Going out strong: 20 TV shows that took chances with their finales

For most of its run, the HBO vampire series True Blood kept viewers constantly wondering whether the main character, Sookie Stackhouse, would end up with either Bill or Eric, each of whom was desperate for her to pick him. As it turns out, in the finale she ended up with someone else entirely. While this was certainly an anticlimactic choice — as were many of the plot lines of the last few seasons — the series at least took a little bit of a risk and allowed Sookie to finally find her way out of a love triangle that had already overdefined her character. 

The ending is already clear if one sets out to watch a series called Spartacus. Even so, there’s something beautiful yet haunting about the finale of the Starz series Spartacus, which sees the death and defeat of its title character at the hands of the Romans. It would have been easy for the series to find some way of keeping him alive, but instead, it gives him — as well as many of the other gladiators whom the viewer has come to love and care about — a fitting and noble end. Even though he is buried in an unmarked grave, his fame will last forever.  

There’s crackling chemistry between Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer in Killing Eve, in which the former plays the analyst Eve Polastri and the latter plays Villanelle, the ruthless assassin Eve sets out to capture. The romantic tension seems to be fulfilled in the finale, only for Villanelle to perish at the hands of an assassin hired by the sinister Carolyn, leaving Eve to grapple with her loss. It’s a haunting ending and a rather anticlimactic one for two such dynamic characters. This, in combination with its participation in the “bury your gays” trope, made it a brave but also very divisive way to end a beloved series.

Netflix’s Ozark sought to capitalize on the model laid down by Breaking Bad. It focuses on the various members of the Byrde family after they move to the Ozarks and become ever more embroiled in money laundering and drug dealings. In the finale, it almost seems as if their actions will come back to haunt them, but the son, Jonah, shoots the man who seems to have caught them. However, all of this takes place after the screen fades to black, and it’s this little bit of ambiguity, suggesting the faint possibility that he might have slain his manipulative mother instead, which gives the finale its unique bite.

Hugh Laurie’s House might have been a total jerk during his time on the show that bears his name, but he at least seemed to have a bit of respect for his fellow doctor, James Wilson. During the finale, it’s revealed that the latter has terminal cancer, and the two end up riding into the sunset on their motorcycles. It’s not exactly closure, and it’s certainly a rather heartbreaking ending, but it’s also a fitting conclusion for these two characters, whose bond will clearly endure right up to the very end.

The 2000s and 2010s were known for antiheroes, and they don’t come more antiheroic than Dexter. After all, Michael C. Hall’s character was a serial killer, though in his case, he largely targeted other serial killers. At the end of the original series, he becomes a lumberjack, having avoided any kind of justice for his actions. It was a finale that left a bitter taste in many viewers, but it was daring, and even some critics of the time noted how compelling it was, even if it felt like a radical departure for Dexter itself.

Jon Hamm gave one of the performances of his career in Mad Men, in which he plays the ad-man, Don Draper. In the end, he seems to find some measure of peace in a meditation retreat, though there’s also a suggestion he might have been the one to come up with an iconic Coca-Cola ad campaign. It’s precisely the ambiguity of the finale that elevates it into the realm of greatness. As has been the case since the beginning, Don Draper is a bit of a mystery, and fans wouldn’t have it any other way.

Throughout its seven seasons, The Golden Girls emphasizes the unbreakable bonds between its four lead characters. In the end, however, Bea Arthur’s Dorothy departs the house and marries Blanche’s uncle, Lucas. This was a rather brave move for the series, as it had already spent most of its run pointing out how unappealing she was and how she would end her life alone. Instead, the series gives her her very own happy ending, giving her the chance to have the kind of respectful and loving marriage that she never quite managed to have with Stan.

Schitt’s Creek became an unexpected critical hit late in its run, thanks to its general air of optimism and good vibes. It also featured a moving finale in which David Rose marries his beloved Patrick and settles down to live in the titular town. There’s something daring about this approach, considering the fact that David, along with the rest of the Roses, spent almost the entire show trying to escape. The finale goes to show the extent to which the show was willing to subvert some of the standard expectations of the sitcom format.

Ted Lasso was one of those genuinely feel-good shows that emerged during and after the pandemic. Much of its appeal stemmed from its main character, played with ebullient charm by Jason  Sudeikis, as well as the supporting cast, particularly Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, and Juno Temple. Its third season finale, which may be the series' finale, takes a few big swings, but arguably its most daring choice is having Ted finally return to the States. The look of joy in Ted’s eyes at finally being back with his son makes the entire finale, and the series as a whole, more than worth the watch.

