Our favorite TV shows provide us with a break from reality and help us de-stress from the demands of modern life. But some TV series are incredibly epic, and when they end, they like to go out in a blaze of glory.
Here’s a list of the best TV series finales of all time.
The Sopranos
The Sopranos, a fantastic TV show, had to go out with a bang, and the series finale didn’t disappoint.
Titled Made in America, the series finale was the 86th episode in a stunningly unique show that lasted seven years and six seasons. After watching Tony Soprano’s ups and downs, fans had big expectations for the final episode, and for many, the ending was abrupt and shocking.
In the show’s final scene, we see Tony (James Gandolfini) in a regular American diner for dinner with his family. But a shady character lurks in the background (as usual in the Sopranos). Just before Tony’s daughter Meadow walks in, Tony looks up, and the screen cuts black. Many fans were left pining after a solid explanation of what happened and what the black screen meant: did Tony Soprano die?
Friends
All good things must come to an end, they say, and sadly, so did Friends.
Aptly titled The Last One, the last episode of Friends left us feeling a little emotional after ten years, ten seasons, and 236 episodes. Phoebe and Ross rush to the airport to stop Rachel from leaving for Paris. Monica and Chandler pack up their apartment, and Joey buys Chandler a new duck and chick as a leaving present. Change is in the air, and the writers conveyed the changing of the seasons of life well in the season finale. Fans were left with a bitter-sweet sense that times change, and nothing stays the same forever. But there was also a recognition of all the good times that audiences had shared with this fantastic cast and crew, as many of us grew up with this show, as did the actors.
Six Feet Under
This TV show is about a family that runs a funeral home and was a surprisingly big hit. It documented the family’s relationships and personal struggles behind the scenes.
Acclaimed as having one of the best series finales ever, the writer of the book on which Game of Thrones is based, George R. R. Martin, once said “That [final] episode was far and away the best finale in the entire history of television.”
Scrubs
Rated 9.7 stars on IMDB, after nine years and seven seasons, this was an epic finale of an epic series.
The series finale of season 8 sees J.D. (Zach Braff) walking down the corridor of Sacred Heart Hospital on his last day, and all of the characters he has met, helped to save, and even those that have died line up to greet him on his way past. It’s an emotional ending, but it’s also a fitting way to acknowledge all the previous cast and characters who played a role in the series over nine years of filming. But this wasn’t officially the end. Scrubs was supposed to end in Season 8, but after its finale, fans were still so hungry for more that ABC ended up commissioning a ninth season of the show.
Unfortunately, the ninth season struggled to replicate the original cast’s secret sauce and on-screen chemistry, few of which featured in this last offering. After season number nine, Scrubs decided that it was time to quit. But most fans agree that the real Scrubs ending was in season 8.
Succession
The final season of this TV show was amongst the highest-ever rated TV shows on IMDB. It documented the high-stakes power struggle behind the scenes of a family who run a media empire.
The series finale was both the best and worst kind of ending. It was quite dark and, you could even say, depressing, as the toxic power struggles of the entire series didn’t seem to benefit anyone in the end.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Ailed as one of the best TV series ever, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a fantastic show that fans never wanted to end.
The Buffy series finale is often cited as one of the best series finales ever from a TV show. One reason is that it tied up so many loose ends in one episode. A lot happens in the very last episode. If you aren’t a hardcore fan of Buffy, then you may not understand much of what comes next. We see Buffy devise a plan to defeat The First’s army. Willow performs a special spell to instill Slayer Powers into all the Potentials. Sunnydale is eradicated. Spike gets incinerated. Buffy and Angel’s relationship is left in an ambiguous state: Will they or won’t they?
After seven years, seven seasons, and 144 episodes, Buffy’s series finale did not disappoint. There was lots of action and spectacular plot endings.
The Office
Rated 9.8 stars on IMDB, you can’t get much closer to a 10-star rating. The office had one of the best series finales of any TV show ever.
Although critics of The Office had claimed that the show lost traction in the last couple of seasons, the simply titled “Finale” last-ever episode allowed the series to go out with a bang. One year later, Dunder Mifflin employees meet for a panel discussion about the documentary while also attending the wedding of two key characters, Dwight and Angela. The usual hilarity ensues while the discussion touches on deeper, emotional themes, as The Office always does.
The show has to be the most famous “mockumentary” of its kind. The sheer comic timing needed to create the feelings of awkwardness and boredom that people experience in their everyday office jobs is nothing short of genius. Steve Carell is the obvious leading star of this TV series, guiding the finale episode into the land just like he does with every other episode.
