Summary

The ending of a TV show can make or break the serial , and when creator provide a close that satisfies the viewers it ’s often very positively received . While some critically acclaimed appearance leave their finale open - end on purpose or let the tough guy off without result , a fill end will ensure that everyone catch what they deserve . However , that does n’t mean it will necessarily be happy , or that beloved characters will get a happily - ever - after , but they will make the ultimate conclusion of their level electric arc .

There are many agency to end a TV show , and the longer a serial goes on , the more pressure saddle horse to please the audience and wrap up the narration in a elbow room that will preserve the show ’s legacy .

There are many ways to end a TV show , and the longer a series goes on , the more atmospheric pressure mount to please the audience and enwrap up the narration in a way that will bear on the show ’s bequest . To be satisfying , a serial finale can still evoke recondite feelings , asTV display with a sad endingare still well - loved . to boot , gratification can only occur if the terminal plotline aligns with the themes and tint of the overall series . pivot at the last second to make all the account fit together nicely is n’t enjoyable , only confusing .

Jonathan Groff from Mindhunter, John C. Reilly from Winning Time, and Danaerys from Game of Thrones

Many video show , canceled or not , left audiences want more after their finish . For depart reasons , shows like Game of Thrones feel unresolved .

10Breaking Bad (2008 - 2013)

Season 5, Episode 16, “Felina”

Cast

pause Bad , created by Vince Gilligan , follows a alchemy teacher turn drug kingpin constitute Walter White ( Bryan Cranston ) as he essay to provide for his family following a disastrous diagnosing . With nothing left to revere , White ascends to power in the world of drugs and criminal offense , transmute the dewy-eyed family man into someone known only as Heisenberg .

The remnant ofBreaking Baddrives home the point that Walter White ( Bryan Cranston ) was never a good guy cable and never had his family ’s good interests at inwardness . For five long season , Walt tried to convince himself and his family that he became a meth bargainer to make enough money to take care of them after he was run short . However , in the series finale , he admits to Skyler ( Anna Gunn ) that it was always about his desire for power .

From the kickoff , it was clear that Walt was going to die one room or another , but in the final moments , it ’s the style he dies that givesBreaking Badsuch a great payoff . to boot , he help Jesse ( Aaron Paul ) make it out alive , and if there was any character that deserved to survive it was Jesse . By killing the human beings who were out to get them and tie up all the loose ends with his family , Walt can snuff it in comparative peace , and whether or not he deserves it is up to the audience to adjudicate .

Wayne Rogers as Trapper John and Loretta Swit as Major Margaret Houlihan in MASH

9Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997 - 2003)

Season 7, Episode 22, “Chosen”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a television series create by Joss Whedon , sharpen on Buffy Summers , impersonate by Sarah Michelle Gellar , a young woman chosen to battle against vampires , demons , and other supernatural forces while voyage the complexities of adolescent life .

Few series closing curtain have derive as full circle as the last episode ofBuffy The Vampire Slayer . The entire series revolves around Buffy ’s ( Sarah Michelle Gellar ) journeying as the chosen one who must give everything to save the world . The closing curtain of time of year 7 is interesting when juxtapose with the finis of time of year 5 becauseBuffywas ab initio suppose to end after time of year 5 . However , season 7 give a honorable end because it sees Buffy eventually capable to apportion the essence of being the Slayer and not have to feel alone in the world anymore .

Part of why season 7 could have such an uplifting ending was because season 6 was so drab , and the enemy in season 7 was the ultimate force of evil in the humanity .

Star Wars Stormtrooper

Manythings the reference wanted in time of year 1 came true by the finis , but not in a mode that was open fan servicing or put aside the obscure elements of the show . Part of why time of year 7 could have such an uplifting ending was because season 6 was so dark , and the foe in season 7 was the ultimate force of iniquity in the earth . Buffy The Vampire Slayerdid an excellent job of continually elevate the wager every season . It carry through the most merited triumph of good over evil until the very conclusion .

8BoJack Horseman (2014 - 2020)

Season 6, Episode 16, “Nice While It Lasted”

Once the famous star of a hit situation comedy , BoJack Horseman has fall on tough time . Stuck in a major calling slump and longing to relive his nimbus days , BoJack essay to once more become relevant in an industriousness that has long since twist its back on him . With a few nonadaptive friends at his side , BoJack begins his long - overdue career comeback .

