It’s an odd spot to find yourself in, isn’t it?
You want your favourite TV show to keep producing new episodes forever ― but most of us have seen what it looks like when a franchise keeps pushing way past its prime, and it’s not pretty.
Turns out we’re not just being snobby when we think our TV shows have gotten worse over time, former King of the Hill writer Michael Jamin confirmed in a TikTok.
“After a couple seasons of a TV series, you often notice a dip in quality,” the writer read from an app user’s question. “Is that because the showrunners and writers run out of ideas?”
Well... is it?
“So, here’s the thing,” Michael replied. “TV shows are not designed to last forever ― it’s not in the DNA of what a TV show is.”
And, he adds, “It’s not that the TV show writers run out of ideas ― it’s that we run out of stories.” He defines stories as exploring “the emotional terrain between two characters.”
For instance, he explains, there may be an interesting emotional dynamic between two friends who are jealous of each other that can form the basis of a great episode.
“But how many times can you explore... this jealousy between the two characters?” he asks. Even if you change the details, the story is the same ― and audiences notice.
“You gotta find other things to explore ― and there’s only so many emotions,” he points out.
What then?
Well, then you might add a character or change the main character’s arc, the writer says.
But that runs a risk ― maybe “what you loved about the show in the beginning is no longer in that show.”
Even a well-executed change in story can mean “you’re moving the character further and further away from what the show was in the beginning.”
That’s not always terrible ― in Breaking Bad, for instance, Michael argues the changes were key to its success. But he notes that even in that show, audiences might think, wait ― wasn’t the lead dying?
“And you’re like shhh ― don’t say anything... again, the show was not what it was in the beginning.”
“At some point, you really run out of emotional territory to explore,” Michael says. “And at that point, you end the series.”
But “some shows will try to just milk it a little longer... for the money,” he ends. “That’s why most shows... well, either you end it, or you keep going, and then the quality will often dip.”