Almost every show that goes for multiple seasons eventually does the thing fans dread the most: the jump the shark. Not every show jumps the shark, but it's usually inevitable for long-running shows.
Jumping the shark can mean a few different things. Sometimes, it's the creative pinnacle of the show and everything that comes after feels like coasting. Sometimes it's a moment so absurd, that there is simply no way for the show to ever recover from it. Here is our list of some of the best shows and the moment they jumped the shark.
The Principal And The Pauper - The Simpsons
When a show has been on the air as long as The Simpsons, it wouldn't be surprising to see fans arguing over when it actually jumped the shark. However, for The Simpsons, it's usually agreed upon that "The Principal And The Pauper" is the moment all was lost. Fans hate it, cast members hate it... it's just... hated. It's hated for ruining the canon of the show and creating a fake Skinner.
Cousin Oliver Joins The Bradys - The Brady Bunch
Another way people sometimes refer to the jump-the-shark moment is by calling it the "Cousin Oliver" moment. That's when a new, younger, and cuter cast member is added to a family sitcom when the original kids get too old. It's easy to point to the Cousin Oliver moment on The Brady Bunch since it's the genesis of the term.
The Connors Win The Lottery - Roseanne
The charm of the Connors on Roseanne is their working-class family dynamics. It was something that was rarely seen on TV in those days and it made the "real" to fans of the show. Then they won the lottery and all of a sudden everything that made them real was gone. Womp womp.
Joey And Rachel - Friends
Friends really started getting ridiculous when Rachel and Joy started hooking up behind Ross' back. Two couples within the group of six was enough, no one needed a third. Luckily it didn't last long and the show recovered a little from it, but it was definitely the beginning of the end.
Matthew Crawley's Death - Downton Abbey
One of the things that made Downton Abbey so interesting in the beginning was the dynamic between the established family at Downton with the heir they never knew in Matthew Crawley. When things were finally getting resolved, Matthew was suddenly killed off in a car crash and we had to start all over again. The show never recovered to its early heights.
Jim And Pam Get Married - The Office
It was the moment everyone was waiting for. Jim and Pam finally got married! We all laughed and cried tears of joy. The problem? Where does The Office from there? Yeah, it seems no one really knew and even though the show soldiered on, it never quite regained the magic it had before that wonderful moment.
Season Nine Was A Dream - Dallas
Not only was the big reveal at the end of Season 9 that Bobby Ewing was alive and the whole season had been a dream the moment that Dallas jumped the shark, it made fans furious. Everyone felt cheated and in a way, they were. It's always a mistake to pretend to kill off a character.
Jefferson D'Arcy Moves In - Married... With Children
Ted McGinley is a great actor with an unfortunate reputation of being one reason shows jump the shark. TV fans point to shows like Magnum PI and The Love Boat as examples, but the most famous example is when he joined the cast as D'Arcy's new husband on Married... With Children. For lack of any better moment, we'll go with this one.
Sam Sells The Bar - Cheers
A show jumping the shark in the first episode of a season is very rare, but that's what Cheers did. Season 5 of Cheers ends with Diane (Shelley Long) leaving Boston, never to return. Season 6 opens with Sam having sold the bar to sail around the world. The show might not have gone off the rails with Diane leaving, but Sam selling the bar ended the golden age of the show.
Zoey Barlett Getting Kidnapped - The West Wing
One of the best cliffhangers in TV history comes at the end of Season 4 of The West Wing when Zoey Bartlett (Elisabeth Moss) is kidnapped. It's a moment that writer Aaron Sorkin set up way back in Season 1. It was the pinnacle of the show and after Sorkin left at the end of the season, the show really struggled to reach its early heights. IT never really did.
Negan Kills Glenn And Abraham - The Walking Dead
Negan is the ultimate baddie in The Walking Dead and once he was introduced and he murdered Glenn and Abraham, there was simply nowhere for the show to go to reach a more emotional peak. That was it. The show continued on, but it never came close to that moment ever again.
McNulty's Serial Killer - The Wire
The Wire didn't jump the shark until its final system, but when McNulty invents the serial killer, suddenly a show famous for being grounded in reality went way off the rails. It's still a point of contention with fans of the show and it always will be. It's not one of McNulty's best moments, that's for sure.
West Beverly Grads Go to College - Beverly Hills, 90210
A show about high school, even a classic like Beverly Hills, 90210 is always going to struggle when the main cast graduate. 90210 did an okay job making the transition and it had more seasons after high school than before, but it was never as good as it was in the first three seasons. Donna Martin Graduates!
Fonzi Jumping The Shark - Happy Days
You knew this one had to be on the list, right? The Fonz jumping the shark while wearing his leather jacket in Happy Days is the origin of the term and one of the most infamous moments in all of TV history.