By the end ofBoJack equestrian , no one is rooting for BoJack ( Will Arnett ) , but that does n’t have in mind the consultation is n’t still profoundly invested in the outcome of his story . The highlighting of " Nice While It Lasted " is well the final second between BoJack and Diane ( Alison Brie ) sitting on a rooftop togetherthe same way they did in the season 1 coda , " Later . " They have change so much as graphic symbol since that commiserative minute so many years ago , and they leave the audience with the promise that life story keeps run .

BoJack and Diane will keep living long after the most dramatic component part of their stories are over . The series does n’t seek to redeem BoJack or make excuses for his action , it merely inform the spectator that he ’s still out there and will evolve for good or worse . On the surface , this might seem bleak . However , nothing else could so perfectly capsule whatBoJack Horsemanhad to say about life . None of the endings are happy , but they ’re not really endings at all .

(Keri-Russell-as-Elizabeth-Jennings)-from-The-Americans-and-(—-Aaron-Paul-as-Jesse-Pinkman)-from-Breaking-Bad

Image by Yailin Chacon

7MASH (1972 - 1983)

Season 11, Episode 16, “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen”

Hawkeye was the lens through which the audience watch out the comedy and trials of wartime , and watch over him and the serial evolve over eleven season madeMASHone of the most unforgettable shows of all time .

Many of the best original character stayed onMASHuntil the close , including the most significant fictional character , Hawkeye , played by Alan Alda . Hawkeye was the electron lens through which the hearing watch the comedy and trials of wartime , and watching him and the series develop over eleven season madeMASHone of the most unforgettable shows of all time . Though it was determine during the Korean War , MASHwent on for many year longer than the war did , and came to be known as a direct comment on the war in Vietnam which was contemporary to the timing of the series .

The episode was two and a half hours long and chronicled the war ’s end as the graphic symbol ready to return home . It ’s an intense episode that grapples directly with the price of warfare and the injury soldiers faceduring their time in battle during the first half of the episode . It ’s some of Alda ’s good playacting of the series , and for a import it seemed as though the show would end on a note of despair . Fortunately , MASHlets its characters say heartfelt goodbyes and lease the audience know how much it meant to them to make the show .

Headshot Of Betsy Brandt In The ‘Run Sweetheart Run’ film screening, Screamfest Closing Night

MASH switch a lot during its first few seasons , but there was one major character who had to exit to complete its dramedy transformation .

6Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005 - 2008)

Season 3, Episode 21, “Sozin’s Comet - Part 4: Avatar Aang”

incarnation : The Last Airbender is an Animated Fantasy and Adventure serial publication that appeared on Nickelodeon and was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko . The series boast vocalism from Zach Tyler Eisen , Jack DeSena , Dante Basco , and Mae Whitman . The premise abide by a untried boy named Aang , an Air Bender who is prepare to be the next Avatar , master of all element , in a second to join the nation together and add peace .

AlthoughAvatar : The Last Airbenderonly ran for three seasons , its impact on animation and television in worldwide can not be overstated . It ’s maintained a high degree of popularity to this day as see in Netflix ’s late live - action at law adaption , but it ’s hard to beat how full formed the story of the animated show is . Each season completes an arc , andby the time Aang and Firelord Ozai front off in the finale , the audience has been hold back for this face-off for almost the entire show . Luckily , the action mechanism and fight choreography in the fight do n’t let down .

A brilliant move on the creator ’s part was to have Aang be jam from the Avatar state throughout time of year 3 , and only regain his power at the last secondment , raising the stakes as much as potential . to boot , Aang grappling with his dedication to passive resistance versus the need to end Ozai ’s life-time is an extremely strong and compelling part of the with child moral questions the show contends with . Although it ’s formally a children ’s show , Avatar : The Last Airbenderhas a better ending than many TV shows , fill in its arc understandably and successfully .

Headshot Of Sarah Michelle Gellar IN The Los Angeles Premiere Of ‘The Girl In The Pool’ At The ALO HQ Screening Room

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a television series created by Joss Whedon, focusing on Buffy Summers, portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar, a young woman chosen to battle against vampires, demons, and other supernatural forces while navigating the complexities of teenage life.

5The Americans (2013 - 2018)

Season 6, Episode 10, “Start”

In the midst of the Cold War , Elizabeth and Phillip Jennings appear to be an average American couple , inhabit out the American dream in their house in the suburbia with their two nipper , Paige and Henry . In Sojourner Truth , though , Elizabeth and Phillip are Soviet agents , working under deep natural covering for the KGB .

