Ending a beloved tv show is difficult. It's nearly impossible for writers to craft an ending that gives resolution to beloved characters' storylines while satisfying all of a show's viewers. Most series finales are debated among fans, sometimes years later (Lost and Seinfeld, for instance). Some endings, however, are so terrible that they forever stain a show's legacy and leave viewers wondering "What were they thinking?" Here are a few of the worst series finales in tv history. Beware that spoilers are included in my descriptions, and please click the links below to watch video clips from the episodes. Also, please comment on the post below and let me know if you agree.
1. Will and Grace (2006): I'm not sure if this can be considered a series finale anymore, since the show was revived in 2017 (wisely, the reboot ignored all of the events of this episode), but I'll include it anyway. The final episode of the beloved sitcom about best friends Will and Grace and their sidekicks Jack and Karen was almost completely devoid of humor. Pregnant Grace has a falling out with Will and they stop speaking to each other, until their kids meet on their first day of college 20 years later and fall in love (huh?). While Will and Grace mercifully reunite by the final scene, it just seems implausible that they would become estranged for so long. The one good part of the episode is Jack and Karen's duet of "Unforgettable", but it isn't enough to save the episode.
Will and Grace final scene
2. Dexter (2013): For many years, this was a must-watch show. The premise was just fascinating: Dexter, a blood spatter analyst for the Miami police department, sought out and murdered bad guys (a "good" serial killer). The show tackled issues of morality while delivering thrilling drama and gruesome death scenes (for those that enjoy that sort of thing, like me). The season 4 showdown between Dexter and the Trinity killer was thrilling tv at its finest, and it ended with the shocking murder of Dexter's wife Rita. The last couple of seasons, however, made the show unrecognizable with crazy, off-the-wall plots: Dexter's adopted sister Deb found out about his secret life as a killer, then fell in love with him (?!), and Dexter fell in love with another killer named Hannah. I had hope the finale would remedy of the show's problems, but I was sadly mistaken. After Deb's death, Dexter abandoned his young son and Hannah, faked his own death, and became a lumberjack in the northwest (yes, really). I have hope that Dexter will be revived and return the show to its former glory (like Will and Grace).
Dexter final scene
3. Roseanne (1997): For several years, this was hands-down the funniest sitcom on tv. Roseanne's portrait of a poor Midwestern family was both realistic and hilarious. But the final season of the show went completely off the rails when the fictional Conner family won the lottery. There was also drama behind-the-scenes when actor John Goodman, who played Roseanne's husband Dan, left the show for much of the season due to disputes with the notoriously difficult matriarch of the show. In the memorably bad final episode, the character Roseanne revealed that the show was really based on her writings, and that she had changed many details of her life: Dan had really died the year before, sister Jackie (instead of mom Bev) was a lesbian, and Roseanne had switched the boyfriends of daughters Becky and Darlene. It was all just so bizarre that fans were left wondering what the hell had just happened. The show, like Will and Grace, was recently rebooted and the revival premieres next week. Early reviews are positive, so here's hoping that it can erase the memory of how terribly the original show ended.
Roseanne final scene
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