Frasier
The end of Frasier, the TV show, ended an era. It had been running for almost ten years, and fans were sad to see it wrap up. But, the series finale was tastefully done. It allowed fans to say goodbye to each character while highlighting the sad fact that, in life, all good things must come to an end.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
This is a series that everyone wishes was still on TV. Will Smith made us all laugh for six years, across six seasons and 144 episodes as Will, the boy from Philly, living with his wealthy, upper-class in-laws.
As the Banks family prepares to move away from California, it feels like the end of an era for everyone. Geoffrey, the butler, is packing up all the family’s belongings, and all the family members share what new and exciting plans they have for the future—all except for Will. After admitting the truth, Will acknowledges that he has no grand plans or anything exciting to move to, and the episode ends with him deciding to stay in California and finish school.
The series ending was more of an emotional goodbye than a dramatic extravaganza. The writers must have agreed that it would be great to send the signal to all of Will’s young fans at the time that no matter what it might seem like everyone else around you is doing, finishing school is always a good idea.
Breaking Bad
The Breaking Bad TV series finale had a star rating of 9.9 on IMDB, and it was nothing short of epic.
After keeping fans entertained for six years, five seasons, and 62 episodes, this dramatic crime thriller’s series finale went out in a blaze of glory. In the final episode; we see Walter White return to Albuquerque to secure his family’s future and settle some old scores, once and for all. As part of this final trip, people are shot and poisoned, and Walter drops off 9 million dollars for his family. One of the people who got shot was Walter himself, and the finale ends with him succumbing to his injuries and dying.
Schitt’s Creek
Hailed as one of the best TV series finales of the 21st century, Schitt’s Creek did give us a happy ending.
As two of the main characters get married and others drive off into the sunset, the ending of this TV series gives fans a warm, fuzzy feeling.
Battlestar Galactica
One of the most iconic sci-fi TV shows in the 21st century. Battlestar Galactica still has a rating of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The series finale sees the Battlestar Galactica crew finally make their way to Earth—not Earth as we know it, but Earth in the distant past. The crew decides to make the most of what they view as a primitive planet and sets about re-starting civilization as we know it today.
Cheers
This iconic show ran for almost ten years, eleven seasons, and 275 episodes. Everything about Cheers is awesome, and fans still miss it today, even though the series finale aired in 1993.
Set around a local bar in Boston, audiences grew to love the characters sitting on the famous bar stools. This show had fantastic writing and an award-winning cast. Actors Woody Harrelson, Kirstie Alley, Ted Danson, and Kelsey Grammer, just to mention a few, delivered stellar performances in the show, and the series finale was no exception.
In the last episode, we see Woody embark on a new life as a councilman while Norm embarks on a new life as a civil servant. Sam and Diane finally get back together, only to break up again. And Rebecca gets married.
Dark
This TV series ran from 2017 to 2020, and its mystical, magical themes captivated audiences.
It is based on two characters in the fictional town of Winden, Germany, who are on a search to find the truth about a child’s disappearance.
The series finale of this TV show was deemed so good that it still has a rating of 9.6 stars on IMDB.
Sons of Anarchy
The series finale of Sons of Anarchy was epic and scored 9.6 stars on IMDB.
However, it was quite tragic, as Executive Producer Paris Barclay explained in an interview with EW, “We were always writing a tragedy; it had always been a tragedy in the Shakespearean or Greek sense.” To sum up, in the TV series finale, after killing the President of the Sons of Anarchy Nevada, Jury White (Michael Shamus Wiles), Jax (Charlie Hunnam) ends up killing himself on his motorbike, the same way that his father died. Fans felt this was a fitting but sad and depressing end to the brilliant show.
Lost
After six years, six seasons, and 121 episodes, Lost finally concluded with one of the best TV series finales ever.
The writers cleverly let each character reconcile their time on the island with both of their worlds. The group realizes that whatever they have faced, they have all faced it together, and that is the one commonality that binds them to each other. The episode climaxes with most of the group saving Jack (Matthew Fox), the character who spent the entire six seasons trying to save them.
The Wire
Running from 2002 to 2008, The Wire had five fantastic seasons and 60 entertaining episodes.
This series is universally considered a great TV show, and the finale didn’t disappoint either. You would be hard-pressed to find a fan of The Wire who wasn’t satisfied with how things ended.
The TV show finished by neatly tying up storylines and character arcs, and it has been called the series finale that got everything right for doing so.
Mad Men
Set in the corporate world of 1960s New York, this TV show had style, class, elegance, and drama all rolled into one.
Fans found the ending emotional yet satisfying, as they weren’t “left hanging.” They got the closure they wanted from this ending, and Vox.com called it “a beautiful, confounding episode of television.”