Elizabeth ( Keri Russell ) and Phillip ( Matthew Rhys ) make it out alive and get to start out a new animation together in Russia .

The Americanskept audience judge from starting signal to finish . Though a tale about KGB federal agent undercover in the United States during the acme of the Cold War should n’t have a happy ending , The Americansdoes . At least , as glad an termination as possible within the context . Elizabeth ( Keri Russell ) and Phillip ( Matthew Rhys ) make it out alive and get to start a new life together in Russia . However , they leave their children behind in the U.S. Though forget behind a child is a terrible fortune , it ’s the correct thing for both Paige ( Holly Taylor ) and Henry ( Keidrich Sellati ) .

Headshot Of Nicholas Brendon

Part of what madeThe Americanssuch a smash was that audience know that the Jennings were fighting for a doomed lawsuit , and nothing these fictional grapheme did would foreclose the prostration of the Soviet Union . Despite the political machination , murder , and perfidy , the ultimate draw was the kinship between Elizabeth and Phillip . Viewers need to know if their marriage would last and if their feelings for each other would outlive . It ’s a beautifully tragic moment when their relationship survive even if it ’s the only affair that will .

4Broad City (2014 - 2019)

Season 5, Episode 10, “Broad City”

Developed from the Lord ' World Wide Web series of the same name , Broad City be the friendship of two young woman , Abbi and Ilana , as they attempt to make it in New York City .

All 5 time of year ofBroad Cityare great , and though season 5 did n’t pick up the highest critical acclaim , it still holds a exceptional place in the affection of fans because it was a poignant farewell to Ilana ( Ilana Glazer ) and Abbi ( Abbi Jacobson).The eye and somebody ofBroad Cityis their friendship , and the thought that they could part ways and not spend forever in New York together is heartbreaking . However , make them cease the serial publication by remain in one billet would have function back on all the peachy reference developing that take place throughout the show .

Abbi leaves New York and " Broad City " follows her and Ilana ’s last Clarence Day together . It features all the safe and worst parts of live in New York and is a testament to how the two women were a family unit . It took guts for Glazer and Jacobson to commit to a bittersweet end as so much of the show is strictly comedic . However , to say that the clowning did n’t undertake difficult subjects and contend with grief would be a ill turn . Broad Citywas a drollery to the ending , but that does n’t mean it was n’t impactful and of import .

Headshot Of Alyson Hannigan

3Monk (2002 - 2009)

Season 8, Episode 16, “Mr. Monk and the End - Part 2”

Starring Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk , Monk come the titular tec , a secret research worker with OCD who help solve law-breaking with the San Francisco Police . On the side , he also investigates the death of his wife , who was drink down by a car bomb . Bitty Schram , Traylor Howard , Ted Levine , and Jason Gray - Stanford also star .

ThoughMonkeventually return withMr . Monk ’s Last Case : A Monk Moviein 2023 , the serial publication finale still supply a strong and satisfying conclusion for viewers who had been withMonkfrom the beginning . The show could not have existed without Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk , and the final episode gave him plenty of material to work with to show off his act abilities and give Monk a meet end as a theatrical role . It ’s in " Mr. Monk and the End - Part 2 " that Monk finally puzzle out his wife ’s murder and can at last move on with his life .

After all the time he spent agonizing over his wife ’s decease , Monk merit to get cloture , and he was n’t the only character who catch a positive ending .

Cast Placeholder Image

After all the time he spend agonise over his wife ’s death , Monk deserved to get closure , and he was n’t the only case who get a plus ending . Everyone was yield a new rental on life sentence and a prospect to move into the next phase of their relationships and careers . The installment ends by showing everyone living happily in the future , doing what they do well . In Monk ’s display case , it ’s keep to investigate crimes and avail the mass who need it most .

2The Leftovers (2014 - 2017)

Season 3, Episode 8, “The Book of Nora”

The Leftovers is a three - season play that follows a group of people as they deal with the result of the sudden disappearing of 2 % of the Holy Writ ’s universe . It was create by Lost Centennial State - manufacturer Damon Lindelof and Election writer Tom Perrotta , with famous player such as Christopher Eccleston , Liv Tyler , Margaret Qualley , and Justin Theroux in the ensemble cast .

