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Grew the Beard

TV Series That Grew the Beard

Named for Riker's beard in The Next Generation, this is the show that starts shaky and then gets genuinely good. These series opened with their weakest season and climbed to a much stronger, sustained level.

Ranked by how much the show improved after season one · 44 series

1

Mystery Science Theater 3000

★ 8.6
28K votes 199 episodes 1988–1999
Lo-fi charm · Ironic & meta
6.6 to 7.8
2

Industry

★ 7.5
29K votes 35 episodes 2020–2026
Workplace · Class divide
7.5 to 8.6
3

The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch

★ 6.5
6K votes 127 episodes 2020–present
Docuseries · Mystery box
6.7 to 7.9
4

Parks and Recreation

★ 8.6
320K votes 124 episodes 2009–2015
Warm humor · Warm glow · Workplace
7.1 to 8.2
5

Bungo Stray Dogs

★ 7.8
14K votes 62 episodes 2016–present
Anime · Supernatural
7.6 to 8.7
6

Bel-Air

★ 6.4
16K votes 38 episodes 2022–2025
Class divide · Coming of age
7.3 to 8.3
7

BoJack Horseman

★ 8.8
240K votes 76 episodes 2014–2020
Mental health · Adult animation
7.9 to 8.9
8

Babylon 5

★ 8.4
38K votes 111 episodes 1993–1998
Sprawling saga · Space & sci-fi
7.1 to 8.1
9

Beavis and Butt-Head

★ 7.5
37K votes 214 episodes 1993–2011
Adult animation · Episodic
6.8 to 7.8
10

Seinfeld

★ 8.8
389K votes 172 episodes 1989–1998
Sitcom · Dialogue-driven · Cynical
7.3 to 8.4
11

Skam

★ 8.5
43K votes 43 episodes 2015–2017
Coming of age · Young adult
7.8 to 8.8
12

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

★ 8.5
149K votes 133 episodes 2008–2020
Deep worldbuilding
7.3 to 8.3
13

Legend of the Galactic Heroes

★ 9.0
7K votes 110 episodes 1988–1997
Sprawling saga · War & military
8.2 to 9.1
14

Men Behaving Badly

★ 7.7
9K votes 45 episodes 1992–2014
Sitcom · British TV · Friendship
6.7 to 7.6
15

ReBoot

★ 7.9
6K votes 47 episodes 1994–2001
Deep worldbuilding
8.1 to 9.0
16

Star Trek: The Next Generation

★ 8.7
152K votes 176 episodes 1987–1994
Space & sci-fi · Hopeful
6.8 to 7.6
17

Succession

★ 8.8
369K votes 39 episodes 2018–2023
Elites & privilege · Cynical
8.3 to 9.2
18

12 Monkeys

★ 7.7
55K votes 47 episodes 2015–2018
Time travel · Puzzle plot
7.9 to 8.8
19

Kingdom

★ 8.8
7K votes 155 episodes 2012–present
War & military · Anime
8.3 to 9.2
20

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

★ 8.1
23K votes 64 episodes 2018–2020
Found family · Queer stories
7.9 to 8.7
21

Mr. Show with Bob and David

★ 8.4
11K votes 30 episodes 1995–1998
Sketch & variety · Absurdist
7.7 to 8.5
22

Only Fools and Horses

★ 9.0
67K votes 64 episodes 1981–2003
British TV · Working class
7.7 to 8.5
23

Black Sails

★ 8.2
127K votes 38 episodes 2014–2017
Morally gray · Antihero lead
7.9 to 8.7
24

Torchwood

★ 7.7
46K votes 41 episodes 2006–2011
Urban fantasy · Queer stories
7.4 to 8.1
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Rating patterns, computed from IMDb episode-rating trajectories. Deliberately strict: only shows with an unmistakable pattern carry one, so expect small numbers.

Rating patterns

Taste tags, judged by our AI taste model. They cover the 5,000 most-rated shows.

Tone & mood
Pacing & structure
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Themes & subject matter
Characters & perspective
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Format & audience
Viewing-culture clusters
Intensity & content character
44 series