I heartily endorse this trope. (My youngest thinks this looks like me.)

You may know of “jumping the shark”, named after Fonzie risking his life on water skis because Happy Days had run longer than it should have.

“Growing the beard” is when a series matures and gains in quality as the seasons go on. This is tough to do. I have trouble thinking of many shows that do this. I hear that Dollhouse is one, but I haven’t got there yet. We just started watching Sliders on Hulu.

I do agree that Next Generation did this. To some extent The Simpsons were there but I feel are regressing.

Ah! Chuck. Chuck definitely got better as they got closer to being canceled. Heroes, why can’t you be like your younger brother? We’ll see if Chuck can keep it up with the programmed kung fu and the goofy forearm computer.

Lost is growing the beard, as well, but I think that’s because the writers finally outlined the story.

Semi-related posts:

1. The Fourth Wall
2. White Hair
3. #savechuck
4. Rush: The Music of the Universe
5. How much do I care?