Have you ever watched a film or a TV show highly praised by both critics and fans, and ended up not getting all the fuss? If this has happened to you once or twice, then you have probably realized that some of the most acclaimed and most-watched movies and TV shows are actually overrated. While those films and TV series usually star the biggest actors in Hollywood and boast the most expensive production costs, they simply don’t live up to the hype. So if you’re trying to avoid such titles, below is our curated list of the most overrated movies and TV series ever.
Top Gun (1986)
Top Gun follows a hotshot fighter pilot named Maverick (Tom Cruise) whose reckless attitude and cocky demeanor put him at odds with his colleagues at the titular weapons school. Though the Tony Scott-directed action drama was a box-office hit ― earning $356.8 million worldwide against a production budget of just $15 million ― and was even selected by the U.S. Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry, it’s actually a bad movie, as it has no real plot and no real stakes.
The whole movie is nothing but wall-to-wall male bonding, which would have been fine if there were interesting characters. But sadly, there weren’t. And even though Top Gun tried to make viewers care about Maverick’s crisis of confidence following his co-pilot’s death and his lifelong struggle with the legacy of his disgraced fighter pilot father, it’s actually difficult to sympathize with the brash and self-absorbed lead character.
The Kissing Booth (2018)
Based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Beth Reekles, The Kissing Booth centers on a quirky, late-blooming teenager named Elle (Joey King) whose budding romance with high school senior Noah (Jacob Elordi) puts her lifelong friendship with Noah’s younger brother Lee (Joel Courtney) in jeopardy.
A month after the movie’s May 2018 release, Netflix revealed that one in three viewers of the film have re-watched it, which is 30 percent higher than the average movie re-watch rate” on the streamer. Dubbed a commercial success, The Kissing Booth has gotten two sequels. The Kissing Booth 2 was released in July 2020, while The Kissing Booth 3 is scheduled to come out in 2021.
Though greeted with audience zeal, the original The Kissing Booth movie was actually panned by critics for deploying every rom-com cliché in the book with very little effort to achieve any real sentiment. It was also criticized for its unrealistic representation of high school and was slammed for its troubling treatment of the female body.
The Notebook (2004)
The Notebook stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as a young couple who fall in love in the 1940s. Their love story is narrated in the present day by an elderly man (James Garner) to a fellow nursing home resident (Gena Rowlands) from the titular notebook. The Nick Cassavetes-directed movie, which is based on Nicolas Sparks’ 1996 novel of the same name, was a sleeper hit, grossing $117.8 million at the worldwide box office against a production budget of $29 million. In addition to gaining a cult following, the rom-com also won eight Teen Choice Awards, a Satellite Award, and an MTV Movie Award.
Despite winning the hearts of audiences, The Notebook was not well received by critics. Many of them found the movie oversentimental, which was made even worse by its too many romantic-drama clichés. It’s also disappointingly predictable, as the connection between the two narratives, which is supposed to be a big, heartbreaking surprise, is quite easy to figure well ahead of time.
American Hustle (2013)
Directed by David O. Russell, American Hustle tells the story of two con artists (Christian Bale, Amy Adams) who are forced by an FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) to set up an elaborate sting operation on corrupt politicians, including the mayor of Camden, New Jersey (Jeremy Renner). The black comedy was acclaimed by critics, earning a total of 10 nominations at the 86th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (Bale), Best Actress (Adams), Best Supporting Actor (Cooper), and Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Lawrence).
Though a critical darling, American Hustle is considered by some as one of the overrated movies in recent years. For them, most of the characters are like caricatures. And when the tacky period sets and details are factored in, the whole film becomes too staged and too self-aware just like a series of contrivances. They also find the movie shallow, as it doesn’t appear to convey any deeper themes.
Ocean’s 8 (2018)
Both a continuation of and a spinoff from Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s trilogy, Ocean’s 8 follows a group of women led by Debbie Ocean, the sister of Danny Ocean from the original film, who plans a sophisticated heist at the annual Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna, and Helena Bonham Carter, the heist comedy film grossed $297.7 million at the worldwide box office against a production budget of $70 million.
