TV Finales, Ranked from Perfect to Infuriating
Some series finales land as perfect and some still feel infuriating, so vote on where each ending belongs. To qualify, a finale must close a scripted series that knew it was ending, have its own IMDb episode page, and appear on at least one of nine dated lists. Five pick the best: Shortlist (2018, ordered by IMDb user ratings), USA Today (2023), SlashFilm (2023), MovieWeb (updated 2023) and TVLine (2024). Four pick the worst: ComicBook.com (2019), USA Today (2023), TVLine (2025) and SlashFilm (2026). Lists that predate a finale don't count toward its totals. Miniseries are out, and a revived series counts once, by the finale its original run ended on; where IMDb splits a finale in two, the part with the final scene counts. The lists sort qualifiers into Loved (best lists only), Divided (both kinds) and Infuriating (worst lists only); seats go to the finales most lists name, a tie at the cut goes to the lowest number printed beside a finale on any numbered list, Shortlist's included, and voting orders each group. Expect series-ending spoilers throughout.
Everyone's Waiting (Six Feet Under, 2005) is #1 on “TV Finales, Ranked from Perfect to Infuriating”.
- 1
Everyone's Waiting (Six Feet Under, 2005)
Claire drives out of Los Angeles with Sia's "Breathe Me" playing, and the flash-forwards keep going until her death at 101 in 2085. Alan Ball scripted and directed the 72-minute episode, which HBO aired on August 21, 2005; the network had announced the end of the show in November 2004. TVLine (2024) and USA Today (2023) both printed it at No. 1; 4 of 5 best-finale lists carry it, and 0 of 4 worst lists do.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701989/ - 2
Goodbye, Farewell and Amen (M*A*S*H, 1983)
CBS sold 30-second spots for $450,000, and 105.97 million people watched on February 28, 1983, the most for a U.S. broadcast until Super Bowl XLIV passed it in February 2010. Alan Alda directed, after CBS talked him into one more, shortened season. Hawkeye spotting GOODBYE spelled out in rocks from the helicopter closes it. USA Today printed it 3rd and TVLine 7th; that's 4 of 5 best-finale lists against 0 of 4 worst.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213826/ - 3
Felina (Breaking Bad, 2013)
AMC renewed it for a fifth and final season on August 14, 2011, and Vince Gilligan's September 29, 2013 episode, which he wrote and directed, drew 10.28 million. Walt dies on the floor of Jack's lab while Badfinger's "Baby Blue" plays, and the song's sales jumped 2,981 percent. TVLine printed it 14th and USA Today 10th, in a slot shared with Better Call Saul, and the tally is 5 of 5 best-finale lists to 0 of 4 worst.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2301455/ - 4
One for the Road (Cheers, 1993)
Sam, alone in the empty bar, tells a visitor they're closed and straightens a picture on the wall. Ted Danson's decision to leave caught the producers off guard, James Burrows told Yahoo Entertainment, so they ended the show. The May 20, 1993 broadcast ran 98 minutes with commercials and reached about 42.4 million households. TVLine and USA Today both printed it 9th, and the tally is 4 of 5 best-finale lists, 0 of 4 worst.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0539826/ - 5
Saul Gone (Better Call Saul, 2022)
In the prison yard, Jimmy gives Kim the finger guns and she just looks back at him. Peter Gould, who also directed, wrote the 69-minute episode that aired August 15, 2022, and the writers knew by the fifth-season finale in 2020 that Jimmy would end up in prison. USA Today put it 10th alongside Breaking Bad and TVLine printed it 13th, so 3 of the 4 best-finale lists published after it aired include it, with 0 of 3 worst.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11630828/ - 6
Always (Friday Night Lights, 2011)
Eight months later, Eric coaches the Pemberton Pioneers in Philadelphia while Tami works at Braemore; at the end Tami arrives on the field, they kiss, and the lights turn off as they walk away. Confirmation in August 2010 made the fifth season the final one, and Jason Katims's script, directed by Michael Waxman, reached DirecTV on February 9, 2011. TVLine printed it 5th, and the split is 3 of 5 best-finale lists for it, 0 of 4 worst.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1631966/ - 7
Made in America (The Sopranos, 2007)
Tony looks up as the diner door's bell rings, and the screen cuts to black. David Chase planned that ending between seasons 5 and 6, then directed his own script and won the 2007 Emmy for drama writing. Shortlist's 2018 list, built on IMDb ratings, left it out because its 9.0 score fell short. USA Today printed it 6th; with SlashFilm and MovieWeb that makes 3 of 5 best-finale lists, and 0 of 4 worst.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0995839/ - 8
