The Best And Worst TV Series Finales Of All Time – Ranked

This year, two of television’s biggest shows of all time – “Game of Thrones” and “The Big Bang Theory” – said goodbye in the same week , with finale episodes that received mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. The problem is, they can’t please everyone and ending a TV series is hard. In honor of both series saying goodbye, we ranked the  best and  worst finales of all time.

Here, The Best And Worst TV Series Finales Of All Time – Ranked:

The Best Series Finales in TV History:

1. “30 Rock” 

What made this series-ender so satisfying was that the show-within-the-show was also coming to an end, so the audience didn’t feel like they would be missing out on any “TGS” adventures. Tina Fey and Tracey Wigfield, who wrote the episode, packed the half-hour full of callbacks as well as perfect last moments for all of the quirky characters.

Variety selects the best series finales through the years – By Danielle Turchiano 

“The Last Lunch” (Originally aired January 2013)

last moment from Liz (Fey) “having it all” with her kids, her husband and a new show, to Jenna (Jane Krakowski) preparing an emotional musical number, to even Lutz (John Lutz) getting a rare win and being allowed to select the lunch order. But most importantly it paid off something Jack (Alec Baldwin) had projected at the series start: that eventually everyone would be working for the former Page, Kenneth (Jack McBrayer).

 2. “The Americans” 

Family or country? That was an essential dilemma in Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg’s Soviet spy drama, and after sixth seasons, the harsh truth was finally, definitively revealed. Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth (Keri Russell) made plans to leave America for the USSR with their daughter, who had become more involved in espionage as years went on, but not their son, who still remained innocent.

“START” (Originally aired May 2018)

The episode also delivered a couple of quintessential moments of truth: First when Stan (Noah Emmerich) confronted his friends, forcing Philip had to face that he was going to lose his only friend, and then when Paige (Holly Taylor) stays behind after all — and her parents let her.

3. “Breaking Bad”

‘Breaking Bad’ Finale Soars to Series-Best 10.3 Million Viewers .  Walter White (Bryan Cranston) had good motivations, but for five seasons he did some very bad things. Walter White was dying of cancer, but he was determined to go out on his own terms.

“Felina” (Originally aired September 2013)

That’s why, even though he lay dying on the floor after being hit by machine gun fire at the end of the drug drama, the corners of his mouth were turned up in a bit of a smirk. He did what he had to do — including getting in one last conversation with Skyler (Anna Gunn) — and he wasn’t going to wither away but rather go out in a blaze of glory. While some viewers may choose to believe he had a pulse when the police officer checked, it feels much more poignant if he does not.

4. “ER”

While often characterized as a medical procedural, it was the cast of characters that made up the fictional County General Hospital. Sure, the series finale delivered some big-deal, emotional medical cases (such as a teenager with alcohol poisoning and a HIV-positive patient who learns he also has terminal cancer), but more importantly it allowed the audience to pull up a chair as some of the most important players through the show’s 15 season run had drinks together.

“And in the End…” (Originally aired April 2009)

And of course, it wouldn’t let us forget the ones who were no longer with us, namely Mark (Anthony Edwards), whose all-grown-up daughter returned to the hospital to interview for a position and allowed everyone to linger over just how far the show had come. “ER” closed out its 15-season drawing an average of 16.4 million viewers for its two-hour finale.

5. “Halt and Catch Fire” 

The AMC drama started seemingly centered on two men who were out to change the computer industry, but soon enough revealed that the women were a real driving force, too. As the show went on, it was the power of four characters that made it magical, but after losing one (Gordon, played by Scoot McNairy) earlier in the season, the remaining trio finally had to acknowledge and move on from what they once were.

“Ten of Swords” (Originally aired October 2017)

While it has gone unwritten as to whether they are happier and healthier characters outside of that uber-competitive world, it was nice to see them end on a high note, especially when Donna (Kerry Bishe) called out the true heart and soul of the show, her partnership with Cameron (Mackenzie Davis).

