100 Episodes - Disappointments

Disappointments

Reaching the 100-episode milestone does not guarantee successful syndication; examples include Grace Under Fire and Yes, Dear.

There are also cases, such as Mad About You and Newsradio, where a series is expected to do well in syndication but ends up with disappointing Nielsen ratings and revenue. Reasons include dated references in early seasons, or plotlines in later seasons that fall flat, causing the series to end up being defined by that one plot line or season rather than as a whole, changing the audience's perception.

It also occasionally occurs that a marginally performing show that is approaching the syndication threshold will be canceled on account that the show is not expected to perform well enough in syndication to make it worthwhile. Such was the case with 8 Simple Rules, a sitcom that lasted three seasons and 76 episodes; the network was convinced that the show's change of direction partway through the series (forced by the on-set death of John Ritter, the show's star) would make the show less palatable for syndication and declined to renew the series for a fourth season, which would have produced the remaining 24 episodes to make syndication otherwise viable. 8 Simple Rules nonetheless was syndicated to cable (but not to terrestrial stations) with the episodes that were produced up to that point.