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With the threat of cancellation always looming, creative teams will head back to the drawing board to find a way to make their stories and characters connect with viewers. It’s a thankless job most of the time, but it can pay off in a big way. Here are four TV shows that didn’t start strong but have incredible endings.
4) Parks and Recreation
Setting a show in a small town like Pawnee, Indiana, is a risk, as it’s hard to expect anything interesting to happen. Parks and Recreation fails to rewrite that narrative in its first season, with most of it focusing on a single sinkhole. The seasons that follow don’t make the same mistake, though, because they reinvent characters and introduce new and exciting ones. When it’s time for the Parks department to go their separate ways in Season 7, all the show has to do is let everyone be themselves.
3) The Office
Like Parks and Recreation, The Office makes up for a lackluster first season. The show hits its stride in its sophomore outing and doesn’t look back until the controversial Season 9, which does plenty of damage to characters like Jim Halpert and Andy Bernard. However, the rough times are worth it because The Office‘s finale is as good as it gets. Everyone gets a happy ending, including Dwight Schrute and Angela Martin, who finally marry after years of denying their feelings for one another.