While the performances of the cast were applauded by critics and fans alike, Ocean’s 8 was not quite as smooth as its predecessors. Some people actually think that the film was a missed opportunity to expand the franchise. With half-baked ideas and jokes that are simply bad, Ocean’s 8 felt like it was trying too hard to match the greatness of the first three movies of the franchise.
The English Patient (1996)
The English Patient is an epic romantic war drama film about the story of four people who find themselves in an abandoned villa in northern Italy in the last months of World War II. It is told by the titular protagonist (Ralph Fiennes), a man burned beyond recognition, to the young nurse (Juliette Binoche) caring for him in a series of flashbacks, revealing his true identity and the love affair he had before the war.
Ranked as the 55th greatest British film of the 20th century by the British Film Institute, the film won nine Oscars at the 69th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Minghella, and Best Supporting Actress for Juliette Binoche. The performances of Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas in the film were also Oscar-nominated.
But despite the many awards it received and its successful box-office run, a lot of viewers found it long-winded, awkwardly worded, and pretentious. Its 162-minute runtime served no clear purpose, as the movie’s plot, tone, and themes gained nothing from its slow pace. Though categorized as a romantic flick, many people didn’t find anything romantic about the story, as it basically revolved around an extramarital affair.
Transformers (2007)
The first installment in the live-action Transformers film series, 2007’s Transformers stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky, a teenager who gets caught up in a war between the heroic alien robots known as Autobots and their villainous counterparts called Decepticons. The Michael Bay-directed sci-fi flick was a blockbuster hit, earning $709 million against a production budget of $150 million.
Nominated for three for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects at the 80th Academy Awards, Transformers undeniably features staggering effects and exhilarating action scenes. But beyond that, there’s nothing really special about it. Though the film tried to appeal to the whole family, it miserably ended up being a kiddie flick on steroids with no depth.
A Star Is Born (2018)
The fourth remake of the 1937 film of the same name, 2018’s A Star Is Born tells the story of seasoned musician Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) who discovers and eventually falls in love with the struggling artist Ally (Lady Gaga). The musical romantic drama, which serves as Cooper’s directorial debut, grossed $436 million against a production budget of just $36 million. It also earned eight nominations at the 91st Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Cooper, Best Actress for Gaga, and Best Supporting Actor for Sam Elliott.
Despite its commercial and critical success, A Star Is Born is too shallow for many viewers. Unlike its predecessors, the movie failed to become a commentary on the destructive nature of stardom and the unforgiving character of the entertainment business. In addition to having overly cheesy dialogue and an extremely predictable plot, A Star Is Born also has annoying choppy storytelling that features unexplained time jumps that viewers are just supposed to accept.
The Hangover (2009)
The first installment in The Hangover trilogy, 2009’s The Hangover tells the story of Phil Wenneck (Bradley Cooper), Stu Price (Ed Helms), Alan Garner (Zach Galifianakis), and Doug Billings (Justin Bartha), who travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor party to celebrate Doug’s impending marriage. However, Phil, Stu, and Alan wake up with Doug missing and no memory of the previous night’s events, and must find the groom before the wedding can take place. The Todd Phillps-directed comedy is the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2009, with a worldwide gross of over $467 million. It also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy in 2010.
But in spite of all the praises The Hangover received, some people still consider it as one of the most overrated movies in recent years. Describing the movie as a result of lazy and half-assed filmmaking, those people think the movie relied more heavily on celebrity cameos and crass attempts at humor, instead of adding some layers to its rather simplistic characters.
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Directed by Baz Luhrmann, Moulin Rouge! tells the story of a young poet (Ewan McGregor) who falls in love with the titular cabaret’s most notorious and beautiful star (Nicole Kidman). The musical romantic drama was nominated for eight Oscars at the 74th Academy Awards ― including Best Picture and Best Actress for Kidman ― and ended up winning Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. It also ranked 53rd in BBC’s 2016 poll of the greatest films since 2000.
