jump the shark

Meaning

Verb

• To undergo a storyline development which heralds a fundamental and generally disappointing change in direction.
• To experience a decline in quality, appeal, popularity, etc.

Origin

• From "Hollywood (Part 3)", a 1977 episode during the fifth season of the American television series Happy Days, in which the character Fonzie jumped over a shark on waterskis. The expression argues that it was at this point that the show bore no similarity to its original form.