 6. “Happy Endings” 

The third season finale of David Caspe’s friendship comedy wasn’t explicitly intended to be a series finale, but the show had been on the bubble for its first two seasons, so the writer-producer was smart enough to create a close-ended story.

“Brothas & Sisters” (Originally aired May 2013)

The finale included the modern classic hijinks for which the show had become known, such as Penny (Casey Wilson) and Max (Adam Pally) changing the news cycle with a number of rumors to keep the truth about a breakup from getting out, but ended on a much more grounded, sweet sentiment as the six main characters all simply danced with each other at a wedding. 

7. “MASH”

The war-set dramedy packed a lot into its finale, which was treated more like a film than the 256th episode of the long-running series. The dangers of the setting, such as a runaway tank and a fire from a bomb, still loomed, but there was a sense of celebration, too, that these characters had survived and could make plans for life post-fighting.

“Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen” (Originally aired February 1983)

It was inherently emotional when considering the weight of their professions and what they had overcome (in the final episode alone Hawkeye, played by Alan Alda, still hesitated over a procedure before completing it successfully), but seeing the literal goodbye message, spelled out in rocks, left for Hawkeye as he choppered out was instant tear bait.\

 8. “Newhart” 

For a writer to say “it was all a dream” at the end of a story an audience invested a lot of time and emotion in is usually considered a cop out. But maybe that’s because no one can do it as cleverly as Bob Newhart.

“The Last Newhart” (Originally aired May 1990)

At the end of his second self-titled sitcom, his character awoke in bed after one such crazy dream — but he found himself in Dr. Bob Hartley’s bedroom (from Newhart’s first self-titled sitcom, “The Bob Newhart Show”) and the wife laying next to him was Emily Hartley (Suzanne Pleshette). It rendered everything that had happened for eight seasons on “Newhart” just the stuff of his sleeping subconscious, but it paid off for his long-time fans in a completely unexpected way and ended up serving as an extra finale for “The Bob Newhart Show,” too.

9. “Nurse Jackie” 

After seven seasons, viewers should have known that the titular Jackie (Edie Falco) was not going to change her ways — that she did not want to, and wanting to get better is the first step in a true road to recovery. In the end, although Jackie’s life appeared to be on an upswing with a new job at a different hospital, she did not ask for the help she needed and instead went back for one more fix — one that presumably was her last.

“I Say a Little Prayer” (Originally aired June 2015)

The end of series saw Jackie ODing and her surrogate daughter Zoey (Merritt Wever) repeating Jackie’s own words to her. The most optimistic people might believe the flutter of movement on Falco’s face was a sign of life, but in some ways that ending would be even more tragic, as it’s clear the cycle would more than likely start all over again.

10. ”Parks and Recreation“ 

The two-part ending flashed into the future for each one of its core characters to provide them — yes, even Jerry (Jim O’Heir) — with the positive trajectory they all deserved after spending so many years in the thankless job of civil service.

“One Last Ride” (Originally aired February 2015)

it followed Leslie Knope’s (Amy Poehler) political rise, as she began simply by getting a swing fixed much quicker than she was able to get a park built, then becoming governor of Indiana and eventually, as implied by the Secret Service agents around her in the final scene and the hope in the audience’s heart, President of the United States of America.

11. “Six Feet Under” 

In the days of reboot culture, finale episodes are never so finite as to literally kill all of its characters, which made Alan Ball that much more of a risk-taker and a visionary. Although the episode opens with birth, in the final minutes it flashes forwarded through quick milestone events in all of the main characters’ lives, ending on each of their deaths.

“Everyone’s Waiting” (Originally aired August 2005)

The deaths weren’t really peaceful — Keith (Mathew St. Patrick) was shot and both David (Michael C. Hall) and Rico (Freddy Rodriguez) had heart attacks — but they were each beautiful in their own ways, starting with Ruth (Frances Conroy) passing surrounded by loved ones, and ending with Claire (Lauren Ambrose) passing similarly, with photos of the whole Fisher clan.

