Some of the best TV shows ever on television ended in a way that left viewers unsatisfied, which can sully a show’s entire reputation. Shows like Dexter, for example, angered viewed with its subpar ending, a situation that’s currently being rectified with several new spin-offs that are breathing new life into the now franchise and righting the wrongs of how the original series ended.
There are other fantastic shows, however, that got it right, from start to finish. The way these shows went out wasn’t necessarily with a bang. In some cases, it was quiet, subtle, poetic, even. But they were worthy of ovations from viewers at home who could wrap up the multi-season stories with a red bow and slide the show into their mental banks of the best ever, right through to the end.
10
‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ (1990–1996)
Created by Andy Borowitz and Susan Borowitz
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a story all about how a young man’s life got turned upset down when he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle in Bel-Air. Worried that he would follow the wrong path on the streets of Philadelphia, his mother sent Will (Will Smith) there to have a better life. The fish-out-of-water story saw Will grow from a juvenile, troubled young man with little respect for rules and higher society grow into a confident, successful man. Of course, the hijinks between were what the show was all about.
The sitcom, one of the best sitcoms of the ‘90s, ended in a bittersweet way as the Banks family decided to move out of the mansion they called home for so many decades. Everyone was moving on, Hilary (Karyn Parsons) to New York to continue her talk show, Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali) going with her, Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) to Princeton, Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell) deciding to go back to England, and Philip (James Avery), Vivian (Daphne Maxwell Reid), and Nicky (Ross Bagley) to the East Coast to be closer to extended family. The scene between Uncle Phil and Will saying goodbye was a testament to how far the two, who had often been at odds with one another, had come. Their bond grew into a father-son one that would likely continue even when they were apart. Of course, the show had to end with a laugh as Carlton walks down the stairs after Will says his final goodbyes to the house and turns the light off wondering where everyone went.
9
‘Succession’ (2018–2023)
Created by Jesse Armstrong
Rather than go for the shock factor and end Succession with the death of Logan Roy (Brian Cox), the series brilliantly but surprisingly killed him off early in the season. this shifted focus to his grown children who were, all along, supposed to be at the heart of the plot. Who would he leave his business to when he decides to retire? Now with no dad to fight nor make a final decision, it was up to the children to finally step into the hotseat and make a decision on their own.
In the end, the kids’ own greed and poor decisions come back to bite them. Shiv (Sarah Snook) stabs Kendall (Jeremy Strong) in the back and votes against him, thinking this would increase her chances of getting back in eventually once the deal goes through. Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) ends up taking over, the only person with business savvy who knew how to play the long game and wait for everything else to implode. Kendall is left staring out at the harbor, unable to fathom what just happened. Rather than a feel-good ending, Succession achieved what it set out to do: prove that these kids were far too selfish, too rash, and not savvy enough to lead. In the end, none of them won.
8
‘The Sopranos’ (1999–2007)
Created by David Chase
The end of The Sopranos was polarizing when it first aired. But in the decades since and in hindsight as well as with new confirmation from the creators, it was actually perfect. The crime drama tells the story of Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a Mafia boss who runs his organization like a well-oiled, violent machine from the outside. But on the inside, he suffers from panic attacks. This leads to him seeing a psychiatrist where he opens up about the pressures of balancing family life with his criminal life.
In the final scene, Tony is seemingly in a good place, enjoying a meal in a diner with his family. He selects the song “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey to play on the jukebox, and all is well. But then, the diner door opens, Tony looks up, and the screen fades to black. Fans were frantic, thinking something was wrong with their TVs. But then, the credits rolled. Finally in 2021, creator David Chase ended the ambiguity by confirming to The Hollywood Reporter that Tony does indeed perish. Not seeing his death was arguably more powerful than seeing it, fans witnessing only black just as he did in that very moment.
7
‘Friends’ (1994–2004)
Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman
After airing for 10 years and as many seasons and rising to become one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, it was a tall order to end Friends in a fitting way. The series accomplished that in spades. While the entire show centered around the group of young, single people living in New York and navigating their personal and professional lives, the finale demonstrated that they had all grown up and come into their own.
The scene when Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) gets off the plane and decides to stay with Ross (David Schwimmer) was 10 years in the making, finally solidifying that the two were meant to be together. As the friends gather in Monica’s (Courteney Cox) now bare apartment to bid their goodbyes, Chandler (Matthew Perry) gets the perfect final line that fits with the tone of the show. They decide to get one last coffee together, and Chandler jokes “where?” It’s a beautiful callback to Central Perk, the local café where the friends spent so much of their time together.
6
‘Cobra Kai’ (2021–2025)
Created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg
Cobra Kai is admittedly corny, a fun martial arts comedy drama with sometimes bad acting, silly storylines, and frequent callbacks to The Karate Kid movies. But the series, which serves as a 30-years later sequel to the original film, set on a path that it wrapped up beautifully. The idea was to show a different side to the events of the film, making Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) a more sympathetic character. It was also a vehicle to introduce a new generation of karate kids.
