grow the beard

"Grow the beard" is an antonym of "jump the shark." In other words, it's when a show that starts off in Suck Town hits its stride. The term comes from Star Trek: The Next Generation, which started off terrible but began to get better when Commander Riker grew a beard at the beginning of season two.

"Man, the first season or two of The Simpsons blew, but after that the show started to grow the beard."

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