10 TV Shows That Are Still Worth Rewatching Despite Disastrous Series Finales

Summary

• Crafting a TV series finale is a tough job, with pressure to meet audience expectations.
• Sometimes, even highly acclaimed shows deliver disappointing endings, like How I Met Your Mother.
• Despite lackluster finales, the core of a show’s story and characters should not be overlooked.

There’s enormous pressure on writers and showrunners to go out on a high note when they’re bringing a well-loved and long-running TV show to a close. Crafting a finale isn’t easy, as the audience has certain expectations and hopes. However, the show’s duty is not to fan service but to write an ending that makes sense and is justified within the series’ context. However, in trying to please everyone, a TV show can go off the rails and disappoint viewers who have stuck with the show from the beginning, ruining the legacy of an otherwise strong and respectable series.

Some of the most highly acclaimed television series of all time have shocked audiences with their endings.

Just because the final episode was lackluster, it doesn’t mean the entire story should be written off. Some of the most highly acclaimed television series of all time have shocked audiences with their endings. Additionally, a finale that seems terrible at the time might be reevaluated later on, and the general opinion about the series could change. However, the best TV show series finales do go down in history as the perfect way to say goodbye to their iconic shows. A finale’s importance shouldn’t be overlooked, but the meat of a show shouldn’t be forgotten about either.

10 How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014)

Despite its problems, How I Met Your Mother is one of the most enduring recent sitcoms.

In many ways, How I Met Your Mother is one of the last successful traditional sitcoms of the 21st century, as its episodic and formulaic plots can’t be found as much on network television or streaming services today. Due to this, rewatching How I Met Your Mother is incredibly nostalgic and is reminiscent of a different period of television that certain audiences long to return to. Though I can’t watch the series without cringing at some of the more outdated jokes and references, it’s still enjoyable to return to.

This last-minute change made no sense, but it doesn’t change that the show’s heart was still intact.

The thrust of the series was that the protagonist, Ted, was retrospectively telling his children how he met their mother, and fans were guessing her identity until the very end. However, the series finale undid years of anticipation by seeing the mother die in a flash-forward to the gang’s future and having Ted end up with Robin. This last-minute change made no sense, but it doesn’t change that the show’s heart was still intact. The point of How I Met Your Mother was really to watch the core friend group grow and change together.

9 Dexter (2006–2013)

Though Dexter held promise to be something new at the beginning, it failed to finish strongly.

Dexter took the concept of crime drama to a new level by centering a protagonist who was both a killer and a hero. The titular character, Dexter, has the tendencies of a serial killer but works for the police, so this puts him at odds with both the good guys and the bad guys, making the audience question what side they’re on. Dexter is at its best when he has a worthy opponent to play his game of cat and mouse with him, as that’s when I’m the most invested in his story.

However, Dexter season 8 lacks a compelling villain and sees Dexter make some of the most unrealistic and out-of-character decisions of the series. This is one of the largest issues with the Dexter series finale; it loses much of the internal logic that had propelled the plot forward in the earlier seasons. However, despite these flaws, Dexter has some truly memorable and exciting episodes that make the lackluster ending worth it.

8 Game Of Thrones (2011–2019)

With no source material and a demanding audience, Game of Thrones had an impossible task for the finale.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest letdowns of the
Game of Thrones
finale, and season 8 in general, was what the series did to Daenerys’ character development.

Game of Thrones changed TV in the 2010s and was shocking to audiences for its graphic displays of violence and sex, even for an HBO show. However, like all controversial things, these elements made Game of Thrones a lightning rod for discussion and critique, which only made the show more popular. Things start to get a little off track for the show after season 5 because that’s when the book series it’s based on ends. However, the writers and showrunners did a good job of bringing the story to its logical conclusion for a long time.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest letdowns of the Game of Thrones finale, and season 8 in general, was what the series did to Daenerys’ character development. After watching her amass an army and become a benevolent queen who would free the subjugated peoples of the world, the show had her snap and forced Jon to kill her. Prior to this, it was a delight watching the many plot lines intersect and waiting with bated breath to see when the heroes would finally join forces. This, combined with the visual spectacle of the series, makes it impossible to discount entirely.

7 St. Elsewhere (1982–1988)

St. Elsewhere is unfortunately not remembered for its quality but for its explosive ending.

The series finale of St. Elsewhere can be referred to as explosive because it blew up the entire structure and storytelling format of the show. After making its name as a gritty and realistic medical drama that grappled with what it was really like to be a doctor and the bureaucracy of medicine, St. Elsewhere ended with the show saying the entire story was a dream. The camera pulls back to reveal the hospital inside a snow globe, and all the characters are imagined by a young boy, Tommy Westphall.

For viewers who had been watching the show from the beginning and were emotionally invested in what happened to the characters, this was a huge letdown. However, there was a reason that St. Elsewhere was so popular before this, and it’s fun to look back on the show in comparison to the medical procedural shows of the contemporary era. However, whenever I return to St. Elsewhere, I leave off the last episode and pretend that the plots happened within the series’ universe.

6 Seinfeld (1989–1998)

Though divisive, the finale of Seinfeld is one of the most memorable in TV history.

Series creator Larry David has spoken about the controversial ending of Seinfeld many times, and whether fans like it or not, it’s what aired and is part of the show’s canon. However, like any good sitcom, most of Seinfeld can be watched in a vacuum without prior knowledge or context of the show because of its episodic nature. While it’s easy to grow to like the main characters on Seinfeld after spending many seasons with them, the assertion that they’re not ultimately good people is what the series finale is trying to communicate.