While Moulin Rouge! is a well-stylized spectacle, a number of viewers find the film’s sense of fun too relentless and excessive that it ends up being extremely tedious and superficial. The movie wants to show viewers everything it can but never reveals what the audience really want to see.
Wonder Woman (2017)
The fourth installment in the DC Extended Universe, Wonder Woman stars Gal Gadot as the Amazon princess Diana who sets out to stop World War I after American pilot and spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crash-lands on their island of Themyscira and informs her about it. The Patty Jenkins-directed movie received largely positive reviews from critics, with praise for its direction, acting, visuals, action sequences, and musical score. It’s also a blockbuster hit, grossing over $821 million at the worldwide box office.
Though Gadot’s performance in the film is mesmerizingly brilliant, some people find the film alarmingly average. For them, Wonder Woman is just another boring and safe film that doesn’t add anything new to the already formulaic superhero genre. Aside from pacing issues, cramped plot, and cheese-filled action sequences, the movie remarkably suffers from underdeveloped supporting characters, including its villain Ares, who is seen by a number of viewers as a pointless afterthought simply created for CGI money shots.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Directed by Zack Snyder, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the second installment in the DC Extended Universe and finds criminal mastermind Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) manipulating Batman (Ben Affleck) into a preemptive battle with Superman (Henry Cavill), with whom Luthor is obsessed. Since it’s the first-ever live-action film to feature Batman and Superman together, millions of fans were drawn to theaters to watch it. The movie grossed $873 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of $250 million.
Despite its commercial success, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was panned by critics, with many of them expressing displeasure about the film’s extremely dark tone. While most superhero movies are fun pieces of entertainment, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is painful to watch, as it is confusing, boring, and so long.
Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)
Written and directed by Oscar-winner Quentin Tarantino, Kill Bill: Volume 1 stars Uma Thurman as the Bride who swears revenge on a team of assassins and their leader after they try to kill her and her unborn child. Since Kill Bill: Volume 1 is Tarantino’s first movie since Jackie Brown was released in 1997, there’s a lot of anticipation for the former. That anticipation translated to decent ticket sales, with the action film grossing over $180 million at the worldwide box office.
Though several people went out to see Kill Bill: Volume 1 at the time of its original theatrical release, some fans thought that the film didn’t deserve all the hype surrounding it. The movie is indeed packed with impressively choreographed fight scenes, but that’s just it. The movie has little to no dramatic weight, so it feels like Tarantino is merely trying to shock viewers with blood and gore.
The Revenant (2015)
Based in part on Michael Punke’s 2002 novel of the same name, The Revenant tells the story of a frontiersman (Leonardo DiCaprio) on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s who fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team. The Alejandro G. Iñárritu-directed movie was a blockbuster hit, grossing $533 million worldwide. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and went on to win Best Director for Iñárritu, Best Actor for DiCaprio, and Best Cinematography for Emmanuel Lubezki at the 88th Academy Awards.
But despite The Revenant’s commercial and critical success, a lot of people still consider it as one of most overrated movies in recent years. Some people who have seen the film find it unpleasant to watch, partly because the prolonged suffering of DiCaprio’s character makes the movie something to endure rather than inspire. And though the movie’s visual inventiveness is indeed spectacular, many viewers think The Revenant lacks human connection and that keeps them from being drawn into the story as they should be.
It (2017)
Based on Stephen King’s 1986 novel of the same name, It follows seven young outcasts in Derry, Maine, who must band together over the course of one horrifying summer to overcome their own personal fears and battle an ancient, shape-shifting creature known as Pennywise. The Andy Muschietti-directed movie earned over $701 million at the worldwide box office, becoming the fifth-highest-grossing R-rated film of all time and the highest-grossing horror film of all time.
