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* ''Series/PoliceCameraAction'' became this in 2010 but RealLifeWritesThePlot played a part; due to its original host Alastair Stewart no longer being involved after a RoleEndingMisdemeanor, and Adrian Simpson leaving in August 2008 after a short-lived {{Revival}} from September 2007 to July 2008 (10 months 1 week and 5 day), it eventually lost most of what made it popular and became too DarkerAndEdgier with this 2010 series, plus the police footage became TheArtifact and it was no longer presenter links as a FramingDevice, which alienated some of the audience. At the time, on social media (when that was still in its infancy), some fans called for a SoftReboot or ContinuityReboot to effectively bring back the franchise for a new audience and fix the show's problems, as the show was back in the public consciousness via re-runs some 5 years earlier and its fandom returned after 3 years off the air in 2005.
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* ''Series/PoliceCameraAction'' became this in 2010 but RealLifeWritesThePlot played a part; due to its original host Alastair Stewart no longer being involved after a RoleEndingMisdemeanor, and Adrian Simpson leaving in August 2008 after a short-lived {{Revival}} from September 2007 to July 2008 (10 months 1 week and 5 day), days), it eventually lost most of what made it popular and became too DarkerAndEdgier with this 2010 series, plus the police footage became TheArtifact and it was no longer presenter links as a FramingDevice, which alienated some of the audience. At the time, on social media (when that was still in its infancy), some fans called for a SoftReboot or ContinuityReboot to effectively bring back the franchise for a new audience and fix the show's problems, as the show was back in the public consciousness via re-runs some 5 years earlier and its fandom returned after 3 years off the air in 2005.
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* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Eric Kripke only intended the show to run for five seasons, which is why the fifth ends on what is, by all appearances, a GrandFinale involving the Winchesters averting Armageddon itself. It ran for over ''twice'' that long, and season eleven was about ''God'' reconciling with his [[SiblingYinYang sister]]. There really isn't much room to maneuver on the SuperWeight tier chart. The show officially [[FinaleSeason came to an end]] with its ''fifteenth'' season. The final BigBad? [[spoiler:God himself. Yeah.]]
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* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Eric Kripke only intended the show to run for five seasons, which is why the fifth ends on what is, by all appearances, a GrandFinale involving the Winchesters averting Armageddon itself. It ran for over ''twice'' that long, and season eleven was about ''God'' reconciling with his [[SiblingYinYang sister]]. There really isn't much room to maneuver on the SuperWeight tier chart. The show officially [[FinaleSeason came to an end]] with its ''fifteenth'' season. The final BigBad? [[spoiler:God himself. Yeah.]]
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* Reportedly, Chris Carter wanted to end ''Series/TheXFiles'' after the sixth or seventh season, but had to stick around with it because Fox threatened to keep making it, with or without him. This didn't stop him from making another movie years after the series had ended, and two miniseries years after that.
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* Reportedly, Chris Carter wanted to end ''Series/TheXFiles'' fell victim to this. Chris Carter originally planned to finish the series after Season Five, followed by some epilogue movies to wrap up the show's mytharc. However, the fifth season coincided with the peak of the show's popularity, and it was renewed for a sixth season even before [[Film/TheXFilesFightTheFuture the first movie]] came out in 1998. He still hoped to end the series after the sixth or seventh season, but had to stick around with it because Fox threatened to keep making it, with or without him. This didn't stop him from making another movie years after the series had ended, and two miniseries years after that.
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* The main character of ''Series/{{Castle}}'' is a writer who has got so tired of his signature character that he has him shot in his last book. This causes angst with his publisher (an ex-wife).
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* The main character of ''Series/{{Castle}}'' ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'' is a writer who has got so tired of his signature character that he has him shot in his last book. This causes angst with his publisher (an ex-wife).
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!!Real life:
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[[folder:Real Life]]
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!!In-universe:
* ''Series/{{Castle}}''. The main character is a writer who has got so tired of his creation that he has him shot in his last book. This causes angst with his publisher (an ex-wife).
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[[folder:In-Universe]]
*
[[/folder]]
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{{Franchise Zombie}}s in LiveActionTV.
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{{Franchise Zombie}}s in LiveActionTV.
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* ''Series/TheAndyGriffithShow'' was supposed to have ended after five seasons. An additional three were produced, minus Creator/DonKnotts and with a tired Andy Griffith before both he and Creator/RonHoward left at which point the show was retitled ''Series/MayberryRFD'' and shambled along until UsefulNotes/TheRuralPurge finally put it out of its' misery.
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* ''Series/TheAndyGriffithShow'' was supposed to have ended after five seasons. An additional three were produced, minus Creator/DonKnotts and with a tired Andy Griffith Creator/AndyGriffith before both he and Creator/RonHoward left at which point the show was retitled ''Series/MayberryRFD'' and shambled along until UsefulNotes/TheRuralPurge finally put it out of its' misery.
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* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** Eric Kripke only intended the show to run for five seasons, which is why the fifth ends on what is, by all appearances, a GrandFinale involving the Winchesters averting Armageddon itself. It has since run for over ''twice'' that long, and season eleven was about ''God'' reconciling with his [[SiblingYinYang sister]]. There really isn't much room to maneuver on the SuperWeight tier chart.
** The show officially [[FinaleSeason came to an end]] with its ''fifteenth'' season. The final BigBad? [[spoiler: God himself. Yeah.]]
