“Jumping the shark”

Jumping the shark is colloquialism coined by Jon Hein and used by TV critics and fans to refer to the point in a television series, where quality starts to decline.

• Where a TV show’s or film series’ plot veers off into absurd story lines or out-of-the-ordinary characterizations, in order to boost the declining ratings.

• When a show declines in quality and popularity, either the location is changed, or new characters are introduced. This boosts the popularity of the show.

Origin of this phrase comes from a Happy Days (1977) episode where Fonzie jumped over a shark on water-skis. This was labeled the lowest point of the TV show.