The Best (And Most Divisive) TV Finales Of All Time
Television showrunners have a tricky job. They start with a show pitch, but generally don’t know how many seasons or episodes they’ll have to tell their story. This is compounded by the fact that, as a given show gains in popularity, fans’ expectations often run contrary to the showrunners’ vision.
Still, this doesn’t let showrunners off the hook. Every series listed here is critically acclaimed and found a wide audience — but while some series managed to tie a perfect bow on their storyline, others left fans frustrated and unsatisfied.
BEST: Six Feet Under (2001-2005)
HBO’s acclaimed drama series Six Feet Under revolved around the Fisher family and their funeral home. While the series had wrapped up various aspects of the overarching plot in advance of the finale (Nate’s funeral comes to mind), it still left a lot of loose ends.
The show’s finale covered a lot of ground, offering a satisfying resolution for each member of the Fisher family. The finale covered not just the immediate resolutions for the main characters, but also offered various flash-forwards to provide a comprehensive resolution.
WORST: Lost (2004-2010)
There’s no sin in TV more unforgivable than a series that builds up mysteries and lore over the course of multiple seasons, only to abandon or ignore its core concept when it’s time for the last episode to air.
Lost is the poster child for this phenomenon, as the show built up a loyal following and critical acclaim during its run. But its final episode took an unusual approach that seemingly made light of the various fan theories that had been emerging.
BEST: Breaking Bad (2008-2013)
A tense, thrilling show like Breaking Bad absolutely demands a conclusive finale, and showrunner Vince Gilligan certainly delivered in his depiction of Walter White’s final chapter.
The series had spent multiple seasons showing Walter White’s devolution into villainy (and, conversely, Jesse Pinkman’s evolution as a deeply sympathetic character). While Walter’s final actions didn’t redeem his character, exactly, they were a compelling exclamation mark to this groundbreaking series.
WORST: Dexter (2006-2013)
The series finale of Dexter was so legendarily bad that its simple conclusion — “He became a lumberjack” — became a meme, synonymous with good shows that had terrible endings.
After years of careful (and questionable) plot development, with the main character appearing closer and closer to being caught, Dexter eventually found an easy way out of his predicament by becoming a lumberjack. The episode was so bad that the showrunners have made an effort in recent years to retcon a better ending.
BEST: The Wire (2002-2008)
With an ensemble cast that varied significantly each season, The Wire featured a sprawling web of storylines and characters to resolve in its finale.
While the final season of the show didn’t reach the heights of its early days, the series finale concluded the storylines for many of its main characters, including Carcetti and McNulty. The series went out with a traditional Irish wake for McNulty’s final days with the police service.
WORST: How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)
How I Met Your Mother gradually built on its early momentum to become a beloved show by the time its later seasons rolled around. The show was always predicated on a question — how did Ted meet the mother of his children? — that fans assumed would be answered in the finale.
The finale reveals that Ted’s soulmate had actually died, prompting Ted to regress to professing his love for Robin — the same way the series started. The plot was ridiculed so heavily that the show’s DVD release attempted to provide an alternative ending.
BEST: The Leftovers (2014-2017)
The Leftovers began with an intriguing premise and scores of unanswered questions — and it’s safe to say that the series held true to this formula with its final episode.
A tale of parallel worlds and the unknown concluded with Kevin tracking down Nora, years after the conclusion of the show’s main story. While the episode ended on a question, it could be argued that this mystery was better off unsolved.
WORST: Mad Men (2007-2015)
Mad Men was always a show about the human condition, while its overarching business-related plotlines were generally secondary. Still, fans expected some sort of intriguing development for the show’s final episode.
Considering the fact that one of the leading fan theories posited that Don Draper went on to become airplane hijacker D.B. Cooper, the actual plot — one where Don takes part in yet another aimless bender, only to save it by coming up with another genius ad idea — feels flat and uninspired.
BEST: The Americans (2013-2018)
The Americans succeeded in relating a grounded story of family, even if said family was harboring the massive secret that they were Soviet spies.
Things came to a head with the series’ final episode, when their cover was finally blown and they made a desperate attempt to flee. The episode was devastating and poignant, as the family’s daughter Paige was forced to make the impossible decision of whether to stay with her parents or abandon them.
WORST: The Office (2005-2013)
The American version of The Office was one of the most popular TV comedies to emerge in the 2000s, but there’s a strong case to be made that the series was running on fumes in its final seasons.
The series finale aired long after Steve Carell had left the main cast, and served largely as an excuse to trot out various cameos. Since these cameos were already a major part of the show’s weak later seasons, it’s safe to say that this was not what the show’s audience wanted.
BEST: Cheers (1982-1993)
One of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, Cheers ended with the character of Sam considering abandoning his beloved Boston bar to connect with Diane in Los Angeles.
Of course, as the episode would reveal, Sam could never abandon his bar and his friends. Thanks to the series sharing a universe with Frasier, more chapters would be added to the saga of the Cheers gang, years after the series went off the air.
WORST: Game of Thrones (2011-2019)
During its run, Game of Thrones was must-watch TV — a series that was never afraid to make waves with its plot. While the series spent eight seasons building up to its finale, it felt like the final episode was a rushed, missed opportunity.
While the series did make an effort to offer resolutions for its (surviving) main characters, they generally felt sloppy, unearned, and poorly explained.
BEST: Friday Night Lights (2006-2011)
Friday Night Lights balanced various stories across its five seasons, notably the home life of Coach Taylor and his professional life as head football coach of the Dillon Panthers.
The finale offered meaningful resolutions to its various main characters and culminated with a major change to the show’s universe: Coach Taylor opting to leave Dillon and move to Pennsylvania with his family.
WORST: Seinfeld (1989-1998)
The final episode of Seinfeld didn’t ultimately hurt the sitcom’s legacy — but at the same time, it didn’t exactly help, either. While the episode featured the typical Seinfeld fare of having its main characters bicker about mundane topics, the overall plot — one where they’re finally held accountable by those who they’ve wronged — largely fell flat.
The episode made the bold choice of ending a legendary run with something that was essentially a clip show. Perhaps the oddly-constructed finale plot was a bit too high-concept for a show that was supposed to be about nothing.
BEST/WORST: The Sopranos (1999-2007)
Whether you love or hate the series finale for HBO’s groundbreaking series, chances are good that you have strong feelings. The ambiguous ending, which heavily hinted at the death of Tony Soprano without making it explicit, left many fans feeling cheated at the series ending on a cliffhanger.
In the years since, series creator David Chase has all but acknowledged that yes, Tony Soprano is indeed killed in the final scene. Public perception of the finale has also softened over the years, as the episode is deeply memorable and offers its own sort of conclusion – even if it isn’t made definitive.
