#6: THE X-FILES | 1993 – 2002
X-Files was built on the relationship between Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). So one would have assumed that if any part of “Mulder & Scully” left, the show would have ended. But no. After Duchovny split, The X-Files tried to shoehorn in T-1000 Robert Patrick as a new guy named John Doggett. Needless to say, “Doggett & Scully” did not have the same spark, and viewers were mysteriously abducted. The series finale in 2001 had only 13 million viewers, down almost 50 percent from the viewership in the show’s heyday.
#5: L.A. LAW | 1986 – 1994
Stars Harry “Perseus” Hamlin and Jimmy “The Guy From That One Police Procedural” Smits cashed in their chips five seasons in; Susan “Partridge Family” Dey left in season six. Despite lower ratings, the show carried on for a few more seasons on the back of lone original cast holdout Corbin “Roger Dorn” Bernsen. L.A. Law threw anything it could into the mix to lure back its audience, but when the mentally handicapped office assistant, Benny, was far more interesting than any of the actual lawyers, you knew the show wasn’t going to last.