Though It received positive reviews from critics who commended its direction, cinematography, and performances, the film is actually mediocre, at least according to some people who have watched it. They argue that there’s nothing really new or unexpected about the film, so it ends up becoming too formulaic and predictable. In addition to underdeveloped peripheral characters and lack of overarching message other than the importance of friendship, It also suffers from its attempt to be horror, comedy, and coming-of-age dramedy all at the same time.
The Nun (2018)
A spin-off of 2016’s The Conjuring 2 and the fifth installment in The Conjuring Universe franchise, The Nun follows a priest (Demián Bichir) with a haunted past and a novitiate (Taissa Farmiga) on the threshold of her final vows who are sent by the Vatican to investigate the death of a young nun (Bonnie Aarons) in Romania and confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun.
Despite earning $365 million at the worldwide box office and becoming the highest-grossing film of the franchise, the Corin Hardy-directed film was panned by critics because of its inconsistent logic and lack of authentic storytelling. Bichir and Farmiga both gave excellent performances, but The Nun’s storyline was so weak that the movie just became a sloppy cash-grab that further diluted The Conjuring franchise. Bland and plodding, the film heavily relied on cheap, ineffective jump scares, making it the dullest film within The Conjuring universe.
Step Up (2006)
Directed by Anne Fletcher, Step Up tells the story of the disadvantaged Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) who has been in and out of trouble for most of his life. While serving his to 200 hours of community service at the Maryland School of the Arts, he quickly catches the eye of Nora (Jenna Dewan), a gifted ballet student who is trying to use hip-hop moves with her classical routines. After some initial hesitation, Nora convinces Tyler to help her with her dance routines and sparks start to fly between them.
Though a box-office success, grossing $114 million worldwide against a budget of just $12 million, the romantic dance drama film received mostly negative reviews from critics. Cliche-ridden and predictable, Step Up has too little plot and not enough dancing. Tatum and Dewan’s dancing skills are undeniable, but the plot of the movie is something that fans of the genre have seen several times before.
Frozen (2013)
Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Snow Queen, Frozen follows Princess Anna (Kristen Bell) who sets off on a journey alongside iceman Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), his reindeer, and a sentient snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad) to find her estranged sister Elsa (Idina Menzel), whose icy powers have inadvertently trapped their kingdom in eternal winter. Considered by some as Disney’s best animated film since the studio’s renaissance era, Frozen won several recognitions, including Best Animated Feature Film at the 86th Academy Awards. After grossing $1.280 billion at the worldwide box office, it also became the highest-grossing animated film of all time until it was overtaken by 2019’s The Lion King in 2019.
Despite the fanfare surrounding the film, a lot of people include Frozen on their list of overrated movies. While it’s a big hit for children, many adults see the film as a Wicked knockoff with no plot structure, illogical twists, and supporting characters that are annoying at times.
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
Based on E. L. James’ 2011 erotic romantic drama novel of the same name, Fifty Shades of Grey stars Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele, a college graduate who begins a sadomasochistic relationship with young business magnate Christian Grey, played by Jamie Dornan. The Sam Taylor-Johnson-directed flick was an immediate box office success, earning over $570 million worldwide against a production budget of just $570 million.
Though Fifty Shades of Grey managed to send lots of people to theaters, a lot of people felt that it didn’t live up to the erotic-charged hype surrounding it. Sharing the same sentiments of many critics, some fans of the novel found the movie dry and bland, as it failed to achieve the level of graphic content present in the source material. The terrible dialogue and Dornan’s humorless depiction of Grey also made the film worse than expected.
Sing (2016)
Featuring anthropomorphic animal characters, Sing is a computer-animated musical comedy film that centers on a hustling theater impresario’s (Matthew McConaughey) attempt to save his theater by producing the world’s greatest singing competition. Five contestants emerge: a mouse (Seth MacFarlane), a timid elephant (Tori Kelly), a pig (Reese Witherspoon), a gorilla (Taron Egerton), and a punk-rock porcupine (Scarlet Johansson). The Garth Jennings-directed movie grossed $634 million at the worldwide box office and was also nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 74th Golden Globe Awards.