** Eric Kripke only intended the show to run for five seasons, which is why the fifth ends on what is, by all appearances, a GrandFinale involving the Winchesters averting Armageddon itself. It has since run for over ''twice'' that long, and season eleven was about ''God'' reconciling with his [[SiblingYinYang sister]]. There really isn't much room to maneuver on the SuperWeight tier chart.
** The show officially [[FinaleSeason came to an end]] with its ''fifteenth'' season. The final BigBad? [[spoiler: God himself. Yeah.]]
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* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
**''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Eric Kripke only intended the show to run for five seasons, which is why the fifth ends on what is, by all appearances, a GrandFinale involving the Winchesters averting Armageddon itself. It has since run ran for over ''twice'' that long, and season eleven was about ''God'' reconciling with his [[SiblingYinYang sister]]. There really isn't much room to maneuver on the SuperWeight tier chart.
**chart. The show officially [[FinaleSeason came to an end]] with its ''fifteenth'' season. The final BigBad? [[spoiler: God [[spoiler:God himself. Yeah.]]
**
**
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* ''Series/{{Highlander}}'': Once the television show reached six seasons and it was clear that its star, Creator/AdrianPaul, would not be returning for another one, Panzer devoted the entire season to auditioning female leads for a potential spin-off. Paul does not appear in two of Season Six's episodes, and at least two others only give him token cameo appearances and are dominated by the female guest stars. His contract did not require him to be present for more than six episodes out of the remaining thirteen. The producers introduced a revolving door of potential Highlanderettes to don Paul's mantle, including Claudia Christian of later ''Babylon 5'' fame, but none of them fit the bill. The role eventually went to a supporting character played by Elizabeth Gracen. After all that turmoil, ''HighlanderTheRaven'' bombed spectacularly since nobody involved (from the writers to the producers) had any clue where to take the new series; and to top it all off, Gracen's character wasn't even originally written as heroic.
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* ''Series/{{Highlander}}'': Once Going into the television show reached six seasons and sixth season of the show, it was became clear that its star, Creator/AdrianPaul, would not be returning for another one, lead actor Creator/AdrianPaul wanted to leave. Executive producer Bill Panzer therefore devoted the entire season to auditioning female leads for a potential spin-off. [[SpinOff spin-off]] about a female Immortal: out of thirteen episodes, Paul does not appear at all in two of Season Six's episodes, them and at least two others only give him token cameo appearances and are dominated by appearances, with the stories giving the spotlight to a succession of one-off female guest stars. His contract did not require him to be present for more than six episodes out of the remaining thirteen. The producers introduced a revolving door of potential Highlanderettes to don Paul's mantle, including Claudia Christian of later ''Babylon 5'' fame, but Ultimately none of them the guest stars fit the bill. The role eventually went to a supporting bill, and the spin-off was instead based around recurring character Amanda played by Elizabeth Gracen. After all that turmoil, ''HighlanderTheRaven'' ''Series/HighlanderTheRaven'' bombed spectacularly since nobody involved (from the writers to the producers) had any clue where to take the new series; and to top it all off, Gracen's character wasn't even originally written as heroic.was cancelled after one season.
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* ''Series/{{Highlander}}'': Once the television show reached six seasons and it was clear that its star, Creator/AdrianPaul, would not be returning for another one, Panzer devoted the entire season to auditioning female leads for a potential spin-off. Paul does not appear in nearly half of Season Six's episodes. His contract did not require him to be present for more than six episodes out of the remaining thirteen. The producers introduced a revolving door of potential Highlanderettes to don Paul's mantle, including Claudia Christian of later ''Babylon 5'' fame, but none of them fit the bill. The role eventually went to a supporting character played by Elizabeth Gracen. After all that turmoil, ''HighlanderTheRaven'' bombed spectacularly since nobody involved (from the writers to the producers) had any clue where to take the new series; and to top it all off, Gracen's character wasn't even originally written as heroic.
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* ''Series/{{Highlander}}'': Once the television show reached six seasons and it was clear that its star, Creator/AdrianPaul, would not be returning for another one, Panzer devoted the entire season to auditioning female leads for a potential spin-off. Paul does not appear in nearly half two of Season Six's episodes.episodes, and at least two others only give him token cameo appearances and are dominated by the female guest stars. His contract did not require him to be present for more than six episodes out of the remaining thirteen. The producers introduced a revolving door of potential Highlanderettes to don Paul's mantle, including Claudia Christian of later ''Babylon 5'' fame, but none of them fit the bill. The role eventually went to a supporting character played by Elizabeth Gracen. After all that turmoil, ''HighlanderTheRaven'' bombed spectacularly since nobody involved (from the writers to the producers) had any clue where to take the new series; and to top it all off, Gracen's character wasn't even originally written as heroic.
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wrong application of the trope
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* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' is considered to have become this after the departure of Creator/SteveCarell, which led to Michael Scott, ''the boss of the office'', being written out of the show. The series continued for two more seasons without its main character.
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* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' is considered to have become this after the departure not much of Creator/SteveCarell, which led to Michael Scott, ''the boss of the office'', being written out of the show. The series continued for two more a case, even if creator Greg Daniels left four seasons without its main character.in to make ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'', considering most of the extensive creative team remained - and how Daniels returned for the ninth and final season.
