10 TV Shows That Tried Too Hard to Be Clever (2024)

It’s often a hit-or-miss situation when a television series tries to work with a complicated concept and stretch it over a dozen seasons. Fans have been treated to several mind-boggling shows that started off strong but fell into the category of being too “out of the box.” Sometimes, a show’s concept is so ahead of its time that instead of offering the audience an entertaining slot, these series end up confusing the viewers enough to make them give up halfway through.

Although many would claim that these epic shows with an intricate pattern of storytelling are masterpieces, they often end up being too implausible. Surprisingly, several popular and cult classic shows that have kept viewers buzzing about them for decades have been deemed too clever for their own good.

10 The 100 Tried Too Hard For the “Wow” Factor

The Series Became Too Independent On Its Female Lead

The 100 kicked off as a promising young adult show with a dystopian setting and relatable characters who appealed to the younger masses. The obvious personality types blended with the urgency of survival made for an intriguing storyline. While the show’s initial concept and structuring were phenomenal, the series lost steam after it tried to add unnecessary plot twists.

The story of 100 young survivors sent to inhabitable earth after an apocalyptic nuclear war had an aura of mysteriousness and appealed right until the series forgot what it intended to do initially. Main leads like Clarke, Bellamy, Raven, and more felt stagnant in their growth. Killer AIs, magic blood, and habitable distant planets were bearable right until the show decided to go in a more confusing direction that ultimately didn't plan out.

The 100

TV-14

Drama

Mystery

Sci-Fi

Release Date

March 19, 2014

Cast

Eliza Taylor , Bob Morley , Marie Avgeropoulos , Isaiah Washington

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

7

9 Twin Peaks Frustrated Fans With Stretched-Out With Its “Knotty” Story

It Became Difficult to Characterize the Show’s Themes

A renowned name in the '90s, Twin Peaks skillfully trapped the viewers in a mystery web surrounding the eccentric murder mystery of a 17-year-old girl. The show promises a chilling experience as a seemingly straightforward homicide case becomes the center of a strange town. It’s safe to say that Twin Peaks is complicated to begin with, but with supernatural elements in the mix, it becomes increasingly hard to keep up.

Although the series does an impeccable job of retaining the element of curiosity, it only rewards those who keep a keen eye. The show is brilliantly intricate and integrates a layered plot that starts with a simple murder but ends up involving doppelgängers, supernatural forces, and an eerie atmosphere. The series is a reward for those who have the stomach to stay till the end.

Twin Peaks

8

10

TV-MA

Drama

Mystery

An idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks.

Release Date

April 8, 1990

Cast

Kyle MacLachlan , Mädchen Amick , Dana Ashbrook

Main Genre

Crime

Seasons

3 Seasons

Creator

Mark Frost, David Lynch

Producer

Mark Frost, David Lynch, Sabrina S. Sutherland

Production Company

Lynch/Frost Productions, Propaganda Films, Spelling Television, Twin Peaks Productions, Showtime, Rancho Rosa Partnership

Number of Episodes

48 Episodes

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8 Supernatural Became Deeply Entangled With Overarching Storylines

Characters’ Constant Revivals and Never-Ending Lore

Supernatural managed to stand out as a ghost-hunting procedural by blending together different religious and cult concepts. It started out with two brothers trying to work it out as they hunted demons, ghosts, and all forms of supernatural beings to honor their commitment to the “family business.” In its initial phase, the show cleverly created a quasi-equilibrium in its themes involving brotherly love and supernatural hunting with angels and demons in the backdrop.

However, it quickly got out of hand when the show brought in a “mortal version” of a multitude of religious entities and concepts like God, Death, and more. It’s commendable how the series kept the fandom hooked for more than a decade and managed to unfold a complex story without being too controversial. However, the constant revivals, overlapping storylines, and unsatisfying character endings eventually put the show at a standstill.

Supernatural

TV-14

Drama

Fantasy

Horror

Two brothers follow their father's footsteps as hunters, fighting evil supernatural beings of many kinds, including monsters, demons, and gods that roam the earth.

