30 TV shows that jumped the shark: From Heroes to Community
A selection of the television shows that took a steep turn for the worse
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On the 20 September 1977, families across the United States tuned into their TV sets ready to watch the latest episode of Happy Days.
The episode was billed as an audacious and thrilling piece of television: the coolest character around, Henry Winkler's Fonzie, wearing a leather jacket and shorts, was going to waterski over a shark.
What transpired was ultimately a desperate grab for attention, with the writers having seemingly run out of ideas. Critics soon started biting and the phrase "jump the shark" quickly became shorthand for a show attempting to promote itself with an unsuccessful, clammy gimmick.
Over the years, the idiom has come to mean something else, with most critics using it to describe a television show that has generally dropped in quality.
With this in mind, The Independent looks at 30 television shows that have "jumped the shark" over the years, ranging from comedy classics (The Simpsons, Seinfeld) to reality TV shows (Big Brother, Gogglebox). Click through the gallery below to see all our choices.
Read our choice for the 37 best cliffhangers in TV history here.
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