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fixed grammar
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* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". (''Law & Order'' would be revived in 2022 as a continuation of the original series, taking place in the present day, with Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterston as the only actors carried over from the show’s original run.) Wolf’s currently ongoing series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
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* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, one, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". (''Law & Order'' would be revived in 2022 as a continuation of the original series, taking place in the present day, with Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterston as the only actors carried over from the show’s original run.) Wolf’s currently ongoing series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
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* Almost all the scripted shows canceled in UsefulNotes/TheRuralPurge had become or were rapidly descending into franchise zombie territory. ''Series/MayberryRFD'' stands out as its' original title had been changed after Andy Griffith, whose vehicle it had been, left.
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* Tony Garnett, producer of ''Series/BetweenTheLines'', publicly said that he felt the third and final series of the show fell into this trap when he was asked why he decided not to make a third season of his popular series ''Series/ThisLife''.
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* Tony Garnett, producer of ''Series/BetweenTheLines'', ''Series/BetweenTheLines1992'', publicly said that he felt the third and final series of the show fell into this trap when he was asked why he decided not to make a third season of his popular series ''Series/ThisLife''.
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** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E1WarriorsOfTheDeep Warriors of the Deep]]" [[TroubledProduction happened]], inciting Michael Grade to personally start trying to kill the show off for being an embarrassing 1960s relic (which is what eventually did it in, although it did take him five years and several false starts).
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** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E1WarriorsOfTheDeep "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E1WarriorsOfTheDeep Warriors of the Deep]]" [[TroubledProduction happened]], inciting Michael Grade to personally start trying to kill the show off for being an embarrassing 1960s relic (which is what eventually did it in, although it did take him five years and several false starts).
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* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' creator Haim Saban considers the Disney era of his franchise (''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' to ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'') to be a personal zombie period to him, saying in his own words that "Disney did not develop the property and exploit it in the way that it deserves." Showrunner Jonathan Tzachor deems only ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' to ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' as "counting", but then again, Jonathan's concept of canonicity is strange. [[note]] To clarify, Jonathan considers each season to be in its own continuity[[/note]].
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* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' creator Haim Saban considers the Disney era of his franchise (''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' to ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'') to be a personal zombie period to him, saying in his own words that "Disney did not develop the property and exploit it in the way that it deserves." Showrunner Jonathan Tzachor deems only ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' to ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' as "counting", but then again, Jonathan's concept of canonicity is strange. [[note]] To clarify, Jonathan considers each season to be in its own continuity[[/note]].continuity.[[/note]]
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* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". (''Law & Order'' would be revived in 2022 as a continuation of the original series, with Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterston as the only actors carried over from the show’s original run.) Wolf’s currently ongoing series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
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* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". (''Law & Order'' would be revived in 2022 as a continuation of the original series, taking place in the present day, with Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterston as the only actors carried over from the show’s original run.) Wolf’s currently ongoing series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
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* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". (''Law & Order'' would be revived in 2022 as a continuation of the original series, with Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterston as the only actors carried over from the show’s original run.) His currently ongoing series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
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* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". (''Law & Order'' would be revived in 2022 as a continuation of the original series, with Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterston as the only actors carried over from the show’s original run.) His Wolf’s currently ongoing series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
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* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". (''Law & Order'' would be revived in 2022 as a continuation of the original series, with Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterston as the only carryovers from the end of the show’s original run.) His currently ongoing series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
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* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". (''Law & Order'' would be revived in 2022 as a continuation of the original series, with Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterston as the only carryovers actors carried over from the end of the show’s original run.) His currently ongoing series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
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* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". (''Law & Order'' would later be revived in 2022 as a continuation of the original series, with Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterston as the only carryovers from the end of the show’s original run.) His currently ongoing series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
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* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". (''Law & Order'' would later be revived in 2022 as a continuation of the original series, with Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterston as the only carryovers from the end of the show’s original run.) His currently ongoing series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
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* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". (The original ''Law & Order'' would later be revived in 2022 as a continuation of the original series, with Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterston as the only carryovers from the end of the show’s original run.) His currently ongoing series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
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* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". (The original ''Law (''Law & Order'' would later be revived in 2022 as a continuation of the original series, with Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterston as the only carryovers from the end of the show’s original run.) His currently ongoing series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
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* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". His currently ongoing series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
to:
* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". (The original ''Law & Order'' would later be revived in 2022 as a continuation of the original series, with Anthony Anderson and Sam Waterston as the only carryovers from the end of the show’s original run.) His currently ongoing series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
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* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". His other series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
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!!Real life:
* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". Hisother currently ongoing series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". His
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* ''Series/TheBigComfyCouch'' became this when it was renewed not once, but ''twice'' well after the end of its first 65-episode run, thanks to ExecutiveMeddling to bring the total number of episodes up to 100. The last season, in which [[TheOtherDarrin Ramona Gilmour-Darling replaced]] Creator/AlysonCourt as Loonette, is considered by most fans to be the worst.
to:
* ''Series/TheBigComfyCouch'' became this when it was renewed not once, but ''twice'' well after the end of its first 65-episode run, thanks to ExecutiveMeddling to bring the total number of episodes up to 100. The last season, in which [[TheOtherDarrin Ramona Gilmour-Darling replaced]] Creator/AlysonCourt as Loonette, is considered by most fans to be the worst.worst.
