In many cases, the first few episodes of a TV show are make-or-break for its success. TV can be a ruthless business, and if a show's quality is poor or even average, it is unlikely to get the viewership needed to get further episodes made. In many cases, if a show isn't solid to begin with, it will never get the chance to be.
Sometimes, this isn't the case. If a show maintains passable ratings despite its flaws, it may survive a few seasons and get the chance to become something truly spectacular. Sometimes a show's first season is merely good, but it's not until later that it takes on the qualities it would become renowned for. However it happens, some shows only truly hit their stride two or three seasons in.
10 Agents Of SHIELD Was Able To Escape The Winter Soldier's Thumb
Agents of SHIELD struggled when it was first released due to not being able to truly explore its premise. The show's initial plot, with the characters part of a well-funded, multinational SHIELD, was due to be undone by the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which revealed SHIELD to be compromised by HYDRA, and ended with the organization destroyed.
This left most of the first season underbaked and irrelevant. The show was able to somewhat recover in its second season, becoming more of its own entity, but fan opinion holds that Season 3 is when the show truly becomes great.
9 Angel Matured In Its Early Seasons
When it first aired, Angel came across to many as noir-themed Buffy the Vampire Slayer for grown-ups, echoing its parent show's monster-of-the-week format and themes. Despite this, a solid core cast and its ties to Buffy earned it some fans and kept its ratings high enough to avoid being canceled.
Angel would begin to show promise at the end of Season 1, but it was Seasons 2 and 3 that would really propel the show into its own beast, leaning more into long-running story arcs and exploring darker and more mature themes than Buffy.
8 The Office (US) Came Into Its Own
In its first season, the US version of The Office struggled with being a remake of a UK sitcom. Lifting some scripts and gags wholesale, the show's Americanisation didn't sit well with the British-style dark, uncomfortable comedy, resulting in a tonal mismatch that hampered its quality.
It is only later in the show's run that the writers became more comfortable standing out on their own, giving the characters more distinct personalities, relying on more American-style humor, and helping the show truly grow into its own.
7 Ashes To Ashes Blows Its Early Seasons Out Of The Water With Season 3
Ashes to Ashes was a spin-off of Life on Mars with a similar premise, a police officer is injured in the present day and wakes up in the past, unsure if they're really there, or hallucinating. Its first two seasons were far from bad, with good acting, writing, humor, and storylines, but they suffered in comparison to Life on Mars in the eyes of fans.
Season 3, however, described by the creators as "Season 5 of Life on Mars" gave fans what they wanted, upping the mystery of the world DI Alex Drake found herself in considerably and ramping up the ambiguity before finally providing answers to the show's building questions, alongside truly epic concluding storylines.
6 iCarly's First Season Was Only Mediocre
iCarly's first season earned it viewers based on the show's unique premise and solid cast but suffered from numerous issues. It frequently reused stale gags, leaned too much into comedy rather than the mix of drama the show would be known for, and didn't quite have its characters fleshed out.
It's in the show's second and third seasons that it would become the Nickelodeon juggernaut it was known as, with more of a focus on the relationships between the characters, a better mix of drama and comedy, and updating and diversifying the humor.
5 Seinfeld Adopted Its Iconic Format Late On
When Seinfeld first aired, it survived as a moderately funny observational sitcom, but one that failed to stand out from its contemporaries. It would only go on to adopt its now-iconic format and tone towards the end of its second season, starting with the episode 'The Chinese Restaurant'.
This episode, focusing on the cast waiting for a table at a restaurant in real time would set the template for the rest of the series, with the characters engaging in long conversations filled to the brim with comedy, and each given the chance to show off their personalities. From the third season onwards, this format would become beloved by fans.
4 Sherlock Got A Better Grip On Its Tone
In its first season, Sherlock found fans, but the show had yet to grow into what it would be known as. Despite the chemistry between Sheen and Cumberbatch, the show's tone was inconsistent, with more of a focus being on humor, with the drama only really emphasized at the climax of each episode.
Despite the good showing at the end of Season 1, it wouldn't be until the show's later seasons that this balance would be improved, and the show would introduce other popular characters into the cast, such as Mary Watson. In particular, Season 2 is held up as the show's best.
3 Lucifer Thrived In Either Its Second Or Fourth Season
Lucifer has always been regarded as something of a guilty pleasure by fans, rather than as truly artistic television, but arguments abound over when its quality truly took an uptick. Season 1 was a run-of-the-mill police procedural that happened to feature the Devil as the main character, and despite some good chemistry with its actors, failed to stand out.
Season 2 is considered an improvement, leaning more into the show's supernatural aspects and introducing a season-long running storyline. However, Season 3 is widely considered a downturn, and a more concrete epoch in the show becoming 'good' in the eyes of fans is its move to Netflix in Season 4, allowing for the show to become less censored and more streamlined.
2 Buffy Learned To Wield Emotional Punches
The first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is beyond a doubt beloved by fans due to the show's now-iconic nature, but it aired at a time when the show was still finding its feet. Compared to the later seasons, Season 1 of Buffy is short, and somewhat lacking in the emotional stakes the show would become known for.
Later seasons would turn the show into more of an ensemble piece focusing on other cast members, up the emotional punches, and be given more time to explore well-paced story arcs. Fans are split on whether Season 2, 3, or 5 is the best.
1 Star Trek The Next Generation Grew The Beard
The rapid improvement of Star Trek: The Next Generation following its lackluster early showings lent the tongue-in-cheek name to the phenomenon of a show improving between seasons of 'growing the beard', matching the beginnings of Commander Riker's facial hair that coincided with the show finding its niche.
After early seasons failed to differentiate it sufficiently from Star Trek and were hamstrung in exploring the relationships between the crew, later seasons would go on to become their own entity, letting the show explore its own themes, characters, and questions in ways that were different from the original Star Trek, but beloved by fans nonetheless.
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