The Leftoverscan be a grueling show to take in , asit takes almost the entire serial execute for the story to pop to reveal the silver lining among the devastation and grief that wracks so many of the characters . Ultimately , The Leftoversendingwas initially confusing to viewer and required some explaining , but it would n’t beThe Leftoversif the chronicle is n’t attempting to take out deep philosophical enquiry . In the instalment , Kevin ( Justin Theroux ) and Nora ( Carrie Coon ) are reunite many geezerhood subsequently as older mass , and they partake their experiences .

For a show that consistently defy expectations and refuse to give concrete answers to any of the watcher ' question , it came as a shock thatThe Leftovershad such a sweet-scented ratiocination in the terminal . Nora has rule the answers and closure she ’s been looking for since her family disappeared before the events of season 1 . At the same prison term , Kevin has yield himself over to faith in the nameless , understanding that all that matters is that he and Nora are together .

Headshot Of Amy Sedaris In The HBO MAX

Once the famous star of a hit sitcom, BoJack Horseman has fallen on tough times. Stuck in a major career slump and longing to relive his glory days, BoJack attempts to once more become relevant in an industry that has long since turned its back on him. With a few dysfunctional friends at his side, BoJack begins his long-overdue career comeback.

1Cheers (1982 - 1993)

Season 11, Episode 28, “One for the Road”

One of the most well - known American sitcoms of the 1980s and 90s , Cheers is primarily set in Boston at the Cheers bar , and features and ensemble plaster cast that admit Ted Danson , Shelley Long , Rhea Pearlman , Kelsey Grammer , and George Wendt . Danson ’s Sam Malone acts as the barroom ’s owner , and episodes depict the lives of Cheers ' faculty and patrons during the bar ’s operating hours . The series run for 11 seasons and gave rise to popular spin - off show such as Frasier .

Cheersredefined the situation comedy music genre and start the will - the - won’t - they relationship dynamic with the excellent chemistry of Sam ( Ted Danson ) and Diane ( Shelley Long ) . However , Diane left the show many seasons originally , seemingly redact their kinship to layer . Luckily , she return for the serial finale and permit fans see her and Sam together again , even if it was finally short - lived . ab initio , Sam and Diane plan to run aside together , but they both realize they have exactly what they call for in living without each other .

Due to this , Sam end up returning to the cake , where he belong , showcasing the true meaning of the show . Cheersposits that life is about being where the people who love you are , and that conversancy is one of the sincere form of affair . The same expression crowd around the cake and are thrilled to see Sam return becausehis outride in the same billet is n’t a sign of stagnation or regression but of contentment . Like the other characters on the show , Sam is happy to delay in Boston and keep building his profound family .

Headshot Of Will Arnett

Headshot Of Alison Brie In The Fashion Trust U.S. Awards 2024

Headshot Of Dee Bradley Baker In The Stars walk the red carpet

Headshot Of Richard Thomas

Headshot Of Abbi Jacobson

Developed from the creators' web series of the same name, Broad City follows the friendship of two young women, Abbi and Ilana, as they attempt to make it in New York City.

Headshot Of Ilana Glazer

Headshot Of Tony Shalhoub In The 29th Annual Critics' Choice Awards

Starring Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk, Monk follows the titular detective, a private investigator with OCD who helps solve crimes with the San Francisco Police. On the side, he also investigates the death of his wife, who was killed by a car bomb. Bitty Schram, Traylor Howard, Ted Levine, and Jason Gray-Stanford also star.

Headshot Of Ted Levine

Headshot Of Jason Gray-Stanford In The Phantom Los Angeles Premiere

Headshot Of Traylor Howard

Headshot Of Justin Theroux

The Leftovers is a three-season drama that follows a group of people as they deal with the effects of the sudden disappearance of 2% of the word’s population. It was created by Lost co-producer Damon Lindelof and Election writer Tom Perrotta, with famous actors such as Christopher Eccleston, Liv Tyler, Margaret Qualley, and Justin Theroux in the ensemble cast.

Headshot Of Amy Brenneman

Headshot Of Christopher Eccleston

headshot Of Liv Tyler

Headshot Of Ted Danson In The 96th Annual Oscars

One of the most well-known American sitcoms of the 1980s and 90s, Cheers is primarily set in Boston at the Cheers bar, and features and ensemble cast that includes Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Pearlman, Kelsey Grammer, and George Wendt. Danson’s Sam Malone acts as the bar’s proprietor, and episodes depict the lives of Cheers' staff and patrons during the bar’s operating hours. The series ran for 11 seasons and gave rise to popular spin-off shows such as Frasier.

Headshot Of Shelley Long

Headshot Of Rhea Perlman