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Many viewers know this disappointment. The follow-up season of your top TV show drops on your platform, and you're brimming with anticipation. Season one ended flawlessly: upcoming stories were hinted at provocatively, and a main character had – cliffhanger! – been offed (or had they?). During the hiatus, you were perusing Reddit threads with dedicated fans to find some Easter egg clues pointing toward upcoming twists.

Unfortunately, the return episode disappoints. It seems as if the creative team was swapped for algorithms. Cut to the second episode, your favorite cast member has done something that fans unanimously declare inconsistent. Halfway through the season, it becomes obvious the creators forgot concerning narrative arcs clearly established previously. And by the disappointing finale, you long for an earlier termination.

The Downside of Overextension

Wishing for cancellation can only be retrospective; viewers usually oppose premature cancellations. Consider Kaos, a clever mythological satire starring Jeff Goldblum, which was binned by Netflix due to low viewing figures. Yet audiences can console themselves that the program avoided a disappointing second season.

Considering the thriller Yellowjackets, I prefer it had remained a self-contained narrative. The debut offered a richly imaginative setup, and every episode hit the right marks. A 1996 plane crash strands a female soccer team in wilderness. Top-notch cast members (with 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 develop the plot thoroughly. Recently, news broke of a season four conclusion. And as a fan, I let out a sigh of relief.

Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin and Noah Schnapp in the forthcoming fifth season of Stranger Things.

Story decisions have weakened the core. Instead of focusing on the survivors' reintegration, and watching how they deal with their horrific new secrets, the narrative expanded unnecessarily. A fatiguing tendency emerged of highlighting added personalities (such as Shauna’s two-dimensional daughter Callie) who added little to the overarching plot. It's aggravating, and witnessing a great series decline into annoyance is disheartening.

A Growing Trend

Yet this issue extends beyond Yellowjackets. Shows such as Emily in Paris, House of the Dragon, Squid Game and Stranger Things lack original impact, and embraced predictable tropes. At times, programs must stop while successful.

Actually, benefits come from self-contained series. Considering Sharp Objects, I May Destroy You, and Adolescence, writers understand when narratives find completion. But the game is over when shows such as Big Little Lies, initially a one-season story, extend endlessly with reduced impact. Perhaps Adolescence's team reconsidered a second season.

The Supreme Instance

I wish Yellowjackets could have been a one-and-done series, living rent-free in our imaginations, mysteries intact. My favorite TV show of all time has played out like that. This beloved 90s drama, the quintessential youth program, ran for just one year yet felt epic in scale: its characters were difficult and contradictory, the filming captured a fall aesthetic, and the scripts transcended typical youth dialogue. Its final episode was bitterly unresolved, but this reflects truth appropriately of never having real, definitive answers to the open-ended questions from your teenage years. After 18 great episodes (and one mediocre), I was heartbroken and took to writing season two fan fiction myself to address unfinished business. It might only live on an old hard drive, but it speaks to how deeply TV shows can chime with us.

The Sacred Bond

When producers honor the special viewer-program bond, more series can conclude appropriately.

• Priya Elan focuses on cultural topics.