12. “The Wire” 

If you look for your television series finales to be tied up neatly in a bow, this is not the one for you. That commitment to verite, however, was what made the series so groundbreaking; the final moments couldn’t be any different. Sure, some characters’ arcs were left in transition, such as Tommy Carcetti (Aidan Gillen) becoming the governor and Ellis Carver (Seth Gilliam) getting promoted to lieutenant; and yes, there was at least one potential happy ending with Bubbles (Andre Royo) getting clean.

“30” (Originally aired March 2008)

But add in the next generation following in Bubbles’ footsteps of addiction and it’s clear David Simon drove home that there is still a lot of mess in the world and what one considers victories are greatly influenced by one’s perspective on justice. It certainly was not the most upbeat of endings, but it may have just been the one that made audiences reflect the most.

13. “The Sopranos” 

The finale’s cut-to-black ending frustrated many fans, but many of them are still talking about the show six years later. The only bad thing you can say about “The Sopranos” finale is that it pushed the saturation of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” to the breaking point in the years that followed.

SOPRANOS, THE (US TV SERIES)

 Some fans didn’t take to the open-ended, cut-to-black finale of the mobster drama, which didn’t reveal whether Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) lived or died, but his life was too nebulous to be resolved so cleanly.

14. “Cheers” 

After 11 seasons, the beloved comedy Cheers decided it was closing time. The final episode whopping 80.4 million viewers. This number is even more impressive considering that Nielsen only tracks in-home viewing, and thus didn’t count fans watching at any of the numerous bars holding parties for the show.

The “Cheers” finale isn’t nearly as happy or funny as many sitcoms’ exits, but its wistful tone worked for the bittersweet episode. The gang couldn’t stay at the bar forever.

Ted-Danson-Variety-Actors-on-Actors

“One for the Road” is the final episode of the American television series Cheers. It was the 271st episode of the series and the 25th episode of the eleventh season of the show.

15. ‘The West Wing’

Fans of NBC’s “The West Wing” didn’t have to worry about loose ends. The Bartlet Administration came to a neat, dignified end in 2006, handing the reins to the newly elected president Matt Santos.

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But there was still plenty of emotion, largely due to several references to the character of Leo McGarry, played by John Spencer

“What are you thinking about?” Abbey Bartlet asks her husband as they fly back home to New Hampshire. “Tomorrow,” he replies.

16. ‘Mad Men’

On the face of it, the 2015 finale of AMC’s “Mad Men” made fan service a priority: Joan offers Peggy a partnership in her new production company, Betty’s tragic fate is sealed with her cancer diagnosis, Peggy and Stan finally get together and tortured soul Don achieves spiritual growth.

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But this is “Mad Men,” so it’s not that simple. While the other characters’ loose ends may be tied up, we’re left mulling over Draper’s fate. Has he really found peace at a meditation center in California, or has he just come up with the concept for one of the most famous ad campaigns of all time, Coca-Cola’s  “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” from 1971?

17. ‘Sex and the City’

The sixth and final season of HBO’s “Sex and the City” in 2004 could only ever end in one way: with Carrie back in Big’s arms. Not a single viewer was rooting for her to go to Paris with the tortured genius Aleksandr, but she had to do it to figure out that her heart belonged somewhere — and to someone — else: the guy who had been there, in one way or another, all along.

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“An American Girl in Paris (Parts Une and Deux)” is full of moments that are almost painful to watch, like when Carrie is abandoned by Aleksandr in the art gallery. But other moments show the beauty and strength in female friendship, like when Big consults Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha before even setting foot on a plane to France to “go get their girl.” The most popular cable comedy ever didn’t go away completely after its finale: A film adaptation came out in 2008, with a sequel following in 2010.

18. ‘Friends’

After 10 years, “Friends” fans finally said goodbye to Monica, Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe on May 6, 2004. The finale, which was actually a two-part episode on NBC, became the most-watched TV episode in the U.S. in the ’00s.  Advertisers commanded $2 million for a 30-second commercial for two back-to-back episodes, making it the most expensive sitcom in history.

