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It's an all-too-familiar feeling. Season two of your beloved TV show drops on your platform, and your mind is full of hopeful expectation. Season one ended so perfectly: future plotlines were teased tantalisingly, and a key figure faced a shocking fate – or did 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 feels like the entire writers’ room has been fired and replaced by artificial intelligence. In episode two, a beloved actor's character acts in a way that viewers recognize as jarringly uncharacteristic. By episode five, the writers appear to have memory loss regarding plot points heavily emphasized earlier. As the underwhelming ending arrives, you silently wish that the show had just been cancelled.

The Pitfall of Overextension

Wishing for cancellation can only be retrospective; viewers usually oppose premature cancellations. Consider Kaos, a clever mythological satire starring Jeff Goldblum, which Netflix dropped over poor ratings. However, supporters might find comfort knowing the program avoided a disappointing second season.

Considering the thriller Yellowjackets, I prefer it had remained a self-contained narrative. Season one had a creatively abundant premise, and its 10 episodes were note-perfect. A 1996 plane crash strands a female soccer team in wilderness. Skilled performers (including Juliette Lewis, Lauren Ambrose and Sophie Thatcher) portrayed the team then and now. 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. 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. Rather than leading with the girls’ return home, and their struggle with traumatic memories, the narrative expanded unnecessarily. A fatiguing tendency emerged of highlighting added personalities (such as Shauna’s two-dimensional daughter Callie) who did nothing for the broader story. It's disappointing, and watching a beloved program become tedious is sad.

A Growing Trend

But it’s not only Yellowjackets. Shows such as Emily in Paris, House of the Dragon, Squid Game and Stranger Things no longer surprise audiences, and embraced predictable tropes. Sometimes shows need to quit when they are ahead.

The thing is, there are joys to be had in a limited, “one-and-done” series. Considering Sharp Objects, I May Destroy You, and Adolescence, producers recognize appropriate conclusion points. However, the magic fades with series like Big Little Lies, initially a one-season story, come back for more and more with diminishing returns. Maybe Adolescence's creators hesitated about continuing.

The Ideal Model

I wish Yellowjackets could have been a one-and-done series, living rent-free in our imaginations, unresolved threads included. My favorite TV show of all time has played out like that. This beloved 90s drama, the ideal adolescent show, concluded after a single run yet felt epic in scale: the roles were challenging and multifaceted, the cinematography was perfectly autumnal, and the dialogue was untethered from the normal “teen speak written by a 35-year-old” trope. The conclusion provided no neat resolution, but this reflects truth appropriately of youth queries staying forever open. After 18 perfect episodes (and one dodgy one), I felt devastated and created my own continuation to answer some of those questions. Despite existing on obsolete equipment, it demonstrates television's powerful connection.

The Special Relationship

When producers honor the special viewer-program bond, more shows can end gracefully.

• The author covers entertainment and style.