Bojack Horseman. Ratios not to scale, though.

I find that the first few episodes are by far the weakest ones. While they're important for understanding the world and the characters, they are simply sub-par in overall storytelling and writing quality.

Star Trek: The next generation

Parks and Recreation.

Tried warching it 3 times before I made it past the 3rd episode. Now it is one of my favorite series, but recommend starting with season 2 and only go back and watch season 1 after if someone wants to see it go through some growing pains.

Steven Universe. The first handful of episodes, Steven is just a child (and a borderline annoying one at that). Always yelling, running around, goofing off, and even making childish mistakes that his guardians, the Crystal Gems, need to step in and fix.

But as the show continues, Steven matures mentally (and a little bit physically, if you watch the movie and the short sequel series, Steven Universe Future), and by the end of the series, pretty much everyone is turning to him for wisdom and advice, even his own guardians.

The Crystal Gems see an enemy and their instinct is to fight. Steven sees a misunderstood living person and wants to communicate. Throughout the whole series, he shows that it's better to talk out your problems instead of engaging in battle. His summoned magical weapon is a shield and he uses it to protect friends - and foes - as he tries to resolve problems his own unique way.

And the lesson isn't crammed down your throat either; it's subtle in how it's introduced. At first, you just see Steven as young and naive. Choosing friendship and kindness because he doesn't understand the serious threat. But over time, you start to realize he's actually onto something, and his methods actually have merit.

There's also some deep lore hidden in the show that slowly presents itself as the series goes on. The plot sounds simple at first, but then you learn of a great war that took place between Gems that isolated the Crystal Gems on Earth. And Steven's mother had a crucial role to play, with her own hidden past that Steven pursues in order to better understand himself.

Steven is also constantly at war with his own ideals, as everyone else just wants to fight and encourages him to do the same. He has to struggle with his own moral code and decide if violence can ever truly be an answer.

My wife and I just thought it was a cute kids show and idly watched it during a quiet evening. But we got hooked, and by the end of the series, we were crying. It was a very emotional and dramatic (and fun) series that taught good communication and respect for others.

Might get some pushback for this but I feel like this represents Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

I think because they assume most people have already seen the original they kind of rush through a lot of the setup so the first dozen or so episodes aren't as good as they could be. But then it becomes real good real fast. Especially after episode 19. The final arc is just chef's kiss.

Reverse it and it's Game of thrones

Yeah, I think this applies to Clone Wars as well.

Stargate Universe

Black Mirror S01E01 (National Anthem) is the worst episode of the entire series. Yet Netflix decided to use it as the premier.

Star Wars: Rebels

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

It starts out proper boring and whimsical and turns into a finale that rivals that of Voyager

Person of Interest.

SO many shows are the reverse of this..

senorhT fO emaG

It took me too many tries to get pass the office first season.

For all mankind, season one was so drama filled, they didn't even get into good scifi until season 2.

I can't think of any, but I can think of a ton in the reverse direction lol. How I Met Your Mother, Game of Thrones, etc.

Bee and Puppycat! The original pilot webseries starts off as a bit of a fever dream with a lot of stuff just... happening. I still found it enjoyable as a spectacle, but over time the show started to pull on some plot threads and start tying things into longer running arcs. It also had some absolutely lovely and somber parts in the later episodes. The Netflix series did even better, reworking the story a bit to establish characters earlier and more deeply and planting seeds for deeper intrigue. The type of humor may not be for everyone, but it's ended up being one of my favorite shows.

Also, Summer Camp Island. Starts off with some pretty charming but generic episodes, but it really started to dig into that Julia Pot weirdness from the second season onward. They also started doing some longer 3-episode arcs that explored character backstories much more deeply.

Babylon 5.

The sets still sucked, but the storyline got better and better.

Kingdom (Anime) — First few seasons has embarrassingly bad CGI but holy shit the story’s scope is epic and the animation increases dramatically.

The Magicians, but only in regards to getting someone new into it. It's a slow starter while they're super confused but then they're hooked.

Reverse it for Firefly!

Maoyu.

Starts off like your typical fantasy light novel/ anime. But very much builds steadily to a conclusion you're not expecting.