Not Penny's Boat - Lost
Lost is one of the most controversial shows in history. Fans love it, and those same fans also hate it. Almost no one thinks the show ended well, but everyone agrees that the moment we learn that the boat supposedly coming to save the castaways isn't what they think it is is the creative peak of the show.
Sam Joins The Drummonds - Diff'rent Strokes
In one of the most famous examples of the "Cousin Oliver Effect," Diff'rent Strokes introduced Sam, a new kid living with the Drummonds. The show was simply never the same again.
John Dutton Becomes Governor - Yellowstone
Yellowstone was never a show that was grounded in much reality, but when a sociopath and criminal like John Dutton (Kevin Costner) gets elected governor, it's a bridge too far. Everyone's favorite TV anti-hero was halfway believable as a rich guy fighting off everyone from his land, but the governor? Come on. Making his first speech with a black hat on is a little on the nose, too.
The Cylon Reveal - Battlestar Galactica
Make no mistake, the moment of the Cylon reveal on Battlestar Galactica is an all-time great TV moment. The problem is, the show lost its way a little as so much had been building for that moment.
Spock's Brain - Star Trek (TOS)
There honestly might not be a moment when the original series of Star Trek jumped the shark, but if you have to pick one, it's probably the "Spock's Brain" episode. It's a favorite for some, but it's not without its detractors, who call it the cheesiest episode of the show.
Leaving Westworld - Westworld
This may be the most devastating jump-the-shark moment on this list. Westworld's first season is universally praised. In the end, when the show "leaves" Westworld it goes off the rails and the next two seasons are a disaster. It truly never recovered.
House Destroys Cuddy's House - House
The balance between genius and chaos is what made House a great show. Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) was on the edge. It's when he went over the edge by crashing a car into Dr. Cuddy's house, the show never got back to where it was before, when it was truly great.
The Gang Goes To Ireland - Sons Of Anarchy
Sons Of Anarchy was always a show that was over-the-top and ridiculous. It was part of the Charm of the motorcycle gang from Charming. About halfway through Season 3, a bunch of the gang takes off for Northern Ireland for... some reason. It feels like such a desperate attempt to breathe life into the show when it didn't really need it yet.
Frank Underwood Becomes President - House Of Cards
The best thing about House Of Cards is watching Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and his desperate craving for power. When he finally reaches the pinnacle, the motivation is lost and that is reflected. Spacey's legal problems ultimately spelled the end of the show, for all intents and purposes, but it jumped the shark long before that.
A Different Darren - Bewitched
Replacing a popular actor is difficult, especially if it's in an existing role. Dick York, the original Darren on Bewitched was forced to leave the show because of medical issues, and a new actor, Dick Sergeant stepped in. Sergeant was great in the role, and it's not his fault the show faltered, but it just never regained the steam it had before York got sick.
Laverne and Shirley Move To LA - Laverne & Shirley
There are a ton of TV sitcoms set in Los Angeles, but very few are set in Milwaukee. What made Laverne & Shirley so charming was that midwest vibe it had when the two titular characters worked in a brewery. In Season 6, everyone ups and moves to LA and the show's charm was sucked out of it almost immediately. It stumbled along for another few seasons, but it was never the same.
Topher Grace Leaving - That '70s Show
Some shows can survive the main character leaving, but some just can't. That '70s Show is an example of the latter when Topher Grace, who played Eric Foreman, left the show. Though it was an ensemble cast, Eric was really the core of the whole friend group and they just never found the chemistry the earlier seasons had.
Victorian Sherlock - Sherlock
It was a bold decision by the creators of Sherlock to set an episode in Victorian London, the true time period for Sherlock Holmes. It's a decent episode, but the problem was that what made the show great was that it was a very modern and very contemporary take on the Sherlock Holmes stories. By setting it in the late 19th Century it was more like every other adaption of the Holmes stories, and the show lost some of its charm.
Rosalind Shays (Diana Muldaur) on L.A. Law was one of the great TV villains of the 1980s. Still, her ridiculous death by falling down an empty elevator shaft was so silly that it spelled the end of the show. The show wouldn't end for another few seasons, it felt like such a cheap end after she had started a relationship with another character, softening her character.
Leo Joins The Cast - Growing Pains
Usually, the actor in a "Cousin Oliver" moment ends up living in obscurity. That is not what happened with the Growing Pains Cousin Oliver moment when the family invited a homeless kid named Luke Brower to live with them. Bower was played by none other than Leonardo DiCaprio. Wow. Still, it didn't save the show from getting canceled soon after.
Song Beneath the Song - Grey's Anatomy
The 18th episode of Season 7 of Grey's Anatomy was... a musical. There are a lot of ways of looking at the episode, called "Song Beneath the Song." Some love and some loathe it. Either way, it's a classic jump-the-shark moment, even for a show that used music brilliantly.