!!In-universe:
* ''Series/{{Castle}}''. The main character is a writer who has got so tired of his creation that he has him shot in his last book. This causes angst with his publisher (an ex-wife).
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!!In-universe:
* ''Series/{{Castle}}''. The main character is a writer who has got so tired of his creation that he has him shot in his last book. This causes angst with his publisher (an ex-wife).
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Added DiffLines:
* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' ran for twenty years and maintained a fairly consistent groove throughout, thanks to a revolving cast and keeping the focus off -- for the most part -- its characters. The wheels finally started to come off when several cast members all left at once, and Sam Waterston's ADA was finally promoted to DA. The new cast didn't gel like the old onw, and the show ended in 2010. Producer Dick Wolf has said in interviews that his intent was to make ''Law & Order'' run longer than ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'', but he later conceded that the series had "moved onto the history books". His other series within the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' franchise, ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', also receives cries of this for similar reasons.
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' became one of these after season seven, when the original writers left and the name becomes an ArtifactTitle.
* The 90's sitcom ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' was this. Lasting from 1996 to 2003, the series lasted beyond Sabrina's teenage years, and spun off two animated shows. [[WesternAnimation/SabrinaTheAnimatedSeries The first animated series]] generally gets some sympathy, but the second does not.
* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' creator Haim Saban considers the Disney era of his franchise (''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' to ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'') to be a personal zombie period to him, saying in his own words that "Disney did not develop the property and exploit it in the way that it deserves." Showrunner Jonathan Tzachor deems only ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' to ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' as "counting", but then again, Jonathan's concept of canonicity is strange. [[note]] To clarify, Jonathan considers each season to be in its own continuity[[/note]].
* Reportedly, Chris Carter wanted to end ''Series/TheXFiles'' after the sixth or seventh season, but had to stick around with it because Fox threatened to keep making it, with or without him. This didn't stop him from making another movie years after the series had ended, and two miniseries years after that.
* Norman Lear planned to end ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' after Season 8, with Mike and Gloria moving to California (thereby eliminating the intrafamilial conflict that was the heart of the show). But CBS ended up dangling a huge salary increase and production deal to Carroll O'Connor, and the show not only limped along for another season (without Lear), but was {{retool}}ed as ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which itself lasted four seasons.
* Creator/JohnCleese was reportedly frustrated about the later seasons of ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'', as he felt they had used up all of their original ideas, but the rest of the team carried on for a single season of the show, which was renamed ''Monty Python''.
* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' is considered to have become this after the departure of Creator/SteveCarell, which led to Michael Scott, ''the boss of the office'', being written out of the show. The series continued for two more seasons without its main character.
* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' creator Creator/BillLawrence wanted to end the series several times, but was forced to keep going.
** The first time this happened was after Season 6. In an example of [[TropesAreTools Tropes Are Not Bad]] this meant the show shrugged off what would have been a quite depressing ending for JD and Elliot into a much better Season 7 & 8, rebuilding their relationship and fixing it for good, complete with a fairytale GrandFinale as the final episode of Season 8.
** Then instead of doing a proper SpinOff, the executives kept the show as "Scrubs" for Season 9 despite a massive change of setting and major cast changes. Any executive with a brain would have distanced the SpinOff more from the original, but they refused, and the "Med School" PostScriptSeason was hated by the fanbase for ruining the show, many refused to watch it entirely and the show was finally cancelled.
* The show ''Series/{{Weeds}}'' started to become this as the creator always seemed to announce that the current season would be the last, only for Showtime to renew it midway through that season.
* ''Series/AnneOfGreenGables'' falls into this category. As he describes in the DVD featurette "Kevin Sullivan's Classic", producer/writer/director Kevin Sullivan only intended to do one mini-series adapting the original novel in 1985. Afterwards, the network pressured him to make a sequel, though he chose to only loosely adapt some later Anne novels rather than pick one for a close adaptation. Afterwards, demand remained high so inspired by a short story collection by LM Montgomery he created the long-running series ''Road to Avonlea''. In 2000, more than a decade after the second mini-series, he reassembled the original cast for a wholly original, DarkerAndEdgier sequel set during World War I (completely messing up the continuity of both the first two movies and books). Sullivan couldn't let Anne rest, however, and brought her back in a near-fantasy animated reimagining, ''Anne: Journey to Green Gables'' in 2005 (which added a Disney-like villain to the story), and in 2008 he produced a live-action movie ''A New Beginning'', now set in World War II as a middle-aged Anne reflects on her life before the events of the first movie. Fortunately, except for the animated film which has fallen into obscurity, the frequent revisits to Avonlea to Sullivan's credit are generally critically lauded and popular with viewers (if criticized by Kindred Spirits--the Anne equivalent of Trekkies).
* Tony Garnett, producer of ''Series/BetweenTheLines'', publicly said that he felt the third and final series of the show fell into this trap when he was asked why he decided not to make a third season of his popular series ''Series/ThisLife''.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** Eric Kripke only intended the show to run for five seasons, which is why the fifth ends on what is, by all appearances, a GrandFinale involving the Winchesters averting Armageddon itself. It has since run for over ''twice'' that long, and season eleven was about ''God'' reconciling with his [[SiblingYinYang sister]]. There really isn't much room to maneuver on the SuperWeight tier chart.
