It can be a sad time when a television series reaches its conclusion. As the old saying goes though, all good things must come to an end. Some shows are able to find a fitting way to tie up all of their loose ends which can often help to soften the blow of their departure. Unfortunately, there are others that fail spectacularly in this regard.
RELATED:The Best TV Dramas Of The 21st Century (So Far), Ranked
Over the years, some of the biggest shows of their eras have suffered this fate, either because their endings have been rushed or because they simply haven’t made any sense. Some, on the other hand, have failed to provide the answers to questions that had long been teased. Ultimately, the end result is equally disappointing for their fans.
Updated July 03, 2025, by Tom Bowen:There’s perhaps an argument to be made that a television show is only as good as its ending. After all, that’s what viewers are left with once the curtain finally falls. A strong finale can help to solidify a series' spot at the top of the all-time best shows tree, but things don’t always end up going to plan. Over the years, there have been some truly dreadful series finales, not to mention a healthy dose of polarizing ones as well. What makes this all the more painful is that many of these shows were on track for greatness before they failed to stick the landing, making their endings some of the most disappointing series finales of all time.
15See
Though its second season suffered somewhat following the death of Jerlamarel,Seestill managed to remain entertaining right up to the very last episode, which at first looked set to be a pretty decent final farewell. With the former queen Sibeth finally dead and her army in ruins, it seemed as though all that was left to do was pick off the stragglers and then live happily ever after (or as happily as one could live in a world in which the sighted are treated like sixteenth-century witches). However, for whatever reason, the show’s main character Baba Voss decided that he’d rather not stick around until the end credits.
Rather than have one of the sighted characters safely destroy Sibeth’s remaining explosives from distance, Baba decided to hit them as hard as possible until they blew up in his face. Ignoring, for a moment, that Baba really did not have to die here, he also had no way of knowing how large the explosion would be and thus could easily have obliterated everyone who matters most to him; all of whom just happened to be nearby at the time of the massive explosion. Kofun deciding to blind himself to fit in was equally ridiculous, particularly with him having a newborn child to take care of.
14The Walking Dead
In truth,The Walking Deadhad lost a lot of its magic long before finally calling it a day. Both Carl and Rick leaving the show in such a short space of time left behind a massive void, which, try as they might, the rest of the cast was just never quite able to fill. That said, there were still some pretty great moments in the final few seasons of the show, not to mention some incredible performances from the likes of Norman Reedus and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
When the time came to wrap everything up, it therefore seemed as though the show was on track for a solid, albeit unspectacular conclusion. Sadly, however, rather than providing viewers with a satisfying ending for some of their favorite characters, the show’s writers instead decided that it was more important to set up not one butthreenewWalking Deadspin-off series. Some viewers may well be interested to see Daryl doing his thing in Paris, Maggie and Negan working together in harmony, or Michonne reuniting with Rick, but for those who just wanted a proper ending,The Walking Deadfailed to deliver.
13Alice in Borderland
A lot ofisekai storiesdon’t bother to explain how the characters came to be in their new world, instead choosing to focus solely on their adventures following their arrival. With this in mind, the creators ofAlice in Borderlandarguably deserve some credit, as it would have been very easy for them to follow suit and finish off the series without ever going into detail about how Arisu and co were transported to the Borderlands in the first place. Unfortunately, however, the explanation they provided was so disappointing that many viewers were left wishing that they had.
Ironically, the writers had trolled viewers with a few fake-out explanations earlier on in the final episode, including one in which Arisu was in a psychiatric facility after having caused the death of his friends back in the series' very first episode. For as cringey as this ‘it was all a dream’-style ending would have been though, it ended up being far better than the one that was ultimately provided, which was effectively just another ‘all a dream’-style ending with a bunch of meteors anda handful of unanswered questionssprinkled on top.
12Lost
Lostwas a show that was renowned for bombarding its viewers withthought-provoking questions. Sadly though, it wasn’t quite so proficient when it came to providing them with answers. As a result, what once came across as intriguing quickly devolved intodownright absurd. The show’s ending was more of the same.