I believe there’s little question that
Seinfeld
is one of the most important sitcoms of the past several decades.

David’s later series, Curb Your Enthusiasm, had a much better reception of its finale than Seinfeld, but it’s thanks to the controversy that both shows have remained relevant in cultural conversations. I believe there’s little question that Seinfeld is one of the most important sitcoms of the past several decades. Comedy on television wouldn’t be what it is today without it, and this comes through in the fact that so much of the series is still hilarious, even though times have changed.

5 True Blood (2008–2014)

One of the best original vampire shows

In many ways, True Blood was well ahead of its time. This makes sense as the series creator, Alan Ball, was behind some of the most influential TV shows of the early 2000s, like Six Feet Under. While the finale of Six Feet Under was considered revolutionary, the same cannot be said for the disappointment that was True Blood‘s conclusion. After years of pushing the boundaries of sexuality and politics on television, the series employed a shockingly conservative ending that undermined much of its original messaging.

All of the best vampire TV shows must bring something new to the genre, and True Blood was unique because it leaned into the Southern Gothic elements and was transgressive in its subject matter. Though the finale was disappointing, it doesn’t change how much of the series did push boundaries. While narratives about sex and violence aren’t for everyone, I was always interested in the deeper meanings behind these themes, as True Blood is often interpreted as containing allegorical references to LGBTQ+ acceptance and celebration.

4 Scrubs (2001–2010)

It’s fair to say that Scrubs season 9 should be entirely ignored.

It balances humor and drama perfectly and was a breath of fresh air within the medical drama genre when it aired.

Scrubs had its perfect finale and heartful goodbye that let viewers shed a tear and share a laugh at the end of season 8. However, all of this was ruined by the addition of a ninth season, which was wholly unnecessary and went off on a different path than the last eight years of the show. It’s almost universally agreed upon that it’s best to skip season 9 altogether and act as if the season 8 finale is how JD and the gang bid farewell to the viewer.

When season 9 is ignored, there’s little I can say against Scrubs besides the typical dated elements that every show of its era faces. It balances humor and drama perfectly and was a breath of fresh air within the medical drama genre when it aired. Medical procedurals are still some of the most popular series on television, and Scrubs can hold its own against the best on TV today. Watching season 9 isn’t a waste of time, but it fails to capture the magic of the seasons that came before.

3 Gilmore Girls (2000–2007)

Gilmore Girls remains a wildly popular show for a reason, even if the finale doesn’t make much sense.

Plenty of Gilmore Girls moments made viewers quit the show before the infamous seventh season, but most of them can easily be written off as good television. Part of the reason I can rewatch Gilmore Girls, seemingly infinitely, to this day, is because Rory and Lorelai never run out of dramas, and the series has the uncanny ability to make even the most mundane domestic conflicts feel like they have life-and-death stakes. While some argue that the character development got worse as the seasons progressed, much of it was the logical conclusion of the character’s paths and upbringings.

I, personally, don’t count the last episode of A Year In The Life as the finale of Gilmore Girls, as it serves as more of an epilogue, and the first seven seasons are the core show. Season 7 gets a lot of flack, and while it’s true that the dialogue wasn’t nearly as good without Amy Sherman Palladino, it’s still relatively faithful to the show’s heart. Even if the series finale is a little too convenient, this doesn’t change the many perfect season finales that preceded it.

2 Gossip Girl (2007–2012)

A classic teen soap that lacked its trademark drama and scandal in the last few episodes.

Often described as a “parent’s worst nightmare,” Gossip Girl has gone down in history as one of the many cult classic teen soap operas to come out of the late 1990s and early 2000s. This is a genre that’s near and dear to my heart, as shows like this have come to define the tastes and opinions of a generation. Throughout its many outlandish plot points and incomprehensible narratives, there’s a level of consistent drama that moves at a breakneck pace that keeps the audience coming back for more.

Everyone paired off and was happily married in the finale, even if some characters never deserved this neat ending.

In some ways, Gossip Girl went soft on viewers in the last few episodes as it tried to wrap up the many loose ends left over from its intersecting storylines. Everyone paired off and was happily married in the finale, even if some characters never deserved this neat ending. However, it takes a long time before Gossip Girl runs out of exciting plots, and it never fails to intrigue me when the show puts together another romantic couple that makes no sense.

1 Lost (2004-2010)

Though the first season is the best, there’s still plenty to enjoy when watching Lost today.

Lost is in a unique position as a TV show because it has one of the best pilots of all time and one of the most divisive finales. Over the course of Lost‘s six seasons, it drifted further and further away from reality, but there was never a moment when Lost stopped being fun. One of the biggest draws for audiences both then and now is that the characters and their interpersonal relationships remain compelling. Additionally, attempting to piece together Lost‘s many mysteries is something that never gets old.

One of the audience’s biggest problems with the Lost finale was that it left so many unanswered questions and kept too much open to viewer interpretation. For many, it seemed as if the last moments of the series were saying that all the characters had been dead the whole time, which was a huge disappointment. Though this wasn’t really the case, as a long-time fan of the show, I’ve accepted that the first few seasons of Lost are the best in terms of quality. I simply let myself have fun when watching the rest of the series.