Simpsons has gotten a lot better in the past few seasons.

 

[PhilosopherDirtBike]

Show: Homeland
Lull: Season 3
Rebound: Season 4
Did it stick? Kinda. Seasons 5-7 have all been varying levels of decent but not as good as seasons 1 and 4 imo. Feels like it now suffers from "12 hour movie" syndrome where nothing interesting happens for 3-4 episodes in the middle of the season and episodes don't really have clear satisfying endpoints.

 

[Oozer]

Show/Cartoon/Anime: The O.C.
Lull: Season 3. Everybody became insufferable and the writers would do something terrible to Marissa whenever they were bored. And they were bored a lot. Similar to a lot of other examples, the show runner had left.
Rebound: Season 4. The show runner returns! As does the show's quality! Taylor Townshend went from one of the most annoying characters to one of the most lovable. And the show became funny again. A big return to form just in time for the end of the series.
Did it stick?: Season 4 was the last season.

 

[sir_crocodile]

Angel
Lull : teenage conor
rebound : final season

 

[Elfotografoalocado]

GoT season 5 to 6.
But then it fell again.

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Pretty much.

 

[karmaforgotme]

Subjectively I would say Six Feet Under season 4 was bad, but it rebounded big time in it's final season 5 (which has the greatest finale ever).

Season 2 of The Wire is arguably the best one tho.

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Season 2 of The Wire is a masterpiece of storytelling, as is all the seasons of The Wire (I would argue the weakest was the last season). I will never understand the hate it gets.

 

[Gundam]

Anime: ZZ Gundam (Double Zeta)

Lull: the first like 10-14 episodes. A lot of time is spent doing fuck all in a colony, and the tonal whiplash from Zeta Gundam (Which ZZ is a direct continuation of) really hurts, as most of the comedy doesn't really land.

Rebound: The second half of the show gets really good. The cast of characters becomes likable, and there's momentum to the plot and events. The good part of the show is basically denoted by the second OP.

Did it stick? It ends pretty alright, if there are some unanswered questions about some certain characters. By the end of it, I'm really into it, but it's hard for me to really put it up there with the better Gundam shows thanks to the rough start.

 

[Z-Beat]

Korra, with season 2 being the low point

 

[Bronx-Man]

Twin Peaks. Hit a bad lull in S2 after Laura Palmer's killer was revealed and Lynch had essentially no involvement afterwards. Then it rebounded at the very end of S2 when he came back, and S3 was great. The quality was heavily based on how much Lynch was involved, basically.

There's even a chart someone made that shows where the quality dips are:

Click to shrink...

This is the one. S1 and S3 are fantastic, 2 is just a slog to get through.

 

[ChaosZeroX]

The Walking Dead

 

[Deleted member 13496]

Ehh agree to disagree I guess. So much of The Wire's strength is in the way it builds characters and relationships. The development of the Sabotka family was underwhelming and the "big bads" of the season (The Greek etc.) were weak. The way they built up the Barksdale crew and how they developed even the minor characters like Michael B. Jordan's around the Barksdale family was excellent. They all had their own arcs, progressions, and motives for doing things. I just didn't feel the same way for Nick or his cousin, or anyone involved with them.

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I agree. Season 2 of The Wire sucked (as much as a show of that calibre can suck, I'm obviously being hyperbolic).

 

[-shadow-]

Twin Peaks. Hit a bad lull in S2 after Laura Palmer's killer was revealed and Lynch had essentially no involvement afterwards. Then it rebounded at the very end of S2 when he came back, and S3 was great. The quality was heavily based on how much Lynch was involved, basically.

There's even a chart someone made that shows where the quality dips are:

Click to shrink...

I absolutely love the good parts of season 2 and the parts actually connected to the mythos of the story. But sweet lord, everything revolving James... Why the hell was that even a thing?! What surprises me most, is that the series pokes fun at those sappy ol' dramas with Invitation To Love, and in the end it because the joke itself... But that finale, man oh man!

 

[CommodoreKong]

Show: Babylon 5
Lull: Season 1. The show doesn't have a great start. It didn't find it's footing until season 2 and I almost stopped watching it.
Rebound: Season 2. Things kick into high gear in season 2. The show finds it's footing and becomes one of the best Sci-Fi shows ever made with an high quality ongoing storyline that lasts multiple seasons. If you've seen the entire show and do a rewatch season 1 becomes much more enjoyable since you see some of the plot threads being laid that pay off years down the line.
Did it stick?: Seasons 2-4 are some of the best sci-fi ever made. Season 5 has a bit of dip in quality but still worth a watch. It's easily one of the best sci-fi shows ever made.

 

[mrmoose]

Friday Night Lights.

Lull: season 2
Rebound: season 3
Did it stick?: sorta

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Like Heroes, this was sidetracked by the writer's strike, but even without it I'm not sure that whole Landry murder storyline was going to come to a satisfying conclusion. Unlike Heroes, I think it bounced back fine, even if I never finished watching the Michael B. Jordan last season.