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Jul 17, 2024 · Read on for the 30 best series finales of all time, which send their characters off on a high note. Warning: Major spoilers ahead. RELATED: The Saddest TV Episodes of All Time .
- Parks and Recreation - “One Last Ride”
- Mad Men - “Person to Person”
- Seinfeld - “The Finale”
- The Larry Sanders Show - “Flip”
- Angel - “Not Fade Away”
- Friends - “The Last One”
- Battlestar Galactica - “Daybreak”
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show - “The Last Show”
- Star Trek: The Next Generation - “All Good Things…”
- Friday Night Lights - “Always”
The final season of Parks and Recreation pulled a gutsy move leading into the last days of Pawnee. Following a three year flash-forward at the end of season six, the show found Leslie balancing her life as a mother with her job as the Midwest Regional Parks Director. It was a bittersweet moment as audiences were finally rewarded in seeing Leslie ac...
After seven smoke-filled seasons, Don Draper’s journey atop the world of advertising came to a close with a smile and a cut to McCann Erickson’s 1971 “Hilltop” Coca-Cola ad. It was a finale as fitting as viewers could have hoped for a series that had racked up so much acclaim. While Matthew Weiner ultimately left Mad Men's series-ending episode ope...
Depending on your stance, the final episode of Seinfeld is either another stroke of genius from Larry David or an absolute travesty that doesn’t deserve any recognition on this list. While we understand that “The Finale” still manages to fall miraculously short of the series’ many highlights, we’re also inclined to agree that it’s among the best co...
Arriving before HBO became a household name in original content, The Larry Sanders Show provided the first satirical critique of Hollywood. Headed by creator and star Garry Shandling, the series focused on talk show host Larry Sanders as he ran his production from behind the scenes. Alongside his producer and mentor Artie and his announcer sidekick...
Although Angel occasionally gets a bad rap as the spin-off series to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it was every bit as creative and had its fair share of defining moments to separate it from its predecessor. Unlike its sister show, however, Angel went out with an intentionally ambiguous ending that left fans itching for more. Following the events of th...
The heartache of saying goodbye to the cast of Friends can only be measured by the numerous moments of laughter the series gave its fans over the year. From Ross and Rachel’s breakups (They were on a break!) to Monica in a fat suit, each moment invited viewers to become part of the group. That’s why this last sit down at the Central Perk cafe felt ...
Before the three hour conclusion of Battlestar Galacticaaired, creator Ron Moore knew there would be a fair share of disappointment. His assumption was spot on as many viewers felt the politically charged sci-fi series ended on a baffling note, but Moore was never shy about infusing his series with rich symbolism. That’s why “Daybreak,” no matter w...
With enough spunk, charisma and endurance to go around, Mary Richards did something uncommon for '70s sitcoms: she made it in a world full of men. The Mary Tyler Moore Show was more than a source of constant laughs, it was an indelible fighting spirit for strong-willed women in the workplace and it couldn’t have happened without its leading lady. A...
It took seven seasons, a number of accolades and an admirable performance from Patrick Stewart as the mature Captain Jean-Luc Picard, but the crew of the starship USS Enterprise finally gained enough recognition among television audiences to go toe-to-toe with Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the original series for the best Star Trek show to date. Whi...
“Clear eyes, full hearts” may have been the words Coach Taylor spoke before each game, but there wasn’t a dry eye watching the finale. Going into the episode, Taylor had once again coached a winning team to the state championship, but this time the outcome wasn’t important. Friday Night Lights had always been more about the charactersand it was nev...
- Turner Minton
- Friends (2004) Think of how many nights we spent vicariously sitting around Central Perk listening to Joey’s tales of botched auditions, Ross and Rachel’s dating dilemmas, and Chandler’s sarcastic quips.
- The Wire (2008) The Wire wasn’t always the easiest watch, but David Simon’s inner-city anthology was certainly one of the creative high points of the Golden Age of Prestige TV in the 2000s.
- Mad Men (2015) By the time Mad Men wrapped, the show’s America was in a very different place from where it was when the series began. And so was its so-called hero — Jon Hamm’s self-invented adman, Don Draper.
- The Sopranos (2007) Sometimes Big Idea finales work ... and sometimes they don’t. The controversial last episode of HBO’s sensational mob drama (or, rather, the controversial last scene of the last episode) certainly was a swing for the fences, as creator David Chase brought Tony and his family together in a New Jersey diner for one last family dinner, only to have it end with Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” on the jukebox and a mysterious slam to black.
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- The Wire Season 5, Episode 10, “-30-” The Wire’s five-season run was enough to put it on the list of best TV shows of all time, but having a series finale as great as “-30-” surely helps.
- Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 7, Episode 22, “Chosen” Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s legacy is complicated, but “Chosen” helps explain why the series is still so well regarded after all those years.
- Friends Season 10, Episode 17, “The Last One” Maintaining a certain level of quality for 10 seasons is not easy, especially for sitcoms. Friends season 10 was the right time to end the show, and fortunately, Friends’ series finale was as satisfying as it could have been.
- Better Call Saul Season 6, Episode 13, “Saul Gone” Similar to Breaking Bad’s “Felina”, Better Call Saul’s series finale was not one of the major action sequences or plot twists.
Dec 1, 2022 · The best TV series finales come from beloved classics that have earned high marks on IMDb, from Breaking Bad to Succession to Friends.
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May 22, 2023 · We asked ourselves the question, “What are the best TV series finales of all time?” and we ended up with was a list that includes a few agreed-upon classics, but some surprises as...