The final season of the show, which rose to become one of the Netflix greats, was the most emotional, heart-wrenching of them all. It wrapped up characters and storylines that needed fitting ends. It brought together two bitter rivals, provided a sense of hope, and ultimately proved that winning wasn’t everything. Plus, it featured a subtle callback to the original film that ensured Mr. Miyagi’s (Pat Morita) lessons would always live on, but in new ways. It’s the type of finale fans may have applauded from home because it was as satisfying as they come.
5
‘The Wire’ (2002–2008)
Created by David Simon
The Wire is widely considered to be one of the best drama shows ever on television, and the finale only solidified that. The crime drama follows different institutions within Baltimore and their relationship to law enforcement, including the illegal drug trade, the port system, the city government and bureaucracy, education and schools, and print news. There’s a level of authenticity thanks to the concept being loosely based on the experiences of a real-life former homicide detective and public-school teacher.
The end of The Wire was true to real life in that while there are resolutions, there are still a lot of questions left unanswered. And that’s how it really goes in each of these five areas of society and politics. No problem is every really solved. New ones arise, old ones resurface, and the work keeps churning, again and again. It kept with the overall theme of realness that the show demonstrated at its heart throughout the entire run.
4
‘Six Feet Under’ (2001–2005)
Created by Alan Ball
How fitting to end a drama about the journey of life and the finality of death through the eyes of a family running a funeral home than to end with a look-ahead to their own deaths. The multi-Emmy winning series Six Feet Under follows the Fisher family and their work helping grieving families while managing their own complicated personal lives.
Six Feet Under ends with a montage that shows when each of the family members reach their ends at varying points in the future. Some are shocking and surprising, others live long into the future, dying while surrounded by their loved ones. It’s deeply poetic and was absolutely brilliant.
3
‘M*A*S*H’ (1972–1983)
Created by Larry Gelbart
A war comedy drama, M*A*S*H was the type of show families gathered around the tube TV to watch every week when a new episode was on, eyes glued to the screens to watch the action unfold. Centering on surgeons and medical staff in an army surgical hospital, it’s a medical drama like no other.
The show’s finale remains, to this day, the most-watched finale of any show and the most-watched episode ever of any scripted series. By the end, the unit is being dismantled at the end of the war and everyone is saying their goodbyes. When Hawkeye (Alan Alda) leaves in a helicopter, he looks down to see a message left by B.J. (Mike Farrell) spelled in rocks on the ground. It reads one simple word: “goodbye.”
2
‘Mad Men’ (2007–2015)
Created by Matthew Weiner
Don Draper (Jon Hamm) from Mad Men was a troubled man, traumatized by his awful childhood and hiding the fact that he has taken on the identity of an old army buddy he watched die. But he was also a brilliant ad man, and that is what much of the focus of the period drama was on. Don marvelously pitching clients on ad campaigns that left them stunned was the soul of the show. One of the most memorable, for example, is his pitch to Kodak for the Kodak Carousel product.
It makes sense that, despite all of Don’s hardships, his work would culminate in one final, defining moment. And it did. While at a retreat in California to help clear his head, Don is meditating and a slight smile washes over his face. The scene cuts to the iconic “Hilltop” Coca-Cola commercial featuring the pop song “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony),” suggesting that he’s the one who came up with the idea at that moment. The real-life commercial, known as “Buy the World a Coke” when it debuted in 1971, was about positive messages of hope, love, and inclusivity. It’s often considered to be one of the most influential ads in television history. So it was incredibly clever to suggest that Don created it, a wonderful way to end the show’s run marking one of the greatest TV endings of the 21st Century.
1
‘Breaking Bad’ (2008–2013)
Created by Vince Gilligan
Unlike popular shows that try to squeeze out as many seasons as they can to capitalize on the viewer interest, Breaking Bad went out when it was on a high after just five seasons. It was the right thing to do because it was inevitable that Walter White (Bryan Cranston) had to die. He had terminal cancer. The character was on the verge of experiencing the worst symptoms of the disease. It would not have been realistic to continue as if he was fine, and the way he went out was exactly the way the show should have ended.
Walter ties up loose ends, ensuring that his family is taken care of, and threatening his former friends who took everything from him, leaving them to live in fear. He kills Lydia (Laura Fraser). Then he sets up an elaborate plan, rigging a machine gun to a remote trigger so he can kill his enemies before they get to him. He is shot in the process and begs Jesse (Aaron Paul) to put him out of his misery, but the damage has been done to their relationship and Jesse walks away, leaving Walter to die. Right before he perishes, Walter smiles, knowing that he accomplished what he set out to do and is leaving the world as the strong, confident man he always knew he could be. The episode was perfect.