Release Date

September 13, 2005

Cast

Jared Padalecki , Jensen Ackles , Jim Beaver , Misha Collins

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

15

Creator

Eric Kripke

Production Company

Kripke Enterprises, Warner Bros. Television, Wonderland Sound and Vision

Number of Episodes

327

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix

7 Riverdale Drifted From Its Slice-of-Life Roots Too Quickly

The Series Had Lost Itself In Playing Out Too Many Foreign Concepts

Riverdale was an instant hit as it tapped into a new side of the teen drama fanbase by bringing the classic comic series to life for a new audience. The teen show went from intriguing murder mysteries and messy relationships to a supernatural fiasco at full speed. Understandably, the series didn’t want to be another unoriginal live-action adaptation, but the addition of supernatural powers, cults, and time travel was a magnanimous shift for which the viewers weren’t prepared at all.

It felt clever straying from conventionality for a bit but changing genres completely when it was never advertised that way somewhat backfired for Riverdale. By the end of the series, the story had galloped so far away from the source material that the fans had no idea what they had committed to.

Riverdale

TV-14

Drama

Crime

Mystery

Release Date

January 26, 2017

Cast

Lili Reinhart , Camila Mendes , Cole Sprouse , K.J. Apa , Madelaine Petsch , casey cott , Mädchen Amick

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

7

6 Fringe Glorified Unconventional Science

The Science Became Too Much For the Show’s Good

Fringe was never supposed to be simple or taken at face value. The success of the show lies in its hard-hitting exposition of fringe science and the lack of acceptance of controversial concepts in mainstream scientific society. As the show focused on solving fringe science through a mad scientist and an FBI special agent, it grew into its intricately layered model by putting it out there that the show wasn’t an easy watch.

However, Fringe’s fantastical elements were soon subjected to the growing trend of multiple timelines and parallel universes that eventually fell victim to its own formula. Fans grew frustrated with translating and understanding the complex structure of the show, and it all became a hot mess in the end.

Fringe

TV-14

An F.B.I. agent is forced to work with an institutionalized scientist and his son in order to rationalize a brewing storm of unexplained phenomena.

Release Date

September 9, 2008

Cast

Anna Torv , Joshua Jackson , John Noble , jasika nicole , Lance Reddick , Blair Brown

Main Genre

Science Fiction

Creator

J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci

5 Pretty Little Liars Hastily Concluded the Story

Fans Felt Disconnected to the Show In the End

There’s only so much a teen drama can do to invoke the “wow” factor by adding unpredictability and shocking plot twists. Unlike Riverdale, Pretty Little Liars couldn’t find a loophole to introduce time travel and witches. Although the series was doing great as a juicy teen story with relationship problems and murder mysteries, it jumped the shark by overwhelming the storyline. The addition of too many unnecessary characters to elevate the darkness in the show came back to haunt it.

Instead of elevating the plot, the overarching arcs congested the show’s pace, and fans fell out of the emotional connection they had initially. Maintaining a saucy story of the dark secrets of high-maintenance teenage girls shouldn’t have been such a challenge, but going out of the box didn’t offer any practical value to the series.

Pretty Little Liars (2010)

TV-14

Drama

Mystery

Romance

Four friends band together against an anonymous foe who threatens to reveal their darkest secrets, while also investigating the disappearance of their best friend.

Release Date

June 8, 2010

Cast

Troian Bellisario , Ashley Benson , Shay Mitchell , Lucy Hale

Creator

I. Marlene King

4 Westworld Was Meant to Continue Game of Thrones' Hype

The Series Quickly Succumbed to Unnecessary Plot Layering

Westworld was meant to keep up HBO’s trend of producing high-budget, explicit, and controversial shows like Game of Thrones. Undoubtedly, the show’s concept and initially deeply layered plot were able to hook the audience, but the narrative quickly lost steam. It started off as clever as offering the audience the story of a futuristic “West World” where obscenely rich customers spend their time interacting with androids, specifically designed for entertainment purposes.

