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In the fickle world of television, a show’s success is often determined by whether or not it is picked up for a second season.
But what if it can’t live up to the dizzying heights of the first? Well, that may be the trap Bad Sisters has fallen into.
The hit Apple TV+ drama, which follows a family under investigation for life insurance fraud following the death of their despised brother-in-law, returned to screens earlier this month.
Although the first season was based on the 2012 Belgian drama Clan, the latest episodes have been written and developed by Sharon Horgan, who also plays one of the five Garvey sisters.
The critically acclaimed drama was nominated for 34 awards in 2022, but the reaction to the second season has not been as enthusiastic.
In his damning criticism, the guardianTelevision critic Rachel Aroesti said that “any trace of joy has been erased” from the show, before labeling the plot an “incoherent mess.”
Although EmpireDavid Opie praised the cast’s chemistry, the critic arguing that the show has “diminishing returns” and lacked the “jet-black wit of the first episode.”
That said, Bad Sisters certainly isn’t the first TV show to endure the failed curse of season two, and it definitely won’t be the last. Here FEMAIL looks at the UK and US TV shows that fell victim to the ‘second season curse’.
Apple TV+’s hit drama Bad Sisters, which follows a family under investigation for life insurance fraud following the death of their despised brother-in-law, returned to screens earlier this month.
Pictured: Sarah Greene, Eva Birthistle, Sharon Horgan, Anne-Marie Duff and Eve Hewson in season two of Bad Sisters.
13 reasons why
In March 2017, 13 Reasons Why became an overnight phenomenon when it debuted on Netflix.
The teen drama, which was based on a 2007 novel of the same name, followed high school student Clay Jensen as he listens to 13 cassette tapes detailing the reasons why his classmate Hannah Baker took her own life.
According to Screen Rant, the first season was watched for more than 476 million hours during the first month of its release.
Two months later, the streaming platform announced that it had ordered a second season of the drama, which was produced by Selena Gomez.
Although the series’ viewing figures remained high, the later episodes, which went beyond the book’s plot, were heavily criticized.
The second season followed Hannah’s parents going through a civic case against the high school that failed to protect her, and the late protagonist appeared as a ghost.
Giving it a scant two stars, the guardianSam Wollaston said the show “struggled to find purpose” and joked: “It’s like being locked in a room with a group of self-obsessed teenagers.”
Pictured: Dylan Minnette and Katherine Langford in the second season of the hit Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.
Sam Wollaston of The Guardian gave it just two stars out of five and said the show “struggled to find purpose”.
The critic added: “As a drama, this is useless, cumbersome, lazy, poorly written, heavy and boring.” That’s less than half of the 13 reasons why you shouldn’t bother.’
What’s more, vanity fairSonia Saraiya said that the second season “offered twice the drama and half the dignity” of the original episodes.
Labeling Liberty High “the most dramatic high school in the universe,” the critic accused the series of simply “retracing its steps” and being “didactic and unevenly paced.”
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Pictured: Kiernan Shipha as Sabrina in the Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Merrill Barr of Forbes accused the second season of being “melodramatic” and wrote, “These episodes are too long.” ‘Plain and simple’
Sabrina the Teenage Witch aired for seven seasons in the 1990s, making Melissa Joan Hart a household name and one of the most beloved shows on television.
So when Chilling Adventures of Sabrina premiered in 2018, some fans were skeptical of this darker reinvention.
However, voice called it an “exciting, beautiful, messy ride” while Vulture praised the cast’s “chemistry, opulent visuals, and a surprising richness in world-building.”
As such, expectations were high for the second season, which followed Sabrina’s destiny of becoming the Queen of Hell, but they sadly fell short.
Commenting on a Reddit forum, one fan wrote: “The first season was AMAZING, the second season I just couldn’t get past the third episode.”
Another added: “I can’t believe Sabrina went from “these girls are trying to murder me” to “we’re best friends now lol.”
Merrill Barr of Forbes accused the second season of being “melodramatic” and wrote, “These episodes are too long.” Plain and simple.
“They drag and drag and drag and for some reason they feel the need to expand everything far beyond its natural end point.”
Heroes
Pictured: Milo Ventimiglia as Peter Petrelli, Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennet in the HBO show Heroes
When it first aired in 2006, Heroes, starring Hayden Paynettiere and Zachary Quinto, became a worldwide hit.
But as with many blockbuster shows, it struggled to maintain momentum in the second season.
What’s more, the series, which followed ordinary citizens who discover they have supernatural powers, was a victim of the WGA writers’ strike.
Although the second season was commissioned to have 24 episodes like the first, it ended up being cut to 11.
IGN’Robert Canning complained that the show had become “monotonous” while the “pace was slow”.
The critic wrote: “The series took several of the familiar characters and basically repeated their story arcs from the previous season (…)
“After establishing itself as a series that kept the pace fast and the stories moving, this election felt like a big step back.”
Meanwhile, viewers who watched the show as it aired said the effect of the writers’ strike was clear.
One Reddit user wrote: “It was surprising to see this during the writers’ strike. The show went from excellent to grade school level writing practically halfway through the episode.
Another added: “At first it was amazing. Then, out of nowhere, came the most absurd, unwatchable television content I have ever witnessed to this day.
western world
Pictured: Evan Rachel Wood and James Marsden in Westworld, which fans claim was “lost” after its first season.
Westworld became HBO’s most-watched first series when it attracted 12 million viewers in 2016.
The sci-fi drama was set in a Wild West theme park populated by robot “hosts,” allowing ultra-rich guests to live out their fantasies unharmed.
After leaving viewers in suspense with a twist at the end of the first season, critics said that subsequent episodes, in which the ‘hosts’ rebelled against the park, did not live up to expectations.
Forbes‘ Erik Kain wrote at the time: ‘Season 1 was a perfect story, perfectly contained, with a beginning, a middle and an end.
“No matter what the best parts of Season 2 are, it’s just disappointing in comparison.”
“Westworld started out great and then lost everything that made it great,” one former fan wrote on Reddit.
Another added: ‘Westworld just gets lost in its own narrative. It’s like watching the third Matrix movie.
“Just explain shit normally instead of being so cryptic that it feels like a chore to watch your show.”