The CW’s Riverdale will return for its seventh and final season in 2023, with the show recently releasing early details for the premiere. Although Riverdale has a dedicated fanbase, the show is known to have veered completely off its original course to carry a completely different tone now.
Redditors have been vocal about other shows that have similarly let go of the style and presentation they started out with. These range from thrillers like Breaking Bad to fantasy series such as Supernatural, with the Redditors providing solid reasons for how they believe the shows took on tonal changes from their original structure.
Breaking Bad Sheds All Its Comedy
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There are many funny scenes in Breaking Bad for fans to watch, but pretty much all of them take place in the initial episodes. Redditor Successful_Gate84 writes that it was a “black comedy for the first two seasons and gets progressively darker as the stakes get higher.”
Breaking Bad pulls viewers in as something of a comedy thriller when Walt and Jesse are still getting used to the drug business. But the introduction of the likes of Gus Fring makes things far too bleak, as Walt’s life is effectively shattered. As a result, the comedic elements are done away with to show the harsh realities of running a criminal empire.
Person Of Interest Becomes A Dystopian Drama
Person of Interest is a science fiction thriller where a billionaire computer programmer develops a program to predict terrorist attacks and partners with a CIA agent to stop them. Redditor ViraClone says that the show “starts as a procedural before slowly transitioning into a society falling into dystopia type of vibe.”
Person of Interest has more of a case-of-the-week style in its early seasons, which later evolves into an overarching storyline concerning the secrets of the government. It’s a pretty smooth transition from one theme to another, although there’s a big contrast to how Person of Interest started out in retrospect.
Riverdale Turns Into A Supernatural Show
Redditor TheeShaun notes that Riverdale goes from a “high school drama with a murder mystery in the background to each season getting progressively higher stakes and crazier.” Riverdale started out as a teen drama with a central mystery storyline, which has since been shed in favor of supernatural elements.
The show now has Archie and the gang with their own powers – something that would have been impossible to fathom when Riverdale was in its infancy. The tonal shift is also apparent, with Riverdale becoming funnier compared to before since the series has acknowledged how over-the-top it now is.
Boston Legal Becomes A Full-On Satire
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Boston Legal doesn’t have the dramatic overtones of the original series The Practice even when it begins, but there are serious elements like Alan Shore’s personal flaws. Redditor TheIllusiveGuy notes that Boston Legal “got a lot more comedic and goofier as the seasons went along.”
The show went as far as to break the fourth wall on a few occasions, signaling the shift into a self-aware comedy away from the legal drama that it originally was. Alan is still plagued by his personal demons, but these are played more for comedic effect.
Barry Is Rarely Funny Now After The First Two Seasons
Barry is a show about a hitman who stumbles upon an acting class and decides to become an actor. This premise sounds like the perfect setup for comedy, which it was until it focused on tragic elements. Redditor ZombieStomp writes that “season 3 felt more like a drama/thriller with some funny scenes.”
Barry has developed into focusing on the protagonist’s psyche and inability to leave his former life behind. While there are some funny scenes still in place, the show is now largely an insight into just how sad and empty Barry feels as a person.
Better Call Saul's Payoff Is Heartbreaking Rather Than Comedic
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Better Call Saul is a prequel detailing how Jimmy McGill became Saul Goodman, and it begins as a legal comedy before Jimmy’s life takes an emotional turn. Redditor Picard2331 points out that viewers are “just waiting and excited for him to become Saul, and when it happens it's just so sad.”
Better Call Saul reveals that Jimmy takes on the Saul Goodman persona to push down the pain of losing his wife’s love. In addition, his turn into a corrupted lawyer contrasts with Jimmy’s original happy-go-lucky attitude, making the later seasons seem totally different.
Parks And Recreation's Central Conflict Is Entirely Removed
Parks and Recreation starts off with Leslie Knope being at odds with everyone at her office due to their lack of seriousness. This dysfunctional quality gradually ebbs away, as Redditor dholmestar points out that the “environment of everyone goes from barely tolerating each other to being the most wholesome workplace on TV.”
The second half of Parks and Recreation’s run is about how close the characters are, supporting each other through thick and thin. It’s a departure from when none of them appeared to like the other, as the comedy series takes a heartwarming change that doesn’t seem possible when it begins.
Supernatural Went From Horror To Fantasy
Supernatural is introduced as a horror show about monsters and demons before turning into a dark fantasy about gods, angels, and the apocalypse. Redditor inksmudgedhands noted that “everything was bathed in shadows. Then by the end of the show, you barely had any night scenes.”
Supernatural also indulged in a lot more comedy than when it started out, complete with fantasy sequences like alternate realities and the protagonists stuck in the Scooby-Doo world. Once Dean and Sam Winchester start dealing with bigger enemies, the scary element gets toned down since the protagonists themselves have become far more skilled.
Family Matters Isn't About The Family Anymore
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Although it remains a TV show that the whole family can watch right up until the end, Family Matters ironically sheds the meaning behind its own title. As stated by Redditor Korrocks, Family Matters goes from a “slice-of-life sitcom about a middle-class family into a surreal science fiction/fantasy adventure.”
The promotion of Steve Urkel from a supporting character into the main protagonist not only pushed the others aside, but Urkel’s ability to somehow bend reality took center stage. Family Matters is nothing like the subtle sitcom it is in its first season, as the later ones had everything from time travel to cloning.
The Ranch Is Barely A Sitcom In Later Seasons
The Ranch’s initial premise is about a man returning to his hometown to run the family ranch, with the differences in his mindset to his family’s blue-collar lifestyle providing comedic material. Redditor jelly-senpai sums up its tonal change by stating The Ranch “went from light fun with some heavy moments to a lot of heavy and dark moments.”
The show featured heavy-handed stories like the death of the family’s older son, the parents’ divorce, and substance issues. The change is remarkable primarily because The Ranch was supposed to be a multi-cam laugh-track sitcom, so the dark elements can be jarring, given the camera setup favors comedies.