The Last Newhart (Newhart, 1990)
Bob Hartley wakes up next to Emily and describes a dream of running an inn in Vermont, which turns all eight seasons into that dream. Newhart and Suzanne Pleshette did the bedroom scene in one take. CBS wanted a ninth season and Newhart declined. Its May 21, 1990 broadcast drew 29.5 million. USA Today printed it 2nd and TVLine 3rd, and with Shortlist it collects 3 of 5 best-finale lists while 0 of 4 worst lists include it.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0660024/ - 9
Family Meeting (The Shield, 2008)
Vic Mackey puts photos of his kids and the Strike Team on his desk at ICE, hears sirens, takes his gun from a lock box and walks out. FX said in June 2006 that a seventh season would close the show, and Shawn Ryan wrote the November 25, 2008 finale that Clark Johnson directed. TVLine printed it 2nd and USA Today 8th; Shortlist also lists it, for 3 of 5 best-finale lists and 0 of 4 worst ones.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1243831/ - 10
The End: Part 2 (Lost, 2010)
Jack walks back to the bamboo forest where he woke after the crash, lies down with Vincent beside him and dies as the Ajira plane flies over. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse wrote the 104-minute finale, which 13.5 million watched on May 23, 2010. TVLine's 2024 best list printed it 17th and ComicBook.com's 2019 worst list printed it 1st, so it sits on 1 of 5 best lists and 2 of 4 worst ones.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15049668/ - 11
Daybreak: Part 2 (Battlestar Galactica, 2009)
An epilogue set about 150,000 years later puts Head Six and Head Baltar in New York, discussing the discovery of Hera's remains in Tanzania before a robotics montage plays to Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower." Ronald D. Moore wrote it, and Part 2 drew 2.4 million viewers on March 20, 2009. USA Today's best list printed it 5th, while TVLine's and SlashFilm's worst lists have it 18th and 9th: 1 of 5 best lists, 2 of 4 worst.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0993922/ - 12
Everybody Dies (House, 2012)
House fakes his death, then rides off with Wilson on motorbikes after telling him cancer's boring. Fox had told viewers on February 8, 2012 that season 8 would close the run, and David Shore directed and co-wrote the May 21, 2012 finale for 8.72 million viewers. Shortlist's 2018 list included it at an IMDb rating of 9.2, while TVLine's 2025 worst list printed it 5th, which comes to 1 of 5 best lists and 1 of 4 worst.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2121965/ - 13
The Iron Throne (Game of Thrones, 2019)
Jon leads the wildlings north beyond the Wall as the thaw sets in. HBO had named the eighth season as the last, and David Benioff and D. B. Weiss took the writing and directing credits; the live broadcast on May 19, 2019 drew 13.61 million. ComicBook.com printed it 3rd worst a day later, USA Today 4th and SlashFilm 7th, 3 of 4 worst lists in all, while 0 of the 4 best lists that postdate it include it.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6027920/ - 14
The Finale (Seinfeld, 1998)
Production ran under a fake working title to hide that it was the end. Andy Ackerman directed Larry David's script, and 76.3 million watched it on May 14, 1998. The script left the four leads in a holding cell, and the producers swapped that ending for a stand-up scene shot after the wrap party. USA Today's worst list has it 2nd, TVLine's 6th, and SlashFilm's and ComicBook.com's 8th: 4 of 4 worst lists and 0 of 5 best.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0697695/ - 15
Remember the Monsters? (Dexter, 2013)
Dexter survives under a new name at an Oregon lumber company, sits in a wooden house and stares into the camera. Les Moonves told investors in March 2013 the show would end with its eighth season, and Scott Buck and Manny Coto wrote the September 22, 2013 finale. TVLine and SlashFilm printed it No. 1 on their worst lists, USA Today 5th and ComicBook.com 6th, totals of 4 of 4 worst and 0 of 5 best.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2578802/ - 16
Last Forever: Part Two (How I Met Your Mother, 2014)
Luke and Penny give Ted their blessing, and he goes to Robin with the blue French horn. Carter Bays and Craig Thomas had the kids' reaction scene shot in secret in 2006, and 13.13 million watched on March 31, 2014, the series' biggest audience. A Change.org petition for a reshoot passed 5,000 signatures by April 2, 2014. USA Today put it worst of all; 4 of 4 worst lists name it and 0 of 5 best do.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3415304/
How this list was ranked
Readers rank this list by voting items up and down. Items are ordered by reader votes.
