20 TV characters we still can't believe were killed off

Nicollette Sheridan's Edie Britt was killed off in the popular Season 5 (2009) of this ABC hit, either because she wasn't easy to deal with on set or because the writers had basically run out of love interests and storylines for this particular housewife. Regardless, her death was rather memorable, being electrocuted after a car crashed into a power pole. Britt was a larger-than-life character who still couldn't stop her own demise. 

Leading up to the two-part Dawson's Creek series finale in 2003, rumors spread that one of the show's main characters would die, so that cushioned the blow, but it was still rather shocking for one of the "big four" to perish. That turned out to be reformed wild girl Jen (Michelle Williams). The finale was set five years in the future, and Jen was dealing with a serious heart issue that Dawson, Joey, and Pacey were not aware of until days before her death. It was a bittersweet moment for the gang as they said goodbye to a dear friend who was also the mother of a young child. It's still quite chilling for fans, more so in the wake of the real-life passing of star James Van Der Beek.

Another beloved character taken too soon. In the annals of The Walking Dead, it can be argued that his death was the most shocking and heartbreaking in the show's history. Now, fans of The Walking Dead comics were not surprised, but for the average fan hooked on the series, watching Glenn's head get pummeled by Negan's barbed-wire bat as his loved ones looked on was truly disturbing. 

Susan (Heidi Swedberg) was about to marry George Costanza, but she was poisoned while licking the toxic sealant glue from the cheap wedding invitation envelopes that George bought, and died during the Season 7 finale (1996). It was a rather important moment of dark humor for the series, and actually quite stunning that a noted cast member was killed off a sitcom in a rather matter-of-fact way. 

In terms of a legendary character's death, that of Omar (Michael Kenneth Williams) was a highly anticlimactic death at the hands of a young, wannabe stick-up king in the convenience store during Season 5 (2008). However, the death was symbolic of just how random and mundane violence has become in American cities. A message that resonates with great sadness, and still shock for fans of the show, that one of its most memorable characters can be murdered without much predetermined fanfare or hype.

Valerie Harper made a name for herself as a popular supporting character on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and parlayed the character Rhoda into her own spin-off series. During the 1980s, Harper again earned a lead role as a working mother of three boys on the NBC sitcom Valerie. However, prior to the show's third season, Harper found herself in dispute with the network and production company over compensation, and was eventually fired from the show. When the series returned as Valerie's Family: The Hogans, the Season 3 opener addressed the family's grief over Valerie's off-screen death from a car accident in the summer of 1987. Though fans of the show were certainly prepared for Harper's departure, the way the family casually moved on from her character's death seemed quite strange.

Viewers of this popular ABC drama from the late 1980s, into the '90s, had an interesting relationship with Peter Horton's character, Gary. He was easy on the eyes, but questionable when it came to love and morals. However, it was still tragic when Gary died in a car accident during the fourth season of 1991. After all, he turned his life around professionally and was giving it a go as a single dad while battling lung cancer. Fictional life can be so unfair. 

When Dr. Sweets (John Francis Daley) was murdered by a rogue, indoctrinated Navy SEAL in the 10th season premiere in 2014, it was quite shocking, to say the very least. On screen, as the mercurial Sweets had finally found love and was on the verge of starting a family, it was beyond sad and stunning in the way it played out. In real life, Daley planned to leave the show to pursue more work opportunities as a director. 

Yes, they "killed Kenny." Perhaps the most notable phrase from this classic animated cable stalwart. We must admit, the first time Kenny was actually killed was quite troubling, since he was a boy. However, it soon became obvious this was going to be a running gag and a staple of South Park episodes. Killing a child isn't necessarily appropriate, but the ways he goes out continue to draw laughs. 

One of the great network television characters of the 2000s. A member of the rock band Drive Shaft, Charlie struggled with addiction prior to the crash, but is one of the more sympathetic figures on the island. He's smitten with Claire and has become an unlikely father figure to baby Aaron. So, one can imagine just how heartbreaking it was when Charlie drowned during the Season 3 finale while trying to save the others on the island. 

