10 TV Shows Where the First Season Was the Best Season

Television shows often take a bit of sentence to find their footing , with series likeThe Expanse , Star Trek : The Next multiplication , andSteven Universeonly pay off better with each passing season . Then there are the shows that top out early . Like , really early .

These are our picks of the 10 genre TV show where the first season was the best of them all . Sometimes , it was because the showrunners fail to arrive up with a solid biz plan beyond the debut , or maybe the serial publication just go bad to touch the hype and buzz of its root . In one case , it was in reality because of forces alfresco of their control . No matter the grounds , the outcome was the same : A series that bulge well but failed to captivate the same amount of lightning in their bottle .

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From left: Twin Peaks, Westworld, Heroes, and Orphan Black.

From left: Twin Peaks, Westworld, Heroes, and Orphan Black.Image: ABC / Image: HBO / Image: NBC / Image: BBC America

We had a few caveats for telecasting show to qualify for this listing ; they needed to have at least three seasons ( which signify shows likePushing Daisiesdidn’t specify ) and they also needed to be generally well affect during their serial ’ debuts . That means if a show rather sucked at first , like Charmed , it would n’t really matter if it get spoiled later on . And for the most part , we stuck with appearance that have already ended , but there are a couple on here that are ongoing . That signify they could bend thing around , but we kind of doubt it .

Lost

ABC ’s Lost was one of those show that came in like a bust up ball . The first episode alone was an incredible experience , with the crash of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 introducing us to the show ’s overwhelming cast of characters and the strange environs they witness themselves in . Much of the first season was spent lead the audience down the coney hole of mysteries on the island ; thing like the notorious Smoke Monster , the unusual inhabitants known as “ The Others , ” the metal hatching in the ground , and all the circumstance that led each person to end up on the planer .

Unfortunately , the more we see about the island , the less interesting it seemed . The answers constantly neglect to match the questions , which made the whole experience feel dissatisfactory when all was said and done . And do n’t even get us started on the finale . Lost cobalt - creator and executive producer Damon Lindelofrecently sharedthat he wanted to end the show a lot earlier but ABC ’s executives dissent , which could help explain why everything was so weirdly paced .

Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Timeis a prime example of a show that make out exactly how it wanted to start , but had no idea where it wanted to go . The first season is a near - perfect queer tale , tell the account of a char who finds herself in a town inhabited by storybook graphic symbol who do n’t know they ’ve been transported into the real world . Their life and floor intertwine in surprising slipway , dispute not only what we know about these characters but also the faggot narration they derive from . There ’s catastrophe , victory , and , most of all , the true power of love .

However , as the show continued on , it did n’t seem to know what it wanted to do with the world it had built . role relationships became eldritch and more convoluted , contradicting things established in premature seasons . Having run out of options , they embark on confound everything Disney - related at the paries to see what would bond . At least we catch emo Captain Hook out of it .

Westworld

“ Have you ever seen anything so full of splendor ? ” The first season of Westworld was one giant mystery story the man want to puzzle out , with Reddit community debating over the possibility of multiple timeline , the straight identity operator of the Man in Black , and why Dolores was so darn special . The result was vastly solid — but that notion has n’t been replicated since . time of year two tried to up the ante by introduce a more disjointed timeline , which came across as perplexing rather than exalt , and time of year threefailed to wow audienceswith its take on the real globe . affair could shape up in the time to come , but it seems like we ’ve give Westworld enough prison term to stupefy us beyond its debut .

True Blood

True Blood is one of those shows that was never that good , but it alsodidn’t matter . It was a sexy Southern Gothic romance between a vampire and a waitress … who also turned out to be half - faerie . Hold up , what did you say ? Yeah , that was a late - series reveal that kinda came the crap out of nowhere . This was a show that just kept discombobulate so much stuff at us , to the peak where the romance between the waitress and the lamia scarcely seemed to matter any longer . Sure , some of the later seasons were based on the script in Charlaine Harris ’ The Southern Vampire Mysteries , the novels that True line was based on . But as we learned from theDune miniseries — just because something is in the script does not mean it has to be on the show .

Heroes

Now , this one is n’t entirely its own mistake . NBC ’s Heroes was an original history of people learning they have power ( a somewhat uncommon feat nowadays considering the preponderance of Marvel and DC ) . The first season was n’t always perfect but it was exciting , managing to bring in us to some really nerveless type as they were slow brought together by the Doomsday Clock of the time of year . The 2nd season started out foretell enough — and then the Writers Strike of 2008 happened .

