The Best Series Finales

It’s no secret that I love TV. But it’s definitely hard to end a show, especially a beloved show. Truth be told, it’s hard to live up to an audience’s expectations as far as endings go. But these are just some shows that I think got it right.

10. Friends

Friends is just one of those classic sitcoms. And the way they ended the show was admittedly pretty great. It’s a little sad knowing that they aren’t just going to hang out at the apartment anymore. But after ten years, it’s nice to see them all grow up. The only critique I really have is that they really pushed Ross and Rachel together at the last minute. But that line, “I got off the plane”, is pretty iconic so I’ll let that slide.

9. Blindspot

I’m not entirely sure how fans felt about the Blindspot series finale, but I was a fan. It gave the false security that everything had a happy ending only to take it away from us. While that doesn’t sound great, a part of me knew there wouldn’t be a happy ending. But because everyone loves a happy ending, they did make me think there would be one for a minute there. I know that doesn’t sound great, but for some reason I really liked it. At the very least, it showed what could’ve been while still being realistic. So it ended up being the best of both worlds, in a way.

8. Gilmore Girls

I know it’s controversial but I actually loved the final four words from Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. And it’s definitely much better than the show’s seventh season finale. Mostly because Dan Palladino and Amy Sherman-Palladino (the show’s creators and writers) weren’t there in their last season. But it really wraps the story around and has a lot of emotional depth to it. So for that reason, I love it.

7. Private Practice

For Private Practice, they apparently knew they were on their last season so the sixth season is, admittedly, all over the place. But I give the writers credit for doing whatever they wanted creatively before the show ended. But the finale, while fast-paced, is still one of my favorite episodes. Six seasons and we finally get to see Addison get the happy ending she deserved. I’ve always thought of Private Practice almost like a redemption arc for Addison. Not that she really needed it, in my opinion.

But so much of the show consisted of Addison thinking she didn’t deserve to be happy because she cheated on Derek. And then, she finally started going for what she wanted in the fifth season: a baby. And to add to it, Jake comes into the picture and is the best guy ever. And after everything Addison’s been through, she deserves that. And yeah, everything else in the finale goes by pretty fast but I think we all knew the show was pushing for Sam and Naomi to get back together eventually.

6. Lucifer

Lucifer‘s one of those shows that’s hard not to love, in part because they have such an incredible fandom. But this past year, the show finally ended with its sixth season. And I loved their finale episode. Everyone got their happy ending but it was still interesting. And it came around full-circle because when the show started, Lucifer wasn’t really sure what he was doing. But now, he found the love of his life and finally found his lifelong calling.

5. Harper’s Island

Harper’s Island is still one of my favorite shows. And it will probably always be my favorite horror show. Although I admittedly haven’t watched a lot of those. While it was a great series overall, the ending is really the reason why. The finale episode just finishes the series in such a great way. But I also really loved the episode right before when they have the big reveal for who the killer is. But I am glad that at least some people got to get off that island.

4. The Good Place

The Good Place is one of those shows that was popular from the get-go. I was a little late getting into it, but I am glad I stuck around till the end. There was clearly something wrong with the actual Good Place before and the way they finally fixed it made a lot of sense. But part of the reason why I loved this show was because the concept of the show could introduce more religious themes. But they never really went there. Instead, the show remained comedic and laid back, which made the ending brilliant.

3. Parenthood

Parenthood was one of those shows that just opened my heart up every episode. And it’s been like that since the beginning. I mean, I even heard that some people started a drinking game where they drank every time they cried. Because it’s that good. But part of what made the Braverman’s such a great family was Zeek. So it only makes sense that his death (sorry, spoiler!) made me bawl.

2. Smallville

I didn’t know this before, but apparently, the Smallville finale had mixed reviews. Granted, everyone wanted to see Clark in the full Superman suit but the writers never wanted that. While everyone talks about how this was a Superman show, it was more about Clark’s journey into becoming Superman. So I’m completely fine with the fact that we only get a glimpse of the iconic Superman suit. But the reason why I love the finale so much is because Lex Luthor finally returns. And he’s always been my favorite Superman villain.

1. Nikita

And finally, taking the number one spot is Nikita. To anyone who knows me, this isn’t a surprise. It’s my all-time favorite show and the series finale is just one of the reasons why. Much like Private Practice, they knew their last season would be their last. So they really knew what they were doing to end the show. But the finale episode is something else. And that last scene is brilliant, and it brings the story all the way around.