In order for a TV show to be successful, it must combine several elements: an interesting story, well-constructed characters, a unique point of view, and a genre-friendly structure, among others. This is how some of the best TV series in history were built. But there are many series that featured all of these elements, and more, and still failed for different reasons. Indeed, there are many things that can jeopardize a series’ success, from a poor choice of time slot to cast changes, budget problems, and, of course, not being liked by the audience. Because of this, a lot of series end up being canceled after a couple of seasons, or even worse, they never even premiered. Sometimes, not even popularity is enough to guarantee the continuity of a production: dozens of TV shows were canceled regardless of their success, causing bewilderment to thousands of fans.

However, many TV series were lucky enough to find their own path and become hits after getting off on the wrong foot. Such was the case of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a series that took a while to consolidate, only to be abruptly canceled by Fox after its fifth season. Fortunately, NBC saved the day with a renewal, and the production turned out to be an absolute hit. Like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, there are many shows out there that needed a few seasons to become popular. Here are 8 of them.

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8 Star Trek: The Next Generation

     Paramount Domestic Television

Star Trek: The Next Generation aired from 1987 to 1994. This show, created by Gene Roddenberry, became the third in the franchise, and featured performances by Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Denise Crosby, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, and Wil Wheaton. Star Trek: The Next Generation follows a new group of galactic voyagers led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard, who travel aboard the USS Enterprise-D exploring the universe for new life forms. It took a while for this series to stand out from its predecessors, but eventually it succeeded and became a hit among fans.

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7 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

     Walt Disney Television

In September 2013, a familiar MCU organization was given its own series. And so Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premiered, starring Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, and Elizabeth Henstridge. This show is centered on S.H.I.E.L.D., the anti-terrorist organization that works alongside well-known superheroes, and it was the first series in the MCU. While this show by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen made a good debut, ratings quickly went down. Nevertheless, it eventually managed to bounce back and remain on the air until 2020, earning a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes for its seventh season.

6 Buffy The Vampire Slayer

     20th Television

Inspired by the 1992 movie of the same name, Buffy The Vampire Slayer is about Buffy, a young girl destined to battle vampires and other dark forces. While she wishes to lead a normal life like any other teenager, she eventually embraces this unique gift and uses it to protect society. This 1997 series was also created by Joss Whedon, and starred Sarah Michelle Gellar. Although this show remains an absolute hit and boasts a large fan base to this day, its first season failed to fully explore the series’ potential, taking a while to fully develop.

5 Arrow

     CBS Television Distribution

October 2012 marked the premiere of Arrow, a series created by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, but adding their very own interpretation of him. This is the first series in the Arrowverse and stars Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, a billionaire who, having spent several years shipwrecked on an island in the North China Sea, makes his way back to Starling City and uses all his newfound survival skills to battle crime under a secret identity armed with his bow and arrow. While expectations were not high for this CW production, it got better and better over the seasons and earned rave reviews.

4 The 100

The Earth was destroyed by a nuclear war, and those who survived are living in a space habitat called the Ark. 100 years after these incidents, the life-support systems of the Ark start failing, so a team of young criminals are sent back to Earth in order to explore the place and see if there are any possibilities of getting back there. The 100 is a TV series created by Jason Rothenberg and inspired by the book of the same name by Kass Morgan. It ran for seven seasons, and while the first one was met with mixed reviews, the show eventually started to improve in terms of popularity.

3 Parks and Recreation

     NBC

In 2009, Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, two of the masterminds behind the American version of The Office, created Parks and Recreation, a mockumentary sitcom that ran for seven seasons. Amy Poehler stars as Leslie Knope, the deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department in Pawnee, Indiana. Knope eventually teams up with Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones), a local nurse, and they set out to turn an abandoned pit into a park for the community, a task that might not be as easy as it seems. While many viewers considered it to be a copy of The Office and very predictable at first, over the seasons it established itself as a stand-alone production.

2 Lucifer

     Warner Bros. Television Distribution

Tom Ellis stars in this TV series as Lucifer Morningstar, the Devil, who got bored of his own life and decided to move to Los Angeles, open a nightclub and work as a consultant for the Police Department. Lucifer, a Tom Kapinos production, is based on the character of the same name created by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg for DC Comics, and aired from 2016 to 2021. Besides Ellis, the show featured performances by Lauren German, Kevin Alejandro, D. B. Woodside, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Scarlett Estevez and Rachael Harris. Its first season was criticized for not standing out from other crime procedural series.

1 The Office

The American version of The Office is truly the most amazing entry on this list, as it went from being a flop to one of the biggest comedy hits in history. This mockumentary sitcom was created by Greg Daniels after the original series, by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The Office follows the employees of a paper company located in Scranton, and depicts their day-to-day life in a documentary. And while it might seem boring, Dunder Mifflin’s employees are anything but that, and they must deal with their quirky boss, Michael Scott (Steve Carell), on a daily basis. This show had a hard time breaking into the mainstream, and in fact, its first season only comprised six episodes. However, due to the efforts of its producers and cast, plus the recognition Carell earned after starring in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, The Office grew in popularity worldwide, and even though it wrapped up in 2013, it is still a hit to this day.