While amusing at places, Sing is actually a forgettable film. According to many viewers and critics, the subplots for each of the main characters are massively trite and appear to have scrappily created just to string together a series of song-and-dance performances. There’s also no apparent reason why the characters are animals, as the plot would still function even if they were humans.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Based on Stephen Chbosky’s 1999 novel of the same name, The Perks of Being a Wallflower tells the story of a socially awkward freshman named Charlie (Logan Lerman) who is taken under the wings of two charismatic seniors: the free-spirited Sam (Emma Watson) and her stepbrother Patrick (Ezra Miller). The two help Charlie discover the joys of friendship, first love, music and more, but as Sam and Patrick prepare to leave for college, Charlie’s inner sadness threatens to shatter his newfound confidence.
Though The Perks of Being a Wallflower was generally well-received by critics, a lot people found the movie overly hyped, as its depiction of introverts is arguably inaccurate and feels very made-up. In addition to inauthentic and poorly defined characters, the movie also suffers from a generic plot that is made even worse with several unresolved loose ends.
Aquaman (2018)
The sixth film in the DC Extended Universe, Aquaman stars Jason Momoa as the titular superhero who also goes by the name Arthur Curry, the human-born heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis. In the film, Arthur must stop his half-brother King Orm (Patrick Wilson) from conquering all the seven underwater kingdoms and the surface world. The James Wan-directed movie grossed about $1.148 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing DCEU film of all time.
Though the film received praise for its visual effects, Wan’s direction, and Momoa’s performance, Aquaman, as a whole, is just an average superhero movie. Many viewers think that it’s more style than substance. For instance, the film raises serious environmental issues, but instead of engaging with them, it ends up drowning viewers with a lot of less significant fight scenes. With the movie’s lazy writing, its 143-minute runtime feels longer than it is, despite all the amazing CGI flashing on the screen.
Skyfall (2012)
The 23rd movie in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions, Skyfall finds the titular spy (Daniel Craig) investigating an attack on MI6 that leads to a wider plot by former agent Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) to discredit and kill M (Judi Dench) as revenge for abandoning him. The Sam Mendes-directed flick was very well received by critics and even won two Oscars. It’s also the highest-grossing film in the franchise, grossing $1.108 billion at the worldwide box office.
However, some longtime James Bond fans feel that Mendes was so busy trying to be a visionary that he didn’t notice that the characters in the movie were wandering too far from their roots. For instance, Bond himself is whiny, moping, and sensitive in Skyfall, making the film feel more like a melodrama than an action thriller.
Malcolm & Marie (2021)
Written and directed by Sam Levinson, Malcolm & Marie centers on a writer-director (John David Washington) and his girlfriend (Zendaya) whose love for each other is tested on the night of his latest film’s premiere when revelations about their relationships begin to surface. The hype surrounding the black-and-white romantic drama started with the release of its trailer last January, and since it was the first Hollywood feature to be entirely written, financed, and produced during the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of people watched it when it became available on Netflix the following month.
Though Malcolm & Marie became the most-watched title on the streaming service in its debut weekend, a number of critics and audiences actually found it mediocre. Zendaya delivered an extraordinary performance, but it wasn’t enough to save the film from its aimless plot that had very little to say.
Keeping Up with the Kardashians (2007-2021)
Created by Ryan Seacrest, E!’s Keeping Up with the Kardashians is a reality series that documents the personal and professional lives of the Kardashian–Jenner blended family. It focuses mainly on sisters Kim, Kourtney, and Khloé and their half-sisters Kendall and Kylie. Since its October 2007 premiere, the show has attracted high viewership ratings, becoming one of the network’s most successful series and one of America’s longest-running reality television series. It has also spawned several spinoffs, including Kourtney and Kim Take Miami, Kourtney and Kim Take New York, Khloé & Lamar, Kourtney and Khloé Take The Hamptons, Dash Dolls, Rob & Chyna, Life of Kylie, and Flip It Like Disick.
