[in_content_ad]
Before a television program goes off the air for good, its writers must come up with an ending that wraps everything together — and gives dedicated viewers at least some closure on beloved characters and their storylines.
Or a television show can simply get the ax — and what was supposed to be a season finale turns into a series finale.
Show endings almost always divide audiences.
Some are just too vague; some leave too viewers with too many questions; and some simply aren’t good.
That said, here is a look at 15 of the most shocking finales in television history.
1.) “Seinfeld,” “The Finale” (1998)
[in_content_ad]
In this two-part episode, things are looking up for Jerry Seinfeld (as himself) and George Costanza (Jason Alexander) as their pilot “Jerry” is picked back up by NBC.
However, when their plane to Paris malfunctions, Jerry, George, Kramer (Michael Richards), and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) are arrested for violating the “Good Samaritan Law” after they watch a man get carjacked in the fictitious town of Latham, Massachusetts, and do nothing to help.
The case becomes very high-profile as the town brings in many people from their past and ultimately sends the four of them to jail. In some ways, it was payback for all of their misdeeds over the years — but many fans were surprised by the less-than-energetic ending for such a popular show.
2.) “The Sopranos,” “Made in America” (2007)
[in_content_ad]
What was so shocking about this 2007 finale is that no one knows exactly what ends up happening to the Soprano family, a mafia clan that survived six seasons of bloody Mafia drama.
The family meets in a diner and once they’re settled at the table, the screen goes black and no explanation is given of what happens to any of them.
This finale left viewers with many questions — but for some, it added to the mysterious nature of the mobster family.
3.) “Newhart,” “The Last Newhart” (1990)
[in_content_ad]
Viewers were thrown a curve ball after enjoying nine seasons of this program starring comedian Bob Newhart as Dick Loudon, the owner of the Stratford Inn.
Loudon was hit in the head with a golf ball and has Dr. Robert Hartley take a look at the damage.
Ultimately, it turns out that the entire series was dreamed up by Dr. Hartley, Newhart’s character from “The Bob Newhart Show,” which ran from 1972 to 1978. At the end of “Newhart,” Dr. Hartley wakes up in a bed as his wife explains to him the weird dream he just had — which means that the entire show was a fantasy.
That fabulous twist in the finale may be more well-remembered than the show itself at this point.
4.) “The Wonder Years,” “Independence Day” (1993)
[in_content_ad]
After six seasons of having Winnie Cooper (Danica McKellar) as his love interest, Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage) does not end up marrying her.
They end up remaining friends — but while Winnie is away, Kevin meets another girl, whom he marries and with whom he has a child.
Throughout the entire series, it appeared Winnie and Kevin would wind up together. They fought and made up so often — but the show’s writers had other ideas.
Like so many television finales, it was met with a pretty mixed reaction.
5.) “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Last Show” (1977)
[in_content_ad]
Traditional media was still thriving back in 1977. That said, the news that the fictional WJM-TV was firing all the friends of Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore) except Ted Baxter (Ted Knight) was a surprising moment for television viewers.
Mary had moved to Minneapolis to take the job at the start of the series and had grown to have a connection to all the people there. In the modern day, the outcome would not be as surprising as traditional media continues to decline — but several decades ago, few saw it coming.
6.) “How I Met Your Mother,” “Last Forever” (2014)
[in_content_ad]
Since this entire show consisted of Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) telling a story to his children (with Bob Saget as the narrator) about how he and their mother met, viewers were in utter disbelief to find out what happened after nine seasons worth of stories.
In the finale, Ted reveals that the mother of his children passed away six years ago. As it turns out, he ends up married to his longtime friend Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders).
7.) “The Shield,” “Family Meeting” (2008)
[in_content_ad]
Given the corruption of Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) as a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, one may have expected him to be arrested or to become the victim of violence. Neither occurred.
