There is a fine line between keeping your viewers interested, intrigued, and emotionally invested and crossing the line with a stunt whose main purpose is to spark their waning interest.
If a television series has pulled off the latter, it is (at best) fighting an uphill battle and, at worst, on its way off the air.
These critical junctures occur frequently in the world of TV entertainment, but the moment when a television show attempts to draw attention to or create publicity for something that is perceived as not warranting the attention it is known as “jumping the shark.”
Furthermore, the idiom typically refers to something that is past its peak in quality or relevance and popularity.
In this post, we sift through seasons’ worth of IMDB ratings for various shows that supposedly “jumped the shark,” including The Brady Bunch (1969–1974), Lost (2004–2010), Prison Break (2005–2009), Moonlighting (1985–1989), The X Files (1993-present), Dexter (2006–2013), and The Office (2005–2013).
Motivation for this post stems from articles on TheRichest, RollingStone, and SCREENRANT about TV shows that may have jumped the shark.
The Brady Bunch
Here’s what TheRichest had to say about The Brady Bunch and its rating fallout:
During the fifth season, Cousin Oliver was brought in as a member of the family. It was seen as such a big shark-jumping moment that it even caused a new term to be coined. “Cousin Oliver Syndrome” is known as what happens when a show brings in a new character to re-attract fans, and the gimmick didn’t pay off: after just six episodes, Cousin Oliver was removed from the show.