** The show officially [[FinaleSeason came to an end]] with its ''fifteenth'' season. The final BigBad? [[spoiler: God himself. Yeah.]]
* WordOfGod has stated in various sources that ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' was meant to end with season 5. It had a very distinct ending that pretty much closed the story out. But then UPN picked it up for two additional seasons.
* ''Series/TheAndyGriffithShow'' was supposed to have ended after five seasons. An additional three were produced, minus Creator/DonKnotts and with a tired Andy Griffith before both he and Creator/RonHoward left at which point the show was retitled ''Series/MayberryRFD'' and shambled along until UsefulNotes/TheRuralPurge finally put it out of its' misery.
* ''{{Series/Charmed|1998}}'' was not expected to last as long as it did. The original creator left after season 2 and the lead actress was gone after season 3. Creator/RoseMcGowan expected to only be around for two seasons when she was brought in as a replacement for Creator/ShannenDoherty (the length of her original contract). She and the show ended up staying around for five additional seasons. Rose has been quoted as saying "each year ''Charmed'' would get renewed and each year I would cry". The seventh season was expected to be the last, the finale of that even Book Ending the pilot episode. But an eighth season was ordered - also intending to set up spin-offs featuring Billie, Chris and Wyatt. Season 8 was the definite end, though a continuation in comic book form later resurfaced.
* ''Series/CSICyber'' had the misfortune of trying to revive the failing ''[[CashCowFranchise CSI]]'' franchise. This came as the long-running spin-offs had already shuttered and the flagship series was closing out, complete with an after-series special to tie up loose ends. ''Cyber'' [[InNameOnly sacrificed many significant elements]] from the other series, most significantly ''[[ArtifactTitle actually featuring a CSI department]]'', and failed to outlive the original series by more than a year.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' was only intended to run for two years. [[LongRunner We all know how that went out]]. It turned out the creators stumbled upon an anthology series format so flexible and interesting that they could do virtually anything with it and the show would work. It didn't stop ExecutiveMeddling and newspaper reviews declaring the series to have run its course and have no further life when:
** Lead actor Creator/WilliamHartnell left the series and the Doctor was recast with Creator/PatrickTroughton (who proved just as popular with the public and more popular with the fandom);
** The Daleks got KilledOffForReal and ExiledFromContinuity (just make the Cybermen into the Doctors' nemesis race instead!);
** All three lead actors departed at the same time just as general TV production was moving into colour ({{Retool}} the show into a spy show set on Earth, in colour, with new actors);
** The Doctor regenerated from a very popular suave secret agent character into a bug-eyed comedy lunatic played by [[Creator/TomBaker some bricklayer they pulled off the street]] (who proved to be even more popular than his predecessor);
** The Doctor regenerated from a very popular bug-eyed comedy lunatic who had been the only thing anyone wanted to watch into [[Creator/PeterDavison a well-known drama actor]] just as the show was moved into a twice-weekly soap opera slot (but the actor was very good and the scheduling reversed as soon as possible);
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E1WarriorsOfTheDeep Warriors of the Deep]]" [[TroubledProduction happened]], inciting Michael Grade to personally start trying to kill the show off for being an embarrassing 1960s relic (which is what eventually did it in, although it did take him five years and several false starts).
** Creator/StevenMoffat intended his tenure as showrunner and the Twelfth Doctor (Creator/PeterCapaldi) era to end with Twelve's regeneration in the two-part Series 10 finale [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E11WorldEnoughAndTime "World Enough and Time"]] / [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E12TheDoctorFalls "The Doctor Falls"]], whereupon new showrunner Creator/ChrisChibnall would introduce the Thirteenth Doctor (Creator/JodieWhittaker) in the 2017 ChristmasEpisode. But Chibnall wasn't interested in that idea, and when Moffat learned the BBC would no longer greenlight ''Who'' Christmas specials if a year were skipped, he came up with [[Recap/DoctorWho2017CSTwiceUponATime "Twice Upon a Time"]] to keep the tradition going and revised the season finale: in "The Doctor Falls", Twelve [[spoiler: ''starts'' to regenerate but holds it back due to no longer wanting to change]], setting up his '''actual''' GrandFinale in "Twice Upon a Time".
* ''Series/{{Highlander}}'': Once the television show reached six seasons and it was clear that its star, Creator/AdrianPaul, would not be returning for another one, Panzer devoted the entire season to auditioning female leads for a potential spin-off. Paul does not appear in nearly half of Season Six's episodes. His contract did not require him to be present for more than six episodes out of the remaining thirteen. The producers introduced a revolving door of potential Highlanderettes to don Paul's mantle, including Claudia Christian of later ''Babylon 5'' fame, but none of them fit the bill. The role eventually went to a supporting character played by Elizabeth Gracen. After all that turmoil, ''HighlanderTheRaven'' bombed spectacularly since nobody involved (from the writers to the producers) had any clue where to take the new series; and to top it all off, Gracen's character wasn't even originally written as heroic.
* ''Series/{{Homeland}}'': the show's premise centers on Brody, a returning POW who is suspected of being a turncoat by Carrie Mathison, a bipolar CIA agent. By season 3, Brody's story has petered out, [[spoiler:and he dies at the end of the season]], but from Season 4 on, the show continues to follow the CIA careers of the remaining characters. Notably, the Israeli series upon which it was based stays focused on the POW story for its entire run.
