Jumping the Shark Isn’t Always Bad — These TV Shows Were Actually Better for It, Fans Say

Fans say a TV show has “jumped the shark” when it has become irredeemably outlandish. The term, after all, comes from the 1977 episode of Happy Days in which Henry Winkler’s Fonzie jumps over a shark on water skis.

But can jumping the shark ever be a net positive for a TV show? Reddit users think so. In a recent conversation on the r/television subreddit, TV buffs are naming the shows that improved after letting their freak flag fly.

Community

“Most of the first two seasons are pretty rooted in day-to-day comedy of going to a community college,” Reddit user prthug996 wrote. “But after the paintball episode [Season 1’s “Modern Warfare”], the universe really expands to include the possibility of extreme ridiculousness in this reality. Which makes the show a masterpiece.”

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow

“Legends of Tomorrow. All Hail, Beebo!” wrote Reddit user beemojee, citing the Furby-like toy that created a time aberration in the CW show.

Kalily53, meanwhile, wrote, “They do this fun thing where a character gets written off, only for the actor to come right back in a completely different role. This happens not once, not twice, but three times, and I loved it each time.”

And TFlarz said, “The fight sequence with Sisqó singing ‘Thong Song.’ Glorious.”

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

“Basically, somewhere in Season 4, when they introduced the virtual HYDRA alternate reality, as well as magical elements like Ghost Rider and the Darkhold, it definitely got a lot more interesting and fun,” asserted DifficultyWithMyLife.

Tiltedslim agreed, writing, “Season 4 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is the s***. Crazy magic Ghost Rider and the Darkhold, with the contrast of Fitz [Iain De Caestecker] and Simmons [Elizabeth Henstridge] holding guns on each other in tears asking if the other is real.”

American Dad

“I could write essays on American Dad’s run and character development,” said Slideprime.

“When they just decided that Roger [voiced by Seth MacFarlane] has infinite personas and the talking fish [Klaus, voiced by Dee Bradley Baker] wasn’t a shock to anyone… perfect,” added BenovanStanchiano.

And TheDanLopez said, “Changing the fish from constantly depressed background nobody to douche dudebro with underlying depression was one of the best decisions that show ever made.”

’Til Death

“After two seasons, they ditched the newlyweds; the long-married husband [Brad Garrett] was paired with an adult ‘Little Brother’ [J.B. Smoove] as part of the Big Brothers program, so they teamed up for hijinks; the couple’s daughter was played by a series of different actresses, with other characters remarking on it; and the daughter’s boyfriend [Timm Sharp] kept pointing out, to the characters and the audience, that they were living in a TV show,” BaconJudge explained. “It went from formulaic to marvelously zany.”

Castle

“My favorite Castle episodes were the insane ones,” DigiQuip declared. “I really enjoyed the time-traveler episode [Season 6’s ‘Time Will Tell’]. They always had a little ‘out’ to keep the fantasy anchored in reality, but it was always heavily leaning towards said fantasy.”

Gotham

“Gotham, absolutely,” added DrSpacemanSpliff. “It was such a grounded cop drama at first, intended as a prequel for a [Christopher] Nolan-style Batman world. But it became a prequel to an Adam West Batman world and it became so much better.”

Bshaddo said, “One of my favorite laugh-out-loud moments was when one of the Jokers conducted a band playing the ’60s theme music.”

Riverdale

“It’s not for everyone, but [in my opinion] Riverdale is up there,” wrote DTxRED524. “Goes from a teen drama to absolute bats*** insanity, and I love everything about it.”

Added coolguy420weed, “Might sound weird, but I also think the crazier later Riverdale is kind of a better adaptation of the source material. An edgy, snarky teen drama about high schoolers doing drugs and f***ing and whatever isn’t very much like Archie comics; a series with an ostensibly simple, grounded premise that is somehow constantly bringing up and then dropping insane plotlines in order to chase the latest fad of the week, however, is.”