Though viewers love Keeping Up with the Kardashians, critics find the show overrated because of its lack of intelligence and a high degree of emphasis on “famous for being famous” concept. Though not proven, the series is also believed to have fabricated some aspects of its storylines, leading some fans to question the show’s authenticity. The ongoing season 20 of the show will be its last.
The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017)
Set in the fictional town of Mystic Falls with supernatural history, The Vampire Diaries follows the life of Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), a teenage girl who falls in love with a 162-year-old vampire named Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley). Their relationship becomes increasingly complicated when Stefan’s mysterious older brother Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) resurfaces and also falls in love with Elena, creating a love triangle among the three. Because its huge following, The Vampire Diaries ran for eight seasons on The CW and even spawned a spinoff series titled The Originals.
While The Vampire Diaries was one of the most popular The CW series when it comes to viewership, some people who have seen it think it’s overrated. As if the pathetic main love triangle wasn’t already enough, the series added two to three more love triangles at some point during its run, making the series cramped with too many subplots. Every main character had also died and come back to life several times that death became completely pointless in the series.
13 Reasons Why (2017-2020)
Based on Jay Asher’s 2007 novel of the same name, Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why initially revolved around high school student Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) and the aftermath of high school student Hannah Baker’s (Katherine Langford) suicide. Before her death, she left behind a box of cassette tapes in which she revealed the reasons why she chose to end her life and the people she believed were responsible for her death. The controversial theme of the show’s first season piqued the interest of many people and several of those stuck with the series until its fourth and final season last June.
While 13 Reasons Why deserves all the praises for its bold attempt to tackle a wide range of social issues affecting the youth today, the show felt contrived at times, as it explored almost all possible hot button issues at the same time with little success. The show had a promising first season but the empathy that it had during its freshman run eventually vanished as the series went on.
Gossip Girl (2007-2012)
Narrated by the unknown, omniscient blogger that goes by the name Gossip Girl, the CW series revolves around the lives of privileged upper-class adolescents living in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Starring Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford, Taylor Momsen, Ed Westwick, and Kelly Rutherford, among many others, the series was a huge hit for the network, lasting for a total of six seasons. The success of the series also led to a number of international adaptations, including Turkish, Chinese, Mexican, Thai, and Indonesian. There’s also a sequel series of the same title coming to HBO Max later this year.
While Gossip Girl is undeniably entertaining, many TV buffs find it overrated because it doesn’t actually have a strong sense of reality and rationality. When assessed closely, the show’s plot is simply a preposterous web of nonsense packed with scandals, betrayals, underage sex, and hateful kids. Furthermore, many aspects of the show are completely illogical and ridiculous. For instance, would you believe that all male main characters hooked up with every single female main character in the show?
Suits (2011-2019)
Set at a fictional New York City law firm, Suits follows talented college dropout Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) who starts working as a law associate for Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) despite never having attended law school. It focuses on Harvey and Mike closing cases while keeping the latter’s secret. Because of its loyal following, the Aaron Korsh-created series lasted for nine seasons on USA Network. It also spawned a spinoff series called Pearson and had South Korean and Japanese remakes.
Suits is not a bad show, but a lot of people who have seen episodes of it will probably agree that it doesn’t deserve all the hype surrounding it. Like most legal and courtroom drama, Suits is extremely unrealistic, as the main characters got away with so many acts of malpractice. Moreover, many Suits episodes are structurally the same: a problem occurs and it is dealt by the main leads with some idea that they randomly heard from another person. Lastly, with nine long years on the air, all main characters had been overdone in every aspect possible.
Lost (2004-2010)
Created by Jeffrey Lieber, J. J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Lost follows the survivors of a plane crash who are forced to work together in order to survive on a seemingly deserted tropical island. Considered by many critics as one of the greatest television series of all time, the sci-fi/supernatural hybrid was the recipient of many recognitions, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2005 and a Golden Globe Award for Best Drama in 2006. It was also a ratings juggernaut for ABC. Lost’s first season had an estimated average of 16 million viewers per episode, while its sixth and final season had an estimated average of 11 million viewers per episode.
