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This scenario is painfully common. The second series of your favorite TV show has just begun streaming, and your mind is full of hopeful expectation. The debut season ended with such precision: upcoming stories were hinted at provocatively, and a key figure faced a shocking fate – or did they?. During the hiatus, you were perusing Reddit threads with dedicated fans to uncover hidden hints pointing toward upcoming twists.

But the new season opener falls flat. It feels like the entire writers’ room has been fired and replaced by artificial intelligence. Cut to the second episode, a key performer makes a choice that viewers recognize as jarringly uncharacteristic. Halfway through the season, the writers appear to have memory loss concerning narrative arcs clearly established previously. And by the disappointing finale, you long for an earlier termination.

The Downside of Too Many Seasons

Wishing for cancellation can only be retrospective; audiences frequently rally against early axings. Consider Kaos, an amusing Greek myth parody featuring Jeff Goldblum, which Netflix dropped over poor ratings. But perhaps these fans will rest better with the knowledge the show's quality wasn't tarnished by a weak follow-up.

Looking back at the horror-mystery show Yellowjackets, I prefer it had remained a self-contained narrative. The debut offered a richly imaginative setup, and its 10 episodes were note-perfect. In 1996, a plane carrying an all-girl high school football team crashes in the middle of nowhere. Excellent actors (with Juliette Lewis, Lauren Ambrose and Sophie Thatcher) depicted the survivors in dual eras. Several prize nominations followed, and the showrunners proudly announced there would be five seasons to fully explore the narrative. But last week, it was announced that it would end with season four. I felt grateful as a viewer.

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

Plot twists have diluted the essence. In place of exploring post-rescue life, and their coping with awful experiences, we were taken in directions that bloated the original premise. That included the show’s tiring habit of introducing peripheral figures (such as Shauna’s two-dimensional daughter Callie) who added little to the overarching plot. It's disappointing, and watching a beloved program become tedious is sad.

An Increasing Pattern

But it’s not only Yellowjackets. Series like Emily in Paris, House of the Dragon, Squid Game and Stranger Things have lost the shock of the new, and settled into familiar patterns. At times, programs must stop while successful.

The thing is, there are joys to be had in a limited, “one-and-done” series. Looking at Sharp Objects, I May Destroy You, and Adolescence, producers recognize appropriate conclusion points. Yet the spell breaks for programs including Big Little Lies, first conceived as self-contained, come back for more and more with diminishing returns. Hopefully, Adolescence’s producers have thought twice about that rumoured season two.

The Supreme Instance

I wish Yellowjackets could have been a one-and-done series, occupying our minds endlessly, unresolved threads included. My favorite TV show of all time has played out like that. My So-Called Life, the quintessential youth program, lasted for only one season but achieved film-like breadth: its characters were difficult and contradictory, the filming captured a fall aesthetic, and the conversations avoided cliched adolescent writing. The conclusion provided no neat resolution, yet this mirrors real life accurately of adolescent uncertainties remaining perpetual. Following 18 excellent installments (plus one weak one), I felt devastated and created my own continuation to address unfinished business. It might only live on an old hard drive, it shows how series resonate profoundly.

The Sacred Bond

If TV creators can remember the sacrosanct relationship between viewers and shows, more programmes can bow out when the time is right.

• The author focuses on cultural topics.