As a result , the magnanimous plan for season two was scrapped , and alternatively it got a clumsily written conclusion that create more problem than it solved . After that , the show never managed to get back the spark it had first ignited . later on seasons of Heroes also hurt from an increase addiction on the persona of Sylar ( Zachary Quinto ) , who started out as a scoundrel but eventually became the show ’s most crucial figure . It make sense , as Quinto was a rising star , but it came at a price to the fib .

Daredevil

Daredevil ’s first season did n’t just put the standard for what to look out of Marvel and Netflix’sthen - bold coaction , it stand out to make itself remain firm shoulder to shoulder with any of its MCU contemporaries on the braggart silver screen . From Charlie Cox ’s pitching - arrant Murdock ( matched by a killer Kingpin in Vincent D’Onofrio ) to some dead unbelievably framed andcharacter - driven scrap , Daredevil ’s first season make the ground running , knock you on your feet , and then involve that you get up and keep running with it . There are great parts of season two and three , for indisputable , but nothing could compete with the highs the first season ’s arc took us on .

Twin Peaks

The second season of David Lynch ’s groundbreaking series is uneven , but it still has some important moments ( the expectant reveal of Laura Palmer ’s orca , for representative ) ; the 2017 “ return ” is adaring experiment that pushes the boundariesof what TV is capable of ; and feature - picture show prequel Twin Peaks : Fire Walk With Me isits own majestic beast . But Twin Peaks ’ first time of year , which ran just eight instalment in the give of 1990 , stay the show ’s zenith .

It instantly actuate a ethnic fury with its whole original , highly influential tale of a small town in the Pacific Northwest where a shocking slaying shakes some very dark mystery to the surface . Kyle MacLachlan ’s unusually visceral , coffee - and - pie loving FBI agentled a cast of characters whose queerness cancel the level ’s tragical and often sinister elements , with the dreamy townsfolk — where any numeral of strange things are potential — provide the perfect atmospheric backcloth .

Orphan Black

Tatiana Maslany was always top - notch as the multiple “ sestra ” clones at the center ofOrphan Black , but that does n’t mean the show always did her justice . It started out strong even within the first five moment , with Sarah judge to figure out why a woman who looked incisively like her chose to die by suicide in front of her . This run her down a rabbit gob of conspiracy until she finally constitute out she was one of several clone , who ’d all been take their own lives — whole obvious of the fact that there were others who were genetically indistinguishable to them . The subsequent seasons were n’t forged , but they fail to fit the extremely promising debut season — adding weird plot points like the son clones and an island commune make full with what can only be describe as “ hereditary fiend . ”

The Handmaid’s Tale

The Handmaid ’s Tale started out as more than a show : it was a ethnical movement . The serial win several Emmy awards and spawned real - life action . masses dress up as handmaid to dissent government restrictions on woman ’s right field , with “ Under His Eye ” becoming the catch phrase of the oppressed . That ’s because of how well it adapted Margaret Atwood ’s scarey tale of a country that had been take over by religious extremism — conduce to the abduction and force servitude of thousand of people , and the genocide of so many others . It was only enhanced by Elisabeth Moss ’ commanding performance as June / Offred ( and the election of a certain president ) .

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When the first season ended as the book did , with Offred being taken in a van to an unknown destination , we were get out wondering what would become of her . It release out the solvent is … who the heck knows ? The series has floundered in subsequent time of year , afraid to impart Gilead or make Offred present real result for her actions . It could turn things around in time of year four — particularly if they incorporate the issue of Atwood ’s subsequence The Testaments — but it ’s going to take a lot of good organized religion to make this story better .

Force crashing onto a mysterious island can sure take it out of you.

Force crashing onto a mysterious island can sure take it out of you.Image: ABC

The Walking Dead

Yes , this show has been on for over 10 seasons . And yes , it ’s still one of the mostpopular serieson telecasting . But I ’ll be damned if anyone can secernate me one time of year that holds a candle to the first . The show has had its ups and down — many of them , in fact — but it will never pass on the high gear it set for itself in its first appearance . You know it , I know it , Rick Grimesfloating away in a helicopter make out it .

Additional reportage by James Whitbrook and Cheryl Eddy .

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