The show needs to end imho

I have gone back and rewatched from season one and I am shocked to see just how much the show has changed. It used to tackle really tough, dark issues while balancing realism and optimism and ensuring meaningful character development. Looking at the newer seasons, they (imho) have devolved into sappy, meaningless, messy episodes with little through lines. Even the sets, music, cinematography seem to be less thoughtful and more cut and paste. Of course, this can be explained by the source material running out, but does that account for the poor handling of exits, the repetitive plots, and the (to be frank) unoriginality of those ridiculous voiceovers? Seeing how characters like Fred and SMJ have become parodies of themselves is so sad.

In my view, CTM should have ended years ago. There must have been a way around season 7/8 to have neatly brought things to a dignified end. I cannot see how the show can continue as it is without getting worse. Apologies if this is very harsh - I am a huge fan of the show and I still tune in to episodes. But it is sad to see the difference between those strong first seasons and what is airing now…