Watching TV series is one of the most popular leisure activities in the world. But even a good show can be ruined by a bad ending (hello, Game of Thrones), the behavior of the actors on the set, or ideas that seemed brilliant to the writers but turned out to be terrible.
Here are the top 7 ways Hollywood can destroy any good TV show.
Note: some example series descriptions contain spoilers.
7. The stupider the funnier
You create a character who is often silly or unusual looking, and people laugh at him. Whether kindly or not is another question. But the main thing here is not to overdo it, and not to make an outright freak out of just a funny character who will start to scare away the audience.
Example - the famous sitcom "Seinfeld", in which one of the main characters named Cosmo Kramer wore a funny hairstyle. And from season to season she became funnier, or at least taller. And his behavior from eccentric became completely inexplicable.
Does this mean that the character has become funnier and more interesting for the audience? May be. Or perhaps not. But it is more likely that some lazy screenwriters mistakenly took one of the personality traits for the whole personality and exploited it "in the tail and in the mane."
6. Sexual minorities are in fashion, let's use it
Sexual orientation is an acute problem in Europe and the United States. So why not use this theme in movies? To attract the attention of society to it, to show that representatives of sexual minorities are people like everyone else and deserve to be treated with respect. Sounds great? Then let's get started.
But what if a similar problem appears on a TV show in which none of the characters treat the others with respect?
Example - American TV series "Shameless", about a selfish alcoholic father, his many children and their neighbors, who constantly find themselves in the most incredible situations. Sims often commit immoral acts, which makes it difficult to treat them with sympathy, whether in front of you gay, lesbian or ordinary heterosexual.
5. Hooray, we have reached the goal! Now let's continue
Usually, the main characters in TV shows have a clear purpose. For example, punish the killer of your family (partner, pet, etc.), make a seemingly impossible escape, find a magical artifact. But things with ratings on TV are going so well that even after reaching the final travel point of the main characters, the scriptwriters are not ready to part with them.
Example - the series "Escape". Its purpose is in the name itself: the main character must get his brother, who has been sentenced to death, out of prison. At the end of the first season, he succeeds. But the series was so successful that the writers decided to first send the heroes on the run, and then return them to prison again.At some point, viewers began to en masse to switch to something more interesting.
Another famous example is the series The Mentalist, in which the protagonist Patrick Jane helps the police investigate complex cases in order to find the one who brutally killed his wife and child. Every few episodes, he reminds the team that it is the desire to find the killer, nicknamed Bloody John, that is the only reason Patrick works as a police consultant.
In the end, the culprit is found. Well done. Then Jane takes time off and returns to work for another 27 episodes.
4. I am a woman, which means I am the strongest and most independent
Being a feminist in Hollywood films and TV shows means being mentally and physically strong and cocky, and also constantly reminding about it. And male characters, of course, can be strong, but at the same time they do not focus only on this (unless, of course, we are facing the Hulk).
Example - the series "Supergirl", which tells the story of Superman's cousin. She's a superwoman, after all (sorry, girl). So why does every episode of the show remind you of how strong and independent she is?
3. Cancel the new season before viewers know what's going on
A show may have good ratings, but it may still be shut down for whatever reason. For example, due to creative differences or financial conflict between the studio and representatives of the state in which the shooting is taking place.
Example - the 2019 series "Swamp Thing", filmed based on comics published by DC Comics. So many interesting storylines of the first season simply broke off "to nowhere", so many characters remained unrevealed, and the expectations of the audience for the continuation were simply waved with a pen.
2. I am not a racist, I have a lot of Asian, Indian, etc. friends.
The variety of characters in TV shows is good. But in most of them, Asian, Indian, or Middle Eastern characters are always shy, intelligent, and ridiculously respectful to people who are in no way superior to them. And most importantly, they usually don't have a girlfriend.
Example - "The Big Bang Theory". Indian Rajesh Koothrappali, without the influence of alcohol or drugs, cannot even speak to women for 6 whole seasons. All his actions are reduced to a mute pantomime when one of the fair sex appears in the room.
Here's a radical idea. Why not appear in one of the popular TV series an Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern character who knows nothing about science, but has a great skill in communicating with people, a huge supply of charisma, and always gets a girlfriend?
1. I am the star of this show and now I will destroy
This is perhaps the saddest way Hollywood can destroy your favorite TV show. After all, you get used to the actors for several seasons, you worry about their characters and the last thing you want to know is that, through the fault of the actor, a previously popular project was closed.
Example - "Grace on Fire." Brett Butler starred in the hit comedy series for five years before she was fired in 1998.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, she was asked to leave after repeated manifestations of irrational behavior due to drug use. Instead of continuing without her, ABC simply stopped filming Grace on Fire.