Not every show could pull off the feat of going for nine seasons, let alone when the entire story is an extended flashback. How I Met Your Mother was beloved by its fans, but its finale, which took some notable risks, was far from universally approved. The finale tries at least to tie up some loose ends, though some twists come perilously close to undoing the character work and development from earlier. It’s thus not particularly surprising that an alternate ending ended up being put on the home media version.

Throughout its run, Roseanne was an extraordinary show that shined a much-needed light on the struggles of blue-collar, working-class families in the 1990s. In the finale, the entire ninth season is revealed to have been a complete fiction crafted by Roseanne herself. This might have been a brave writing move, but it did not sit well with many fans and critics. It’s thus not surprising that, like some other controversial finales, it ended up being retconned when the series returned to the air in 2018.

Will & Grace was, in many ways, a groundbreaking piece of television since it featured openly gay characters in a major network sitcom. The real heart of the show, however, was the deep friendship between the title characters. Unfortunately, their relationship was shattered in the finale, and a time jump reveals just how far they’ve drifted from one another. It’s not until their children get married that they get back together. This ending entailed some creative risks–not all of which paid off–and, much like the equally controversial Roseanne ending, it was retconned when the series was revived in 2017.

Not every sitcom can be very funny yet thought-provoking, but this is exactly what The Good Place managed to accomplish. In the finale, the various characters all manage to find a measure of peace and well-being in the universe, though this entails them ceasing to have corporeal bodies. Even Michael, the demon-turned-good-guy, ends up becoming a human so he can experience life. It’s a bittersweet finale that manages to be both daring and simple, which is very much in keeping with the show’s general ethos and approach to storytelling. 

The 1990s series Dinosaurs was a remarkably fun and sometimes silly show, focusing as it does on a group of dinosaurs who are basically a traditional sitcom family. Given the series’ general light-heartedness, the finale feels particularly bleak since it ends with the Sinclair family and the rest of their kind facing extinction due to an inevitable Ice Age. It’s a potent piece of social commentary that feels even more prescient as the threat of climate change becomes harder to ignore and stands as a reminder of what sitcoms can do when they break out of the mold.

The late Bob Newhart was a true comedy legend, starring in not one but two successful sitcoms. The second, Newhart, focuses on a husband and wife who own an inn in rural Vermont. In the finale, however, Newhart’s Dıck Loudon awakens from a dream, and the audience realizes he is in character as Robert Hartley from The Bob Newhart Show and that all of Newhart has been a dream. It’s a funny and rather daring way to end a series, and the presence of Suzanne Pleshette’s Emily — Hartley’s wife — is the icing on the cake.

The medical drama St. Elsewhere, which ran for six seasons in the 1980s, focused on the doctors at a hospital in Boston. The finale took a big swing since it is ultimately revealed that the entirety of the series has been in the imagination of a young autistic boy. It was certainly a brave move for the show to make, and while some might find it jarring, it nevertheless deserves some credit for adding a bit of a new spin onto the established convention of ending a series with a dream sequence.

It’s no secret that the last few seasons of Game of Thrones  left much to be desired. Even though there were some leaps in logic, the finale at least deserves some credit for being willing to take risks. By the time the dust settles — with Daenerys Targaryen assassinated by her lover/nephew Jon Snow and the Iron Throne up for grabs — there is no Iron Throne at all, and the mystical Bran Stark is now the ruler. Ultimately, the endless, violent cycle of tyrannical and inept rulers is over, and a new age can finally begin.

The Sopranos, of course, is widely regarded as one of the best TV series ever made, and it’s easy to see why. Its main character is the paradigmatic antihero, a man of violence who nevertheless has a deep soul. The finale is also one of the best-known in TV history since it features an abrupt fade to black that is as jarring as it is compelling. The very fact that so much ink has been spilled trying to figure out exactly what happened is testimony to how brave the finale is and how much of a hold it still has on the public imagination. 

The aptly titled Seinfeld episode “The Finale” is a two-part episode in which the central quartet ends up getting arrested for failing to help someone being carjacked and is put on trial. The finale is notable for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it contains relatively few jokes for a sitcom ending. Though viewers’ mileage may vary, the finale was nevertheless risky, though bringing back several notable guest stars did at least provide some continuity with the rest of the show.