The One Where They Say Goodbye

Fans — and most critics — were happy that Ross and Rachel ended up together, Monica and Chandler had their babies, and Phoebe and Joey were still, well, Phoebe and Joey. It won’t rank as one of the show’s best episodes, but it provided the closure diehard fans were hoping for.

The most controversial television finales:

4. “Charmed”

The end of Charmed, after eight seasons in 2006 did not match with the rest of the show. The Halliwell sisters got their best connections and lived happily ever after, making audiences question the consistent revolt against fairy tale ideals which came before.

Maybe Charmed, should have stopped after season seven, a planned for possibility, as The WB was on the fence about renewing the show one more time, when the trio left their witch lives behind and went undercover with new identities.

3. Seinfeld

With a reported 76 million people watching ) Seinfeld remains one of the most watched series finales in history, but its big finish left its fans deeply divided.  Jerry Seinfeld : ‘I Sometimes Think We … Shouldn’t Have Even Done It’

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The farewell episode brought back past episode enemies who were called in to testify as witnesses to a “Good Samaritan law” that the show’s four friends had broken.  The series ended with Jerry, George (Jason Alexander), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Kramer (Michael Richards) behind bars. Seinfeld: “There was a lot of pressure on us at that time to do one big last show, but big is always bad in comedy,” the comedian addedin an  interview with David Remnick

2. ‘Lost’

Perhaps the most controversial on the list, you either love the Lost finale or you hate it. “Lost” was known  for its mysteries, but there were simply too many of them to be solved in the final episode. This left many viewers frustrated by the broad-brush attempt at closure, leaving far too many questions unanswered.

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After six seasons of unanswered questions, polar bears, and time travel, the final few episodes seem to abandon all reason. Viewers held out, hoping that the series finale would answer the dangling questions, but it all led to a church in an alternate timeline where most of the survivors of the doomed Oceanic 815 reunited before “moving on.” Some interpreted it as them being dead all along. Others considered it to be a touching message about the power of humanity.

1. ‘How I Met Your Mother’

After nine seasons, “How I Met Your Mother” finally ended the most protracted father-children conversation in history — as some have already noted, a little too late to escape with its creative dignity entirely intact.

How I Met Your Mother spinoff

“The ‘How I Met Your Mother’ finale bailed on the entire show,” wrote Vulture in 2014, and millions of fans were inclined to agree. the finale of “How I Met Your Mother” rose to a 13.13 million viewers overall.

10 Upcoming Shows to Watch if You’re Mourning ‘Game of Thrones’

1. “His Dark Materials” – HBO/BBC One

The HBO adaptation of Philip Pullman’s book series full of daemons and parallel universes will premiere in late 2019, and a second season has already been ordered.

His Dark Materials

“Logan” breakout star Dafne Keen plays Lyra Belacqua, who travels the multiverse with Lord Asriel (James McAvoy) and Pantalaimon, her personal daemon, a creature that bonds to a child and takes the form of an animal that represents her inner being. Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ruth Wilson and James Cosmo round out the cast of the fantastical, coming-of-age tale.

2. “The Witcher” – Netflix

Henry Cavill will ditch the Superman cape and “Mission: Impossible” mustache to take up the steel and silver swords of Geralt of Rivia. The white-haired monster hunter with yellow cat-eyes slays beasts for gold across the Continent using his magical witcher powers.

The Witcher 3

However, Geralt is one of the last of his kind, and most people don’t take kindly to witchers. His stories span Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels and can be played through in the video game trilogy of the same name. The Netflix series is set to debut sometime this fall.

3. “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” – Netflix

The prequel series to the cult-classic fantasy flick by Jim Henson will premiere on Netflix on Aug. 30 and boasts a star-studded voice cast for the puppet heroes. Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy and Nathalie Emmanuel play three humanoid Gelfling heroes named Rian, Brea and Deet who set out on a journey across the land of Thra to discover the source of the evil reptilian Skeksis’ power and save the world.

THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE

Mark Hamill, Natalie Dormer, Andy Samberg, Simon Pegg, Keegan-Michael Key, Helena Bonham Carter, Mark Strong and Alicia Vikander will voice friends and foes they meet along the way.

