A series finale is the final installment of an episode entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or any final episode.
Origins in television Most early television series consisted of stand-alone episodes rather than continuing story arcs, so there was little reason to provide closure at the end of their runs. Early comedy series that had special finale episodes include Howdy Doody in September 1960, Leave It to Beaver in June 1963, Hank in April 1966, and The Dick Van Dyke Show in June 1966. One of the few dramatic series to have a planned finale during this period was Route 66, which concluded in March 1964 with a two-part episode in which the pair of philosophical drifters ended their journey across America and then went their separate ways.
Considered to be "the series finale that invented the modern-day series finale", the August 1967 final episode of ABC's The Fugitive, "The Judgment: Part 2", attracted a 72% audience share when broadcast. This remained the highest viewership percentage in American television history until the 1977 finale of the TV mini-series Roots (on the same network) and later the 1980 resolution episode of the internationally prominent "Who shot J.R.?" cliffhanger of CBS' Dallas.
Notable television series finales Most-watched American series finales Year Title Views1 1983 M*A*S*H 105 million2 1993 Cheers 93 million3 1967 The Fugitive 78 million4 1998 Seinfeld 76.3 million5 2004 Friends 52.5 million6 1988 Magnum P.I. 50.7 million7 1992 The Cosby Show 44.4 million8 1979 All in the Family 40.2 million9 1989 Family Ties 36.3 million10 1999 Home Improvement 35.5 million 11 2004 Frasier 33.7 million12 1991 Dallas 33.3 million13 2005 Everybody Loves Raymond 32.9 million 14 1994 Star Trek: The Next Generation 31 million15 1975 Gunsmoke 30.9 million16 1984 Happy Days 30.5 million 17 1990 Newhart 29.5 million18 1992 The Golden Girls 27.2 million19 1995 Full House 24.3 million 20 1988 St. Elsewhere 22.5 million
The most watched series finale in American television history remains the 1983 finale of the CBS war/medical dramedy M*A*S*H, titled "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen". Viewed by 105.9 million viewers and drawing 77% of those watching televisions at the time, the finale of M*A*S*H held the record for most watched telecast of all-time for decades until 2010's Super Bowl XLIV edged it out with 106 million viewers, which coincidentally also aired on CBS. M*A*S*H'''s final episode, however, remains the all-time most-watched U.S. television episode (and so far, the only single television episode in American history to be watched by at least 100 million viewers for a single telecast).
The second-most-watched series finale in American television history was the 1993 finale of the NBC comedy Cheers, titled "One for the Road". "One for the Road" was watched by between 80.4 million and 93.5 million viewers (estimates vary) while drawing 64% of TVs turned on at the time. To date, "One for the Road" remains the most watched American TV series finale following the rise of cable television, and in terms of sheer viewership numbers for non-sports programming, sits second only to the aforementioned finale of M*A*S*H.
With only slightly fewer viewers than the series finale of Cheers was the finale of its one-time follow-up on NBC's "Must See TV" Thursday night line-up, the absurdist NBC comedy Seinfeld. The third most-watched American TV series finale in television history, Seinfelds controversial 1998 episode "The Finale" was watched by 76.3 million people, drawing 67% of all televisions turned on at the time – as The New York Times put it, "grazing Super Bowl country" in terms of viewership.
With the shift away from network television viewing toward cable television viewing (and later, internet use) that occurred during the decade between the finales of M*A*S*H (1983) and Cheers (1993) – and continued unabated until and beyond the finale of Seinfeld (1998) – it remains debatable which of these three "event" series finales accomplished the most impressive viewership numbers. Moreover, a large gap in viewership numbers exists between the Super Bowl-sized audiences of the M*A*S*H, Cheers and Seinfeld finales, and the fourth and fifth most watched series finales in television history – respectively, those of the comedy Friends (2004, NBC, 52.5 million viewers) and the detective procedural Magnum, P.I. (1988, CBS, 50.7 million viewers). The Friends finale's ("The Last One") viewership numbers dwarf those of all finales since the start of the new millennium and seem particularly impressive in light of the increased media options since the 1990s "event" finales of Cheers (1993) and Seinfeld (1998).
In Britain, the most-acclaimed series finale of sitcoms was from Blackadder. In 1989, the Britcom, starring Rowan Atkinson as a Blackadder in 1917 WW1, goes "over the top" with his regiment, leaving their fate unknown as fade to a field of poppies. The finale was praised as a "perfect end-of-show finale".
