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Many viewers know this disappointment. The second series of your top TV show premieres online, and you're brimming with anticipation. Season one ended flawlessly: future plotlines were teased tantalisingly, and a protagonist met a mysterious end – or so it seemed. After the season wrapped, you delved into fan discussions with other hardcores to uncover hidden hints pointing toward upcoming twists.

Unfortunately, the return episode disappoints. It feels like the entire writers’ room has been fired and replaced by artificial intelligence. In episode two, a key performer makes a choice that viewers recognize as jarringly uncharacteristic. Halfway through the season, the writers appear to have memory loss concerning narrative arcs clearly established previously. By the lackluster conclusion, you silently wish that the show had just been cancelled.

The Curse of Too Many Seasons

Wanting a series to end early is often late realization; most fans protest when their favorite shows are canned before they can get off the ground. Consider Kaos, a clever mythological satire with Jeff Goldblum, which Netflix dropped over poor ratings. Yet audiences can console themselves that their enjoyment of the series won’t have been muddied by a sophomore slump.

Looking back at the horror-mystery show Yellowjackets, I currently desire it was a one-season story. Season one had a creatively abundant premise, and every episode hit the right marks. Aircraft disaster leaves a teen girls' team isolated in 1996. Top-notch cast members (featuring Juliette Lewis, Lauren Ambrose and Sophie Thatcher) depicted the survivors in dual eras. Numerous awards recognition occurred, producers originally mapped out a five-season arc to fully explore the narrative. But last week, it was announced that it would end with season four. This news brought me relief.

Young actors prepare for Stranger Things' next chapter.

Story decisions have weakened the core. Rather than leading with the girls’ return home, and their struggle with traumatic memories, the story grew padded and excessive. A fatiguing tendency emerged of highlighting added personalities (including the flat character Callie) who did nothing for the broader story. It's disappointing, and as a viewer, it is depressing to see your favorite show morph slowly into a hate-watch.

A Growing Trend

However, Yellowjackets isn't alone. Programs including Emily in Paris, House of the Dragon, Squid Game and Stranger Things lack original impact, and fallen headfirst into expected or comfortable cliches. Sometimes shows need to quit when they are ahead.

Actually, benefits come from self-contained series. Looking at Sharp Objects, I May Destroy You, and Adolescence, writers understand when narratives find completion. Yet the spell breaks for programs including Big Little Lies, first conceived as self-contained, extend endlessly with reduced impact. Hopefully, Adolescence’s producers have thought twice about that rumoured season two.

The Supreme Instance

I preferred Yellowjackets as a limited run, occupying our minds endlessly, mysteries intact. My favorite TV show of all time has played out like that. The classic teen series, the perfect 90s teen dramedy, concluded after a single run but achieved film-like breadth: the roles were challenging and multifaceted, the visuals were beautifully seasonal, and the conversations avoided cliched adolescent writing. The conclusion provided no neat resolution, yet this mirrors real life accurately of never having real, definitive answers to the open-ended questions from your teenage years. After 18 great episodes (and one mediocre), I mourned its end and drafted follow-up stories to answer some of those questions. Though stored on outdated technology, it shows how series resonate profoundly.

The Special Relationship

If writers recall the sacred audience-series connection, more shows can end gracefully.

• Priya Elan covers entertainment and style.