However, the fragments of reality slowly chip away when the robots begin to become self-aware. Westworld was a wonderful dystopian story, but the series started colliding with several arcs and plotlines way too fast. The sequences became too confusing, especially with unwarranted time jumps.

Westworld

TV-MA

Science Fiction

Western

At the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, waits a world in which every human appetite can be indulged without consequence.

Release Date

October 2, 2016

Creator(s)

Lisa Joy , Jonathan Nolan

Cast

Evan Rachel Wood , Thandiwe Newton , Jeffrey Wright , James Marsden

Seasons

4

Creator

Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy

Number of Episodes

36

Network

HBO Max

3 Dark Is Considered a Sci-Fi Masterpiece By Many

The German Show Will Test the Viewers’ Scientific Knowledge

Dark shot to stardom after overwhelming the audience with its mind-bending concept and storyline. Dark took the time-traveling phenomenon in an enthralling direction, throwing straightforwardness out the window and introducing its own enigmatic world. However, it’s safe to say that by Season 2, fans would find it difficult to keep up with versions of the same characters in different timelines, which eventually overlap in the final seasons.

The mix-and-match of various instances at different times, especially familial relationships, is some of the most confusing aspects of the show. Despite the show’s success in concluding all its arcs in a satisfying way, the journey to that last episode isn’t according to everyone’s palate. The acclaimed TV series is the perfect example of a story being too clever for its own good.

Dark

TV-MA

Drama

Crime

Mystery

Sci-Fi

Thriller

Release Date

December 1, 2017

Cast

Louis Hofmann , Karoline Eichhorn , Maja Schöne , Jordis Triebel

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

3

2 The Blacklist Became a Victim of Plot Holes

The Show Couldn’t Keep Up With Its Plot Progressing

Procedural drama is a timeless genre, and no matter the department, a high-profile procedural show is always a hit with the right audience. The James Spader series was an instant hit with procedural fans, especially with all the mystery surrounding the truth about Red and Liz’s relationship. Although the series kept its appeal about halfway through, it couldn’t help but fall prey to its own spiraling plotlines.

The Blacklist became a hot mess of confusing character arcs, unnecessary past conflicts, and the indecisive fate of several key characters. It became increasingly hard to keep up with the show’s “revival” trend, where no character truly stayed dead, and it damaged the emotional attachment the viewers had to the show. The Blacklist started out on a high note but fell short in consolidating its countless storylines.

The Blacklist

TV-14

Crime

Drama

Mystery

Release Date

September 23, 2013

Cast

James Spader , Megan Boone , Diego Klattenhoff , Ryan Eggold

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

10

1 Lost Left Several Mysteries Unanswered

The Fans Were Particularly Off-Put By the Series Ending

Lost gained a cult following and became ABC’s prime hit after it aired back in 2004. From the brilliant mind of J.J. Abrams came a story of a plane full of survivors who crash land on a mysterious, deserted island. Although a few seasons were enough to build up the curiosity and darkness surrounding the island, the show went overboard with its non-linear storytelling.

Fans started to find the pace a bit confusing, with flashbacks and flash-forward scenes mixing up, especially when the show added time-traveling in the mix. Undoubtedly, Lost was brilliant and kept the viewers glued to the screen, but intricate arcs weren’t enough to fuel the show’s popularity. The last draw for fans losing interest was the controversial finale, where many felt that the show vaguely tied up everything without addressing core plotlines.

Lost

TV-14

Drama

Adventure

Mystery

The survivors of a plane crash are forced to work together in order to survive on a seemingly deserted tropical island.

Release Date

September 22, 2004

Cast

Jorge Garcia , Josh Holloway , Yunjin Kim , Evangeline Lilly , Terry O'Quinn , Naveen Andrews

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

6

Creator

J.J. Abrahms, Damon Lindelof, Jeffrey Lieber

Number of Episodes

121

Network

ABC

Streaming Service(s)

Crackle , Hulu , Amazon Freevee , Prime Video , Plex