Reception
No matter how critically lauded during their respective runs, relatively few popular television series end up pleasing critics and audiences universally or escaping controversy with their final episode. Prominent examples of controversial series finales include the comedies Roseanne ("Into That Good Night", 1997), Seinfeld ("The Finale", 1998), How I Met Your Mother ("Last Forever", 2014), and Two and a Half Men ("Of Course He's Dead", 2015), and the dramas The Prisoner ("Fall Out", 1968), Lost ("The End", 2010), Dexter ("Remember the Monsters?", 2013), True Blood ("Thank You", 2014), and Game of Thrones ("The Iron Throne", 2019). In particular, the finales of Dexter, How I Met Your Mother, and Game of Thrones triggered massive backlash from both fans and critics upon airing, and are often regarded as the worst finales in recent memory.
Some series endings have proved divisive among viewers immediately on airing, leading to extensive discussions online, but ended up being generally lauded by critics. Notable examples of this trend are the finales of The Sopranos ("Made in America", 2007) and The Wire ("-30-", 2008). For example, The Sopranos' finale caused millions of viewers to temporarily believe they had lost cable service due to an abrupt blackout. These episodes were also nominated for multiple Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Writing, with The Sopranos' finale winning.
Several television series have, however, managed to produce final episodes that lived up to both critics' and audiences' expectations. Examples include the twist endings that concluded both Newhart and St. Elsewhere, the mixture of comedy and resonance that wrapped up The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the redemption arc that concluded The Fugitive.
Several more series finales have received unanimous critical and popular acclaim and are often considered as benchmarks for great TV endings. Recent examples include the finales of Breaking Bad ("Felina", 2013), Community ("Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television", 2015), The Good Place ("Whenever You're Ready", 2020), Better Call Saul ("Saul Gone", 2022), Atlanta ("It Was All a Dream", 2022), and Succession ("With Open Eyes", 2023).
Examples of universally acclaimed finales from earlier in the millennium include those of Britain's The Office ("Interview", 2002), The Shield ("Family Meeting", 2008), and Six Feet Under ("Everyone's Waiting", 2005), the last of which TV Guide ranked at No. 22 on their list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time".
Plot devices Television series finales frequently feature fundamental deviations from the central plotline, such as the resolution of a central mystery or problem (e.g. Dallas, Two and a Half Men, Full House), the separation or return of a major character (e.g. Cheers, That '70s Show, The Office) or an event signifying the end of an era, such as a change to primary setting for the series (e.g. The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Boy Meets World, Martin, Liv and Maddie).
Series finales will sometimes include clips or characters from the series' past (e.g. Seinfeld, Suits, Martin, Star Trek: The Next Generation), and the ending moments of the episode often take place in the show's primary setting.
Premature series finales In some cases, a TV series finale proves premature, as was the case with Here's Lucy, 7th Heaven, Charmed, Babylon 5, and Arrested Development to name but a few. Some shows that have constantly been in danger of cancellation wrote every season finale with the idea that the episode would serve as a quality series finale if the network decided not to bring it back; in recent years from NBC's Thursday night comedy lineup, Parks and Recreation used this formula for the season finales for Seasons 3–6, before getting a renewal for a seventh and final season where the series finale was planned in advance, and Community wrote its fifth-season finale with the notion that whether the show found new life elsewhere or not, it would definitely not be returning to the network (while NBC did indeed cancel the show, it was renewed for a sixth season by Yahoo Screen, where the season, and sure enough, series finale was once again scripted as a potential last episode ever; the final image is that of text reading "#andamovie", a reference to the show's recurring catchphrase "six seasons and a movie"). The series finale of Dr. Ken, a fictionalized sitcom based on the life of doctor-turned-actor Ken Jeong, features the title character trying out for a fictional version of Community (Jeong was a cast member in real life).
The medical comedy Scrubs aired its two-part finale episode billed simply as a "My Finale" in May 2009 as the show's renewal or cancellation had not been decided as of its airing, and so it was not known whether the episode would conclude just the season or the entire series; Scrubs would eventually be renewed for one additional season, which became a de facto spin-off series titled Scrubs: Med School.
The cartoon Futurama has had four designated series finales, due to the recurringly uncertain future of the series. "The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings", "Into the Wild Green Yonder (Part 4)", "Overclockwise", and "Meanwhile" have all been written to serve as a final episode for the show. Archived by Wayback Machine from on 7 September 2010.
The series American Dad! had two possible finales: the season premiere of the eighth season, "Hot Water" was written due to the uncertainty from the staff of the show getting picked up. The penultimate episode of Season 19 was also intended as a series finale, as revealed by showrunner and executive producer Matt Weitzman.