However, Vic does end up being forced to work an office job, where he constantly analyzes crime reports — this, for him, is its own prison. It turned out to be the show’s way to give viewers some closure about the terrible crimes Vic had committed without doing something too predictable.
8.) “Breaking Bad,” “Felina” (2013)
[in_content_ad]
That Walter White (Bryan Cranston) would die was inevitable — but who would have thought he would have admitted to taking pleasure in his maliciousness and drug dealing? The original point of the show was that he was selling methamphetamine to support his family and was not an evil person.
When he admitted he was a bad guy, it certainly changed the legacy of his character.
9.) “Alf,” “Consider Me Gone” (1990)
[in_content_ad]
It was enough of a surprise that Alf (voiced by Paul Fusco) was ready to leave the Tanners behind on Earth to go back to his home planet. However, when he got into a spacecraft, it was intercepted by the Alien Task Force, from whom Alf had spent years hiding during his stay on Earth.
However, the show’s writers could not just let him go home in peace, giving him what viewers can only assume was a tragic ending.
10.) “Little House on the Prairie,” “Hello and Goodbye” (1983)
[in_content_ad]
Did anyone think a show this wholesome would end with just about everyone in town blowing up their houses? Well, that wound up being the case when a railroad tycoon bought up all of the land in Walnut Grove and everyone was forced to leave.
Of course, one small house on the prairie remains, but its residents are gone. Instead, rabbits inhabit the little house.
11.) “Dallas,” “Conundrum” (1991)
[in_content_ad]
J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) contemplates suicide in the final episode of this famous soap opera and is greeted by a spirit named Adam (Joel Grey), who takes him to see what the world would be like if he did not exist, a la “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
It turns out that Adam is a satanic demon — not an angelic figure — who wants to see J.R. suffer. That said, the series ends with the sound of a gunshot as brother Bobby (Patrick Duffy) frantically runs into the room. Viewers did not know if J.R. lived or died; fans were left with a new mystery and no closure.
12.) “3rd Rock from the Sun,” “The Thing That Wouldn’t Die” (2001)
[in_content_ad]
In the final episode of this sitcom, Dick Solomon (John Lithgow) ends up having to go back home to his original planet after turning another alien into a monkey.
Dick then reveals to his love interest, Mary (Jane Curtin), that he is an alien. Initially, she’s interested in joining him on another planet, but she quickly realizes she is not capable of such a drastic change to her life. Dick then decides to erase all of their memories together by hitting her in the neck and knocking her out cold before he returns home.
There are plenty of ways he could have erased her memory; seeing him knock her out after they’d had such a good relationship was unexpected.
13.) “Dinosaurs,” “Changing Nature” (1994)
[in_content_ad]
Is there any family sitcom out there that simply ends with the death of everyone on the show? The dinosaurs did not take care of their planet; their plan to stop volcanoes with rain backfires and the temperature of the planet drops to a rate at which none of them will survive.
The closing scene features the Sinclairs huddled in their living room, awaiting their inevitable end. Surely, this was the show’s writers attempt to push environmentalism onto children — but even so, killing off everyone on a show geared toward a younger audience is bleak.
14.) “Quantum Leap,” “Mirror Image’ (1993)
[in_content_ad]
During this science fiction show, which ran for five seasons, Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) travels through space and time to correct historical mistakes. Although fans may have been anticipating Sam’s return home in the end, he ends up meeting a god-like figure — who tells him he could have returned home at any time that he wished; but his will to help others would not allow him to do so.
What made the ending most surprising is that it reveals Sam never returned home — implying that his work was never completed and that he was unable to save the world.
15.) “Lost,” “The End” (2010)
[in_content_ad]
“Lost” frustrated fans for six seasons, as it presented storylines that often inspired more questions than answers. The 2010 series finale was no different.
At least some people could have been rescued from the island, right? Instead, they remained on the island and were ultimately all reunited. Yet the reunion came in an afterlife years later — and it did not answer the question of who made it off the island and who did not, or what exactly happened to many of the central characters.