4. “The Lord of the Rings” – Amazon

Jeff Bezos must be a diehard fan of “Lord of the Rings” because Amazon shelled out $250 million to buy the TV rights to the seminal fantasy series by J.R.R. Tolkien, making it the most expensive show in history. Details are scarce, but the contract required a five-year commitment and for production to begin in two years, so it’s likely to debut in 2021.

Like the “Game of Thrones” spinoffs, the series will use the prequel approach and take place thousands of years before the events of the books and films, during the Second Age when Sauron forged the One Ring. Expect to see some Middle Earth denizens, like hobbits, elves and dwarves, plus evil creatures lurking around Mordor, like orcs, trolls and Uruk-hai.

5. “The Chronicles Of Narnia” – Netflix

C.S. Lewis’ septology has been made into TV shows, movies and even a musical, but this will be the first time a single company has the rights to adapt the entire series.

The first book, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” introduced fans to the Pevensies, four youngsters who discover a gateway to the magical world run by Aslan, a talking lion, who needs help fending off the White Witch. The novels span a long stretch of time, so characters like Mr. Tumnus, Prince Caspian and Eustace Scrubb could make it into the show.

6. “The Kingkiller Chronicle” – Showtime

The Showtime fantasy series could set itself apart by featuring musical numbers along with its magical adventures. The Patrick Rothfuss books follow a hero named Kvothe, who’s a talented lute player and student of arcane magic.

One timeline depicts his early exploits in the fantasy land of Temerant, and another shows him many years later as a world-famous musician recounting his tales as an retired innkeeper. Lionsgate has plans to adapt the novels into a series with “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda as an executive producer, a film directed by Sam Raimi and a videogame.

7. “The Wheel of Time” – Amazon

Beginning production this fall, Amazon has a series based on the late Robert Jordan’s “The Wheel of Time” books, the best-selling high fantasy series since “The Lord of the Rings.”

The novels follow Moiraine, a member of a powerful, all-women organization called the Aes Sedai, who finds five young people who could be the Dragon Reborn, a reincarnation of humanity’s savior or destroyer. Traveling the world, the group must use their magical Talents to stop evil factions from exploiting whichever one of them is the prophesied being.

8. “Shadow and Bone” – Netflix

In January, Netflix ordered an eight-episode series based on the first novel in the “Grisha” trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. Living in the Russia-inspired Kingdom of Ravka, orphan Alina Starkov discovers she has the power to summon light, a rare ability possessed only people known as Grisha.

Don’t expect to hear the word “magic” on the show, though. The Grisha call their energy manipulation powers Small Science. Due to her powerful abilities, Alina has to watch out for Ravka’s enemies and the hidden agenda of the ominously named Grisha leader, the Darkling.

9. “Cursed” – Netflix

A new take on the King Arthur mythology from Frank Miller and Thomas Wheeler will likely hit Netflix next year. The upcoming comic of the same name shows the story of Arthur through the eyes of Nimue, the Lady of the Lake who gives the medieval king the sword Excalibur.

Katherine Langford Golden Globes

“13 Reasons Why” star Katherine Langford will play the protagonist, who accompanies Arthur on his journey to find Merlin and fend off the terrorizing forces of his father, King Uther.

10. “Wild Cards” – Hulu

Even though “Wild Cards” is a sci-fi superhero series, the books were edited by “A Song of Ice and Fire” author George R.R. Martin, so it had to be on the list. Hulu has plans to create two series based on the collection of stories created by a brainstrust of more than 40 writers.

The interconnected books are set in an alternate history where survivors in a post-WWII United States contract an alien virus that rewrites their DNA and leaves only 10% alive. A lucky subset of those gain superhuman powers and are called Aces, while those given less exciting abilities are Deuces, and the unfortunate few with crippling deformities are branded as Jokers. Under his HBO contract, Martin can’t help with the Hulu series, but his storytelling prowess surely rubbed off on the source material.