When Should Old Shows Be Cut?

ISABEL WILEY, staff writer

Everyone has their favorite binge-worthy TV series. But no show is perfect, and many are left on too long and run their course before they formally end (disclaimer, minor spoilers ahead). Some have too many seasons like “Grey’s Anatomy,” some lose a main character, like “Vampire Diaries,” and some do not make sense anymore, like whatever is currently going on with “Riverdale.’’ Some shows, on the other hand, think that altering their characters with new plot deci sions is the only way to proceed.

After Steve Carell’s departure in the seventh season of “The Office,” the writers decided to move on to the next season and pretend they didn’t lose the face of their show; with out Michael Scott, the series was a shell of its former self, and many fans started to dislike this new era. “The Office” brought in big-time actors like Will Ferrell to distract audiences, but his charac ter was not nearly as humorous as Michael Scott and therefore audiences were not fooled. They also appeared to start over in the penultimate season, creating new characters out of the old ones and rewriting qualities of beloved characters. However, seasons eight and nine of “The Office” do have their good parts. We get to see the characters on new journeys, and the finale ties up everything that happened in all nine seasons in a little bow that leaves audiences in tears. Even with the decent parts of these seasons, the showrunners should have considered ending the series earlier after Steve’s exit.

“Gilmore Girls,” a beloved show of the 2000s, was not immune to this issue; many fans of the show disliked the last two seasons. This is because the creators scripted extremely out-of-character decisions into the plot that do not fit into the existing storylines. Specifically, the infamous mother-daughter duo having an unprecedented falling out left many fans confused and upset. Nevertheless, “Gilmore Girls” still had plenty of characters to watch the show for in these seasons; the side characters become the main event as their plots become ones to root for and to enjoy. The Gilmore Girls do reconcile, but this spat becomes the first event in a series of out-of-character occurrences. “Gilmore Girls” is moreover an excellent series with fast-talking, witty and lovable characters that have you constantly looking up the references they make. However, producers should have crunched the numbers on whether harming the characters and annoying their audiences was worth continuing the show. Although these shows are over, they serve as examples of what happens when producers decide not to respect the integrity of their show or its characters. Showrunners should reevaluate their continuation when the decisions they start making are not ones the characters themselves would make. Although sometimes it is important for characters to face adversity and make different decisions for the purpose of moving the plot forward, there is a fine line between these decisions and the kinds that stop audiences from watching.