10 Netflix shows that went on for too long — sorry

"House of Cards," based on a British TV show of the same name, rightfully earned its critical and fan acclaim for the first two or three seasons.

However, between seasons five and six, Kevin Spacey, who played the diabolical Frank Underwood, was written out of "House of Cards" following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct from various people, including staffers on the set of the show, according to Variety.

In 2022, he was ordered to pay the show's production company $31 million for his alleged behavior — the company argued his exit had cost them a large sum in lost profits. This was reduced to $1 million in 2024.

In a UK trial in 2023, Spacey was found not guilty of 12 sexual assault charges against him in relation to accusations brought by four other men.

But even before the accusations and before Underwood was rightfully killed off, the show was wearing thin. There is only so much backstabbing, murder, and political machinations one can take.

Though Claire (and Robin Wright) deserved to have her moment in the Oval Office, the season five finale in 2017 was more than enough to show she was officially taking the power back into her own hands.

"OITNB" began as one of Netflix's first forays into prestige TV back in 2013, and it had a buzzy premise: It was based upon a real memoir of Piper Kerman, who spent a year in a woman's prison.

"OITNB" was the first scripted show to really delve into the prison industrial complex inside a female prison, and made strides towards more trans representation on TV and more same-sex relationships on TV. It also helped educate viewers about what life was like inside a prison.

However, when Black people are disproportionately killed by the police in real life, it seems almost cruel to viewers to show the murder of Poussey, a Black woman, by a white prison guard during a riot in season four.

While it was heartbreakingly realistic, it seemed more like tragedy porn than anything else, and it unfortunately played into the "Bury Your Gays" trope, since Poussey identified as a lesbian.

The first few seasons of "OITNB" should be required viewing, but seven seasons and 91 episodes were just too much.

And, while some got a "happy" ending, many other characters along the way suffered more injustices and tragedy, like Tiffany, Maritza, and Red.

We'll admit, seeing the entire extended Tanner clan (give or take an Olsen twin) was really fun — for a season in 2016.

The awkwardness of Aunt Becky's mysterious disappearance aside, it's hard to justify keeping "Fuller House" on the air for five seasons when groundbreaking new content like "One Day at a Time," "I Am Not Okay with This," and "The Get Down" only get a season or two.

You might also call this "Big Little Lies" syndrome — that is, when what should have been a limited series based on a novel needlessly drags on the story.

The Jay Asher novel was the complete story of high school student Clay dealing with the trauma of his high school crush, Hannah Baker, dying by suicide.

However, the show, in addition to being graphic and problematic in its depiction of suicide and other sensitive subjects, dragged on the story for another three seasons, putting characters through an unbelievable amount of pain and suffering. Hannah didn't stick around past season two, even though the show was ostensibly about her and Clay.

There was nothing actually wrong with "The Ranch" — at least not after Danny Masterson was written off — but it was just ... boring.

It seemed like it would have been more at home on CBS than Netflix, a platform that prides itself on pushing the limits of television. It was just a sitcom about a family living on a cattle ranch in Colorado.

As already stated, it's hard to explain why this show gets four seasons and 80 episodes, when other more original shows get half that.

The first season of this true crime series (though at the time, we didn't know there'd be a season two) was a phenomenon when it was released in 2015.

It was shot over 10 years, and focused on the case against Steven Avery, who first served 18 years in prison due to a wrongful conviction, but was then tried and convicted of a different crime (this time a murder) a few years after he was released. He's currently serving a life sentence.

If the first season took 10 years to make, and there had been no significant updates on Avery's case, how could a second season three years later be worth 10-plus hours investing in?

Spoiler: It wasn't, as explained by Vanity Fair.

"Gilmore Girls" lasted for seven seasons on network TV, though only six were under the stewardship of co-creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino. The last season is generally panned by fans, and the Palladinos maintain they've never seen it.

After the show's end in 2007, Sherman-Palladino said she's always known how the series would end, down to the last four words.

So, when Netflix announced they'd be reviving the show in 2016, fans were elated.

But when the four episodes dropped, fans were left disappointed and bewildered due to Rory's apparent turn into an entitled brat who constantly forgot about her boyfriend and believed she deserved every journalism job out there.

They also weren't happy about the lack of development and communication between Luke and Lorelai almost a decade into their relationship — and don't even get us started on those infamous last four words.

Now, there are plenty of fans who wished "Gilmore Girls" had stayed in 2007.

When the trailer for "Insatiable" dropped in 2018, it became abundantly clear that Netflix had miscalculated.

While the show thought it had achieved a black comedy "Heather"-esque tone, it was more mean than biting, more cringe-worthy than funny, and generally fat-phobic. It was surprising when it got renewed — but even just two seasons was more than enough from this crew.

Was "Sex/Life" a good show? No, but when it premiered in 2021, it got people talking about what it's like to balance motherhood with your own personal dreams and a healthy sex life.

It's unfortunate, then, that it was promoted as what Business Insider's Tamar Barbash called "a show about a horny, unsatisfied wife."

It wasn't surprising that it got renewed for a second season, but when season two dropped almost two years later to almost zero fanfare, it became clear that this could've been an interesting limited series that had an open-ended finale. 

Its April 2023 cancellation was almost a given.

"Emily in Paris" dropped on Netflix in October 2020. We were all still stuck inside due to the pandemic, and it was fun to have something to all hate-watch together.

But here we are in 2024, and the cast is currently filming season four of this preposterous show about Emily (Lily Collins), a marketing savant, apparently, moving to Paris and systematically destroying the lives of those around her.

We can only hope that season four will see Emily end her reign of terror and return to Chicago.