* When ''Series/TopOfThePops'' was launched at the beginning of 1964, it was only intended to run for a few weeks. As a weekly series, it lasted until the end of July 2006 when, following a slump in ratings, it bowed out in an hour-long special featuring presenters from across the decades. However, classic episodes (minus those [[BannedEpisode withdrawn in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal]]) are repeated on BBC Four and the ChristmasEpisode remains part of the BBC's festive schedule more than a decade after the main series ended.
* What (in theory) Disney attempts to avert by only keeping shows for 3 seasons. An unspoken rule of thumb for almost any Disney show since 2000 has been it won't go beyond three seasons (what the actual episode count of a "season" is up in the air), leading to shows that are extremely popular being suddenly cancelled. However, this trope has been fiddled with, where after the three season stint they create a spin-off featuring most if not all the same characters, just on a new set (ie, ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'' became ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'' or how ''Series/{{Jessie}}'' turned into ''Series/{{Bunkd}}'')
* ''Series/PoliceCameraAction'' became this in 2010 but RealLifeWritesThePlot played a part; due to its original host Alastair Stewart no longer being involved after a RoleEndingMisdemeanor, and Adrian Simpson leaving in August 2008 after a short-lived {{Revival}} from September 2007 to July 2008 (10 months 1 week and 5 day), it eventually lost most of what made it popular and became too DarkerAndEdgier with this 2010 series, plus the police footage became TheArtifact and it was no longer presenter links as a FramingDevice, which alienated some of the audience. At the time, on social media (when that was still in its infancy), some fans called for a SoftReboot or ContinuityReboot to effectively bring back the franchise for a new audience and fix the show's problems, as the show was back in the public consciousness via re-runs some 5 years earlier and its fandom returned after 3 years off the air in 2005.
* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' is technically this, although Creator/LorneMichaels has gone back on his original plan. Originally, when Season 5 wrapped, Lorne (along with the rest of the cast and writing staff) wanted to end the show, at least for a few years, and return when they felt less burned out- same cast, same writers (more or less). NBC had [[ExecutiveMeddling other ideas]], committing the nearly-fatal mistake of putting Jean Doumanian (the producer formerly in charge of booking musical guests) at the helm and hiring a completely new cast and writing staff. [[SeasonalRot The show suffered horribly]], causing Season 6 to be thought of to this day as the worst season in 40+ years. After Jean was fired, Dick Ebersol took over for the next four seasons, keeping the show afloat (thanks in no small part to Creator/EddieMurphy and Joe Piscopo, the only holdovers from the Doumanian era). When Ebersol began talking about dropping the "live" aspect of the show, Lorne Michaels returned, and after a season of fumbling, brought the show back to its original popularity. The rest is history: he's still Executive Producer as of 2018, with no plans to end the show anytime soon.
* ''Series/TheBigComfyCouch'' became this when it was renewed not once, but ''twice'' well after the end of its first 65-episode run, thanks to ExecutiveMeddling to bring the total number of episodes up to 100. The last season, in which [[TheOtherDarrin Ramona Gilmour-Darling replaced]] Creator/AlysonCourt as Loonette, is considered by most fans to be the worst.
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' became one of these after season seven, when the original writers left and the name becomes an ArtifactTitle.
* The 90's sitcom ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' was this. Lasting from 1996 to 2003, the series lasted beyond Sabrina's teenage years, and spun off two animated shows. [[WesternAnimation/SabrinaTheAnimatedSeries The first animated series]] generally gets some sympathy, but the second does not.
* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' creator Haim Saban considers the Disney era of his franchise (''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' to ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'') to be a personal zombie period to him, saying in his own words that "Disney did not develop the property and exploit it in the way that it deserves." Showrunner Jonathan Tzachor deems only ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' to ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' as "counting", but then again, Jonathan's concept of canonicity is strange. [[note]] To clarify, Jonathan considers each season to be in its own continuity[[/note]].
* Reportedly, Chris Carter wanted to end ''Series/TheXFiles'' after the sixth or seventh season, but had to stick around with it because Fox threatened to keep making it, with or without him. This didn't stop him from making another movie years after the series had ended, and two miniseries years after that.
* Norman Lear planned to end ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' after Season 8, with Mike and Gloria moving to California (thereby eliminating the intrafamilial conflict that was the heart of the show). But CBS ended up dangling a huge salary increase and production deal to Carroll O'Connor, and the show not only limped along for another season (without Lear), but was {{retool}}ed as ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which itself lasted four seasons.
* Creator/JohnCleese was reportedly frustrated about the later seasons of ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'', as he felt they had used up all of their original ideas, but the rest of the team carried on for a single season of the show, which was renamed ''Monty Python''.
* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' is considered to have become this after the departure of Creator/SteveCarell, which led to Michael Scott, ''the boss of the office'', being written out of the show. The series continued for two more seasons without its main character.
* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' creator Creator/BillLawrence wanted to end the series several times, but was forced to keep going.
** The first time this happened was after Season 6. In an example of [[TropesAreTools Tropes Are Not Bad]] this meant the show shrugged off what would have been a quite depressing ending for JD and Elliot into a much better Season 7 & 8, rebuilding their relationship and fixing it for good, complete with a fairytale GrandFinale as the final episode of Season 8.
