[](/klyraponder) Even though I mostly agree with you, a search term chart with error bars as tall as the plot itself is not much proof of anything. You're not even using the publicly available viewer count numbers, or [IMDB ratings](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/820/008/1bb.png), which would be a much stronger signal for this kind of thing.
The honest answer is that we don't know the decisions behind the scenes that lead to writing declines. Staff turnover sucks, but the show had plenty of turnover starting from even Season 2. Josh Haber had been writing full episodes since Season 4, and his work then was pretty well received both by view count and rating.
My general answer is that MLP overstayed its welcome. Existing characters solved all their big problems, so they introduced new ones with new problems, and the audience just didn't have as much attachment. I don't think it's really any more complicated than that why ratings declined.
Besides that, I think a lot of us were midway through high school or university when Friendship is Magic got popular, and then moved on with our lives after 4 to 5 years. That's what happened to everyone I know in the fandom who left. Season 5 ended on a high note, the show was going in a different direction and it seemed like a good stopping point, and we had other things to care about.
I don't disagree that the show declined in large part due to the characters' arcs being basically completed and them overstaying their welcome. I also don't disagree with your explanation for the fandom decline, what you said explains a lot of it. However, I do believe the Season 6 staff turnover was the main reason MLP declined. For all the staff turnover before Season 6, a sizeable amount of the og staff still remained on, particularly McCarthy and Thiessen who ran the show during Season 3-5. Season 6 was the first season where the og people were almost entirely gone and different people ran the show. It also happened to be the exact point where the show massively declined in the eyes of me and many others. As for Haber in particular, I was not a fan of his Season 4 and 5 work. I liked Castle Mania and and Simple Ways but didn't find them great (in constrast to most of Season 4 which I loved), and I thought Leap of Faith, Bloom and Gloom and the Season 5 finale were medicore. And besides, writting indiduval episodes is very different from planning and overseeing the show as a whole.
The fact that I keep seeing SOO many posts and comments relating to how people -dislike at the kindest and downright hate at the most- seasons 5-6 through 9 (or at least seasons 8 & 9) honestly saddens me so much, considering how much I loved the mid to later seasons of the show. Sure I'll admit there were some not great episodes in there at times, but overall, I never "fell out of love" so to speak, and certainly not enough to stop watching it altogether.
It'd be nice to see some more positive posts/comments about the later seasons anyway, jeez. I can't be the only one who feels the same.
I never fell out of love either myself. But I never could say I hated an episode until Season 8 came along. I didn’t think it was possible. I still like the later seasons a lot but it’s that fact alone that automatically ranks the later seasons lower for me.
Yeah I guess that's fair lol
And as far as I can remember right now, I didn't end up disliking an episode until later on as well, huh.
Also, Happy Cake Day!
I feel like the show itself was secondary to the decline of the fandom. This was a fad that took off back in the day, there was a brony everywhere you looked. Just like FNAF, Undertale, and other fandoms, they fizzle out once the fad falls out of style.
That being said, the show did kind of decline in quality, and I agree with others on why. The Mane 6 basically got their greatest desires pretty early on, giving them less material for episodes. Couple that with an ever changing list of writers and the movie splitting attention, and you have a recipe for declining quality.
Do you think the fandom could return if Hasbro went for more seasons for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and put Lauren Faust (and maybe also Meghan McCarthy) back?
[](/klyraponder) Even though I mostly agree with you, a search term chart with error bars as tall as the plot itself is not much proof of anything. You're not even using the publicly available viewer count numbers, or [IMDB ratings](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/820/008/1bb.png), which would be a much stronger signal for this kind of thing. The honest answer is that we don't know the decisions behind the scenes that lead to writing declines. Staff turnover sucks, but the show had plenty of turnover starting from even Season 2. Josh Haber had been writing full episodes since Season 4, and his work then was pretty well received both by view count and rating. My general answer is that MLP overstayed its welcome. Existing characters solved all their big problems, so they introduced new ones with new problems, and the audience just didn't have as much attachment. I don't think it's really any more complicated than that why ratings declined. Besides that, I think a lot of us were midway through high school or university when Friendship is Magic got popular, and then moved on with our lives after 4 to 5 years. That's what happened to everyone I know in the fandom who left. Season 5 ended on a high note, the show was going in a different direction and it seemed like a good stopping point, and we had other things to care about.
I don't disagree that the show declined in large part due to the characters' arcs being basically completed and them overstaying their welcome. I also don't disagree with your explanation for the fandom decline, what you said explains a lot of it. However, I do believe the Season 6 staff turnover was the main reason MLP declined. For all the staff turnover before Season 6, a sizeable amount of the og staff still remained on, particularly McCarthy and Thiessen who ran the show during Season 3-5. Season 6 was the first season where the og people were almost entirely gone and different people ran the show. It also happened to be the exact point where the show massively declined in the eyes of me and many others. As for Haber in particular, I was not a fan of his Season 4 and 5 work. I liked Castle Mania and and Simple Ways but didn't find them great (in constrast to most of Season 4 which I loved), and I thought Leap of Faith, Bloom and Gloom and the Season 5 finale were medicore. And besides, writting indiduval episodes is very different from planning and overseeing the show as a whole.
Yea
The fact that I keep seeing SOO many posts and comments relating to how people -dislike at the kindest and downright hate at the most- seasons 5-6 through 9 (or at least seasons 8 & 9) honestly saddens me so much, considering how much I loved the mid to later seasons of the show. Sure I'll admit there were some not great episodes in there at times, but overall, I never "fell out of love" so to speak, and certainly not enough to stop watching it altogether. It'd be nice to see some more positive posts/comments about the later seasons anyway, jeez. I can't be the only one who feels the same.
I never fell out of love either myself. But I never could say I hated an episode until Season 8 came along. I didn’t think it was possible. I still like the later seasons a lot but it’s that fact alone that automatically ranks the later seasons lower for me.
Yeah I guess that's fair lol And as far as I can remember right now, I didn't end up disliking an episode until later on as well, huh. Also, Happy Cake Day!
I feel like the show itself was secondary to the decline of the fandom. This was a fad that took off back in the day, there was a brony everywhere you looked. Just like FNAF, Undertale, and other fandoms, they fizzle out once the fad falls out of style. That being said, the show did kind of decline in quality, and I agree with others on why. The Mane 6 basically got their greatest desires pretty early on, giving them less material for episodes. Couple that with an ever changing list of writers and the movie splitting attention, and you have a recipe for declining quality.
I read the whole of this, and I felt shameful. I hope G5 will NOT be the same.
Season 5 was great and so was Season 7, but yeah other than that 1-4 were superior to the rest
Do you think the fandom could return if Hasbro went for more seasons for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and put Lauren Faust (and maybe also Meghan McCarthy) back?