
The Flash
Seasons: 9
It pains me to put The Flash on the “too long” side of this list. It’s one of the most revolutionary TV shows of our time and certainly one of the best superhero shows ever made. Unfortunately, it stuck around a little too long.
Nine seasons is a heck of a run, and in all fairness to The Flash, nobody is saying that the show shouldn’t have run for that long. The fact is that, if it was going to do that, it needed far stronger storylines and more interesting supporting characters to make it work – two things it had very little of after season 6.
Those last few seasons were tough to sit through. While Grant Gustin continued to give it his all, the show around Barry Allen completely fell apart. Gone were the days of heart and light humor that made audiences fall in love with the characters. Gone were the days of compelling villains with strong motivations and solid storylines built up across a season. And gone was the high standard of writing that brought all of these elements together.
Without the Crisis as an endgame and a new batch of supporting characters (or caricatures), The Flash descended into chaos after season 6. From corny humor to cheesy storylines, it was a shell of what it once was, and its once-great “graphic novel” format killed the momentum that any of its storylines attempted to mount.
There were glimmers of brilliance throughout, but a series of poor creative decisions robbed The Flash of its chance to go out high. And you won’t find many who would argue that this show should have went on past season 4.
Verdict: Ran too long