** Then instead of doing a proper SpinOff, the executives kept the show as "Scrubs" for Season 9 despite a massive change of setting and major cast changes. Any executive with a brain would have distanced the SpinOff more from the original, but they refused, and the "Med School" PostScriptSeason was hated by the fanbase for ruining the show, many refused to watch it entirely and the show was finally cancelled.
* The show ''Series/{{Weeds}}'' started to become this as the creator always seemed to announce that the current season would be the last, only for Showtime to renew it midway through that season.
* ''Series/AnneOfGreenGables'' falls into this category. As he describes in the DVD featurette "Kevin Sullivan's Classic", producer/writer/director Kevin Sullivan only intended to do one mini-series adapting the original novel in 1985. Afterwards, the network pressured him to make a sequel, though he chose to only loosely adapt some later Anne novels rather than pick one for a close adaptation. Afterwards, demand remained high so inspired by a short story collection by LM Montgomery he created the long-running series ''Road to Avonlea''. In 2000, more than a decade after the second mini-series, he reassembled the original cast for a wholly original, DarkerAndEdgier sequel set during World War I (completely messing up the continuity of both the first two movies and books). Sullivan couldn't let Anne rest, however, and brought her back in a near-fantasy animated reimagining, ''Anne: Journey to Green Gables'' in 2005 (which added a Disney-like villain to the story), and in 2008 he produced a live-action movie ''A New Beginning'', now set in World War II as a middle-aged Anne reflects on her life before the events of the first movie. Fortunately, except for the animated film which has fallen into obscurity, the frequent revisits to Avonlea to Sullivan's credit are generally critically lauded and popular with viewers (if criticized by Kindred Spirits--the Anne equivalent of Trekkies).
* Tony Garnett, producer of ''Series/BetweenTheLines'', publicly said that he felt the third and final series of the show fell into this trap when he was asked why he decided not to make a third season of his popular series ''Series/ThisLife''.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** Eric Kripke only intended the show to run for five seasons, which is why the fifth ends on what is, by all appearances, a GrandFinale involving the Winchesters averting Armageddon itself. It has since run for over ''twice'' that long, and season eleven was about ''God'' reconciling with his [[SiblingYinYang sister]]. There really isn't much room to maneuver on the SuperWeight tier chart.
** The show officially [[FinaleSeason came to an end]] with its ''fifteenth'' season. The final BigBad? [[spoiler: God himself. Yeah.]]
* WordOfGod has stated in various sources that ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' was meant to end with season 5. It had a very distinct ending that pretty much closed the story out. But then UPN picked it up for two additional seasons.
* ''Series/TheAndyGriffithShow'' was supposed to have ended after five seasons. An additional three were produced, minus Creator/DonKnotts and with a tired Andy Griffith before both he and Creator/RonHoward left at which point the show was retitled ''Series/MayberryRFD'' and shambled along until UsefulNotes/TheRuralPurge finally put it out of its' misery.
* ''{{Series/Charmed|1998}}'' was not expected to last as long as it did. The original creator left after season 2 and the lead actress was gone after season 3. Creator/RoseMcGowan expected to only be around for two seasons when she was brought in as a replacement for Creator/ShannenDoherty (the length of her original contract). She and the show ended up staying around for five additional seasons. Rose has been quoted as saying "each year ''Charmed'' would get renewed and each year I would cry". The seventh season was expected to be the last, the finale of that even Book Ending the pilot episode. But an eighth season was ordered - also intending to set up spin-offs featuring Billie, Chris and Wyatt. Season 8 was the definite end, though a continuation in comic book form later resurfaced.
* ''Series/CSICyber'' had the misfortune of trying to revive the failing ''[[CashCowFranchise CSI]]'' franchise. This came as the long-running spin-offs had already shuttered and the flagship series was closing out, complete with an after-series special to tie up loose ends. ''Cyber'' [[InNameOnly sacrificed many significant elements]] from the other series, most significantly ''[[ArtifactTitle actually featuring a CSI department]]'', and failed to outlive the original series by more than a year.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' was only intended to run for two years. [[LongRunner We all know how that went out]]. It turned out the creators stumbled upon an anthology series format so flexible and interesting that they could do virtually anything with it and the show would work. It didn't stop ExecutiveMeddling and newspaper reviews declaring the series to have run its course and have no further life when:
** Lead actor Creator/WilliamHartnell left the series and the Doctor was recast with Creator/PatrickTroughton (who proved just as popular with the public and more popular with the fandom);
** The Daleks got KilledOffForReal and ExiledFromContinuity (just make the Cybermen into the Doctors' nemesis race instead!);
** All three lead actors departed at the same time just as general TV production was moving into colour ({{Retool}} the show into a spy show set on Earth, in colour, with new actors);
** The Doctor regenerated from a very popular suave secret agent character into a bug-eyed comedy lunatic played by [[Creator/TomBaker some bricklayer they pulled off the street]] (who proved to be even more popular than his predecessor);
** The Doctor regenerated from a very popular bug-eyed comedy lunatic who had been the only thing anyone wanted to watch into [[Creator/PeterDavison a well-known drama actor]] just as the show was moved into a twice-weekly soap opera slot (but the actor was very good and the scheduling reversed as soon as possible);
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E1WarriorsOfTheDeep Warriors of the Deep]]" [[TroubledProduction happened]], inciting Michael Grade to personally start trying to kill the show off for being an embarrassing 1960s relic (which is what eventually did it in, although it did take him five years and several false starts).