On several occasions throughout the show’s run,its creators rejected the idea that the island was a form of purgatory. It’s just as well that they did, as many fans felt that this would have made fora terrible ending. Unfortunately though, while the island was apparently real, all of the events that happened concurrently elsewhere did take place in purgatory.
11The X-Files
UnlikeLost,The X-Filesat least tried to wrap up all of its loose ends before the curtain came down. Sadly though, it did so in the most boring way imaginable. Mulder’s trial dragged on for an unbearably long time as answers were slowly drip-fed to viewers. Even then, there were still plenty of things that were glossed over.
After escaping his death sentence, Mulder and Scully then headed to the four corners only to bump into the Smoking Man again who was then seemingly killed by a fleet of military helicopters. Rather than look for a way to wrap things up from there, the show’s creators instead opted to leave things open, perhaps with another movie or a future continuation of the series in mind. Both did eventually arrive and both were pretty terrible.
10House
For eight long seasons, Hugh Laurie did an excellent job of portraying the polarizing healthcare professional, Dr. Gregory House. What made the show such a fascinating watch was how believable its titular star really was, not to mention its ability to ramp up the tension at barely a moment’s notice with some sort of life-threatening disease or injury. Sadly, however, this believability fell by the wayside as the show approached its faltering finale.
In the show’s final episode, House fakes his own death so that he can ride off into the sunset with his close friend Wilson before the latter passes away. The reason that he needed to fake his own death? Well, he destroyed some hospital property and feared a lengthy custodial sentence was imminent. It is worth noting that House was heavily based on Sherlock Holmes, who famously faked his own death in the books, but his ending still felt incredibly forced and left a sour taste in the mouths of many longtime fans of the show.
9The Sopranos
Depending on who you ask, the final episode ofThe Sopranosis either a masterpiece or it’s one of the most disappointing send-offs in the history of television. The former group will point to the excellent use of cuts to simulate perspective which paints a picture of Tony’s sudden assassination without the need for a single frame of violence. The other group, however, would strongly disagree with that assessment.
RELATED:The Best HBO Dramas Of All Time (According To IMDb)
Whichever camp one positions themselves in though, it’s difficult not to find the sudden crash to black a little jarring. The aforementioned cuts really require close examination to fully comprehend. In that sense, the argument that it was a poor choice of ending does perhaps hold some merit. Either way, it was a bold decision on David Chase’s part.
8Being Human
As with shows likeThe OfficeandDirk Gently,Being Humanbegan life as a British series. It centered around a werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost as they attempted to overcome their conditions and lead normal lives. For as great as it was at times though, there were quite a few problems towards the end of its run.
The biggest of these was that two of the show’s main characters departed at the end of the third season and the third left the following year. The result was a final season with three new characters that fans really didn’t care much for and a terrible finale where they travel to hell to do battle with the devil. For a show that had hit such dizzying heights just a few years prior, it was a disappointing fall from grace.
7Two And A Half Men
While Charlie Sheen was busy winning, the team behindTwo and a Half Menmade the decision to bring in Ashton Kutcher to try and fill the void. A few years later, the actor who played Jake announced that the show was at odds with his religious beliefs and followed Sheen out of the door. This left only one man and an Ashton Kutcher.
While Kutcher’s performance in the show was perfectly fine, the whole premise for him being there was incredibly inane and contributed to the show’s slow and painful demise. By the time the series finale rolled around, what little that remained of the fanbase was treated to a steaming hot pile of meta nonsense that served as a big slap in the face for their loyal support throughout the show’s difficult final years.
6Scrubs
Scrubswas a very special type of television show. Not only was it consistently hilarious, but it was also able to providemoments of palpable sorrow. Better still, these tonal shifts often happened within the blink of an eye with seamless transitions that never once felt jarring. It’s something that few other shows have ever pulled off and, sadly, something thatScrubslost in its final season.
The series had already been wrapped up quite nicely at the end of season eight, but, for whatever reason, a ninth season was greenlit. All of the core cast returned, but many of them did so in a limited capacity, appearing in only a few episodes or scenes. The result was painful to watch. Rather than another bang, the season ended with a barely audible whimper, leaving the show’s legacy in tatters.