Sean Bean's Ned Stark was a big reason Game of Thrones was a game-changing hit out of the gate in 2011. He became an instant TV favorite, so it was quite a stunner when he was beheaded in the ninth episode of the series. While fans were saddened by Stark's death, it signaled that viewers should expect the unexpected in Game of Thrones -- nobody was safe, and the deaths were going to be memorable.

Mischa Barton's Marissa Cooper was one of the more iconic fictional teen characters of all time. So, it was seemingly unthinkable that she would be killed off in the 2006 Season 3 finale of the popular WB drama. In dramatic fashion, Marissa died in the arms of love, Ryan (Ben McKenzie), following a car accident. As Barton noted on many occasions, Marissa was such a tortured heroine that it was only a matter of time before she met her demise. However, hardcore fans of the show still can't believe it happened.

The 2021 premiere of this Sex and the City  spin-off was quite the shocker, as John "Mr. Big" Preston suffered a fatal heart attack following a Peloton workout. In true dramatic, heart-wrenching fashion, he eventually died in the arms of love Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker). While actor Chris Noth  was dealing with assault allegations, it remains one of the most emotional and impactful moments within the SATC franchise.

Kellie Martin's Lucy Knight was not a household name when it came to ER characters, and there have been plenty of memorable deaths within the confines of the legendary drama. Back in 2000, Knight was a promising doctor working alongside Noah Wylie's Dr. Carter. Lucy was wholesome, intelligent, caring, and innocent, so it was devastating and pretty horrifying to watch a crazed patient (devilishly played by David Krumholtz) stab her. Though she survived surgery, Lucy eventually succumbed to a related blood clot.

One of the most recent shocking television deaths, in terms of fictional fanfare, came not so long ago. On the day of Connor and Willa's wedding (the third episode of Season 4 in 2023), patriarch Logan Roy was headed to Sweden on business. He collapsed on board the plane and was pronounced dead of a heart attack. Though the series would end later that year, Logan's death was shocking nonetheless, and made the rest of the Roy clan even more entertaining to watch. Of course, the title always suggested Logan's time would eventually be up.

In one of the more shocking television deaths, McLean Stevenson's Henry Blake was celebrated while being discharged from the 4077 at the end of MASH's third season in 1975. Stevenson's departure allegedly stemmed from his dissatisfaction with not being one of the show's stars and his belief that he was worthy of lead-man status. He reportedly was also unhappy with the way the show's cast was treated. So, perhaps in a retaliation move by the writers, after Blake left Korea on a helicopter, audiences and the cast learned the chopper was shot down over the Sea of Japan, with no survivors on board. 

True fans of The Sopranos consider the moment of Adriana's death to be, arguably, the most difficult episode (Season 5) to watch in the history of the iconic series. Yes, Adriana (Drea de Matteo) had long been an informant for the FBI, so it was likely she had it coming. But gut-wrenched Christopher betrays her, and Silvio Dante does the dirty work. The lead-up, with her and Silvio in the car, is emotionally grueling because the viewers know what's about to happen. 

February 13, 2000, will go down as one of the most shocking moments in the history of The Simpsons. That's Maude, wife of do-good Simpsons' neighbor Ned Flanders, who falls to her death off the bleachers at a race track after being hit with a high-powered t-shirt gun (after Homer moved out of the way to offer an inadvertent clear shot). It was certainly a shocking moment, considering this was a cartoon and, for the most part, family programming. Ned was left dejected and heartbroken, and the show's fans were bewildered. 

Many fans of Six Feet Under and TV critics, as well, consider Nate Fisher's demise the most shocking, and perhaps important, death in the history of television. Seriously. The run of the show follows Fisher (Peter Krause) as he contemplates his own death. Still, it was a true, memorable television moment when the leader of the Fisher gang died of a brain hemorrhage (that resulted from a previous surgery) near the end of the series' run in 2005 after five seasons.

"McDreamy" was killed off? Seriously? That was essentially the reaction for a good portion of Grey's fans when Patrick Dempsey's mega-popular character died from injuries as a result of being hit by a car while stopping to help those involved in another car accident. The 2015 Season 11 episode is one of the most memorable in the history of primetime network TV and is utterly gut-wrenching when Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) turns off his life support machine.