** Creator/StevenMoffat intended his tenure as showrunner and the Twelfth Doctor (Creator/PeterCapaldi) era to end with Twelve's regeneration in the two-part Series 10 finale [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E11WorldEnoughAndTime "World Enough and Time"]] / [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E12TheDoctorFalls "The Doctor Falls"]], whereupon new showrunner Creator/ChrisChibnall would introduce the Thirteenth Doctor (Creator/JodieWhittaker) in the 2017 ChristmasEpisode. But Chibnall wasn't interested in that idea, and when Moffat learned the BBC would no longer greenlight ''Who'' Christmas specials if a year were skipped, he came up with [[Recap/DoctorWho2017CSTwiceUponATime "Twice Upon a Time"]] to keep the tradition going and revised the season finale: in "The Doctor Falls", Twelve [[spoiler: ''starts'' to regenerate but holds it back due to no longer wanting to change]], setting up his '''actual''' GrandFinale in "Twice Upon a Time".
* ''Series/{{Highlander}}'': Once the television show reached six seasons and it was clear that its star, Creator/AdrianPaul, would not be returning for another one, Panzer devoted the entire season to auditioning female leads for a potential spin-off. Paul does not appear in nearly half of Season Six's episodes. His contract did not require him to be present for more than six episodes out of the remaining thirteen. The producers introduced a revolving door of potential Highlanderettes to don Paul's mantle, including Claudia Christian of later ''Babylon 5'' fame, but none of them fit the bill. The role eventually went to a supporting character played by Elizabeth Gracen. After all that turmoil, ''HighlanderTheRaven'' bombed spectacularly since nobody involved (from the writers to the producers) had any clue where to take the new series; and to top it all off, Gracen's character wasn't even originally written as heroic.
* ''Series/{{Homeland}}'': the show's premise centers on Brody, a returning POW who is suspected of being a turncoat by Carrie Mathison, a bipolar CIA agent. By season 3, Brody's story has petered out, [[spoiler:and he dies at the end of the season]], but from Season 4 on, the show continues to follow the CIA careers of the remaining characters. Notably, the Israeli series upon which it was based stays focused on the POW story for its entire run.
* When ''Series/TopOfThePops'' was launched at the beginning of 1964, it was only intended to run for a few weeks. As a weekly series, it lasted until the end of July 2006 when, following a slump in ratings, it bowed out in an hour-long special featuring presenters from across the decades. However, classic episodes (minus those [[BannedEpisode withdrawn in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal]]) are repeated on BBC Four and the ChristmasEpisode remains part of the BBC's festive schedule more than a decade after the main series ended.
* What (in theory) Disney attempts to avert by only keeping shows for 3 seasons. An unspoken rule of thumb for almost any Disney show since 2000 has been it won't go beyond three seasons (what the actual episode count of a "season" is up in the air), leading to shows that are extremely popular being suddenly cancelled. However, this trope has been fiddled with, where after the three season stint they create a spin-off featuring most if not all the same characters, just on a new set (ie, ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'' became ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'' or how ''Series/{{Jessie}}'' turned into ''Series/{{Bunkd}}'')
* ''Series/PoliceCameraAction'' became this in 2010 but RealLifeWritesThePlot played a part; due to its original host Alastair Stewart no longer being involved after a RoleEndingMisdemeanor, and Adrian Simpson leaving in August 2008 after a short-lived {{Revival}} from September 2007 to July 2008 (10 months 1 week and 5 day), it eventually lost most of what made it popular and became too DarkerAndEdgier with this 2010 series, plus the police footage became TheArtifact and it was no longer presenter links as a FramingDevice, which alienated some of the audience. At the time, on social media (when that was still in its infancy), some fans called for a SoftReboot or ContinuityReboot to effectively bring back the franchise for a new audience and fix the show's problems, as the show was back in the public consciousness via re-runs some 5 years earlier and its fandom returned after 3 years off the air in 2005.
* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' is technically this, although Creator/LorneMichaels has gone back on his original plan. Originally, when Season 5 wrapped, Lorne (along with the rest of the cast and writing staff) wanted to end the show, at least for a few years, and return when they felt less burned out- same cast, same writers (more or less). NBC had [[ExecutiveMeddling other ideas]], committing the nearly-fatal mistake of putting Jean Doumanian (the producer formerly in charge of booking musical guests) at the helm and hiring a completely new cast and writing staff. [[SeasonalRot The show suffered horribly]], causing Season 6 to be thought of to this day as the worst season in 40+ years. After Jean was fired, Dick Ebersol took over for the next four seasons, keeping the show afloat (thanks in no small part to Creator/EddieMurphy and Joe Piscopo, the only holdovers from the Doumanian era). When Ebersol began talking about dropping the "live" aspect of the show, Lorne Michaels returned, and after a season of fumbling, brought the show back to its original popularity. The rest is history: he's still Executive Producer as of 2018, with no plans to end the show anytime soon.
* ''Series/TheBigComfyCouch'' became this when it was renewed not once, but ''twice'' well after the end of its first 65-episode run, thanks to ExecutiveMeddling to bring the total number of episodes up to 100. The last season, in which [[TheOtherDarrin Ramona Gilmour-Darling replaced]] Creator/AlysonCourt as Loonette, is considered by most fans to be the worst.