Though Lost had gained a lot of fans throughout its original run, the series ultimately cemented its overrated reputation with rushed storytelling and a sloppy ending in its final season. Though the show started with so much promise, it stalled some time in its third season and is now remembered as one of the shows with a terrible finale that didn’t offer concrete answers or any real closure.
Hobbs & Shaw (2019)
A spin-off of the Fast & Furious franchise set after the events of 2017’s The Fate of the Furious, Hobbs & Shaw follows lawman Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and outcast Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) who form an unlikely alliance when a cyber-genetically enhanced villain (Idris Elba) threatens the future of humanity with a deadly virus. Though the movie performed well at the box office, grossing $759 million worldwide, many viewers were quite disappointed with it as it failed to live up to the hype.
The David Leitch-directed movie is entertaining, but it is far from being a good movie. In fact, a number of fans and critics consider it as one of the weaker entries in the Fast & Furious franchise, partly because of its cartoonish portrayal of the main leads and lazy writing that only offers nonstop violence as the solution to all problems. While the bromance between Hobbs and Shaw is fun to watch, the excessive comedic one-liners between the two suggest that they actually have little care about accomplishing their mission.
Scandal (2012-2018)
Created by Shonda Rhimes, Scandal follows a former White House communications director (Kerry Washington) who starts her own crisis management firm in Washington, D.C. only to realize her clients are not the only ones with secrets. The political thriller was a ratings juggernaut for ABC, which aired the show for seven seasons.
While the Scandal has gained several fans since it launched in 2012, many people who have seen it consider it as a terribly written soap opera populated with characters that repetitively double-cross each other, and people that get killed and brought back from the dead. Though Washington and other cast members had been nominated for several acting awards for their performances in the show, a number of viewers still think that the acting in the series is incredibly exaggerated, with many characters screaming at the top of their lungs even if there’s no need to.
The Witcher (2019-present)
Based on Andrzej Sapkowski’s book series of the same name, The Witcher explores the legend of Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), a solitary monster hunter who struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. The popularity of The Witcher video game series has contributed to the hype surrounding the TV show. And while its first season had been streamed by over 76 million viewers within its first month of release on Netflix, many people don’t consider it as a great TV series.
Because of the first season’s non-linear storytelling, a lot of viewers felt lost and confused while watching it. And though The Witcher features some amazing CGI-filled action scenes, the journey to those points is boring, thanks to the laborious expositions that need to be done to explain the complex history of many characters and the world of the show as a whole.
The Flash (2014-present)
Developed by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns for The CW, The Flash follows crime scene investigator Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) who gains super-human speed, which he uses to fight criminals, including others who have also gained superhuman abilities. The show’s 2014 pilot episode became the second-most watched premiere in the history of the network, after The Vampire Diaries’ pilot in 2009.
Though the first few seasons of the show were well received by critics and audiences, the series has failed to keep its greatness in succeeding seasons. Now on its seventh season, the show has gotten lazy and extremely repetitive to the point that episodes became too formulaic and predictable. Every single main character in the show has also been overdone and the writers seemingly don’t know where to take their individual stories moving forward.
Riverdale (2017-present)
Based on the characters of Archie Comics, Riverdale follows Archie (KJ Apa) and his gang as they become entangled in the dark mysteries of the titular town while navigating the troubled waters of romance, school, and family. The show pulls in decent numbers of viewers for The CW over the years, and since it also streams on Netflix globally, the show has gained fans all over the world.
Riverdale started off strong. Its freshman proved that it wasn’t just another teenage drama filled with angst and love triangles. But as the series goes on, it becomes overly hyped and hard to watch, thanks to weird storylines that seemingly come out of nowhere. There have also been just too many conflicts that don’t actually move the plot forward.