Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) looking intently at Faith (Eliza Dushku) on Sunnydale campus in Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 4, episode 15
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Cathal Gunning
Published 18 minutes ago
Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020.
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While plenty of TV shows have made fans angry, the biggest mistakes from Roseanne and How I Met Your Mother were standout failures that truly infuriated their fan bases. No one likes it when TV shows lie to viewers, even though thrillers might be more adept at getting away with this than many other genres of TV show.
It is inherently frustrating to realize that a storyline you’ve gotten invested in is going nowhere, or to find out that a promising character has been killed off abruptly with little fanfare. Sometimes, this is the result of a risky creative choice, while other times, behind-the-scenes meddling is to blame. In either case, the result can often be some seriously angry fans.
Even if a series is far from one of the worst TV shows ever, it can still disappoint viewers with an ill-considered twist, a sudden character demise, or a bizarre, misjudged ending. Some of the shows listed here are still beloved by their large fan bases, but their worst decisions nonetheless earned the ire of even the most loyal audience members.
Andy’s Entire Character Development Is Undone — The Office
Andy and Erin’s romance was one of The Office’s best slow-burning storylines, and a rare, consistent highlight in the show’s later seasons. When Michael Scott left Dunder Mifflin, the show undoubtedly lost some of its spark, but Erin and Andy’s tentative, innocent courtship kept that spark alive.
That’s why it felt like such a disastrous betrayal when Andy inexplicably left to sail for the Bahamas with his brother in season 10, an attempt to work around actor Ed Helms’ limited availability that backfired disastrously. Erin ended up with a new character, one of the show’s sweetest romances was thoroughly ruined, and The Office’s finale became a little worse.
Dan Was Gossip Girl All Along — Gossip Girl
Blair and Dan
To be fair to the iconic teen drama series, Gossip Girl’s ending was never going to make much sense. The series put itself in a tight spot when the unseen title character revealed the secrets of every major cast member throughout its six seasons, meaning it wouldn’t make sense for any of the main characters to be Gossip Girl.
That said, it was still a massive flop when the finale revealed that Dan was somehow Gossip Girl all along. This made no more sense than Serena, Blair, Chuck, or Nate being the titular menace, and it ignored some genuinely intriguing fan theories about Gossip Girl’s identity that would have made much more sense.
The Original Finale Reveals Dan’s Death — Roseanne
Image courtesy of Everett Collection
Although Roseanne’s revival eventually killed off Roseanne herself in an unprecedented twist, this wasn’t the choice that upset the sitcom’s viewers most. That came at the end of season 9, an infamously strange tonal train wreck that began with the working-class Conner family winning the state lottery and becoming millionaires overnight.
A string of cartoonish adventures ensued, earning the show its worst reviews ever. However, Roseanne only made matters worse when the show’s finale suddenly, brutally returned to blue-collar realism, revealing that Dan died of a heart attack at the start of season 9, the family never won the lottery, and the entire season had been a delusional fantasy Roseanne told herself to get by.
Tara Is Killed By A Stray Bullet — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Dan’s death was a flop primarily because the preceding episodes were among the silliest in Roseanne’s long history, so suddenly ending the series with its most devastating reveal ever came entirely out of left field. Similarly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s most infamous moment was intended to feel sudden and surprising, but proved way too successful in this endeavor.
Amber Benson’s Tara was Willow’s first major female love interest in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, meaning her very presence in the show was a big step forward for mainstream LGBTQ+ representation. As such, it was a devastating shock when she was killed by a stray bullet fired from a minor, otherwise insignificant villain’s gun in season 6, episode 19, “Seeing Red.”
Brian Dies (And Returns Almost Immediately) — Family Guy
While Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s upcoming reboot may undo Tara’s poorly received death, the show’s creators stuck to their guns after its initial negative reception from the fan base. Tara remained dead for the rest of the series despite how many characters were resurrected throughout the show’s seven seasons, but the same can’t be said for Family Guy’s Brian.
Family Guy’s creators earned headlines in 2013 when the show abruptly killed off one of its main characters, Brian, in a surprisingly realistic, gruesomely detailed car accident. The death was seemingly permanent, which is why so many viewers were left fuming when the show reversed course only two episodes later, reviving Brian with a corny, unearned festive twist.
Maude Flanders Is Permanently Killed Off — The Simpsons
Although Family Guy’s decision to undo Brian’s death felt cheap and overtly cynical, the show might have gotten inspiration from one particularly infamous death from another animated family sitcom. The Simpsons has gotten too dark a few times, but the show has never outdone the cynical, unnecessary death of Maggie Roswell’s Maude Flanders.
In season 11, episode 14, “Alone Again, Natura-Diddly,” a T-shirt shot from a T-shirt cannon knocked Maude off a bleacher to her death, leaving her devastated husband, Ned, to grieve her senseless demise. The death came about as a result of a pay dispute with Roswell, and proved completely pointless when the show’s creators ended up rehiring the actor a season later.
Marissa Dies In A Car Crash — The O.C
The OC Mischa Barton as Marissa Cooper
Some of the character deaths listed here were either the result of a show’s creators hoping to drum up publicity or behind-the-scenes disagreements leading to an actor’s early departure. However, The O.C.’s infamous Marisa death in season 3, episode 25, "The Graduates,” is notable for its lack of justification and explanation.
Mischa Barton’s Marissa was The O.C.’s breakout star, so it was a thoroughly unwelcome shock when Cam Gigandet’s Kevin Volchok killed her in a sudden car crash during season 3’s finale. The O.C. never recovered from her early exit, a problem made all the worse by the fact that Barton, the show’s creator, and everyone else seemed unable to explain what prompted the twist.
Penny Reveals Her Pregnancy In The Finale — The Big Bang Theory
Image courtesy of IMDb
Although there are hangout shows better than The Big Bang Theory, few of them share the show’s staggering success. At the height of its popularity, The Big Bang Theory commanded an audience of 20 million viewers. Despite this, the show’s finale still managed to drop the ball with one major twist.
Throughout the show’s 12 seasons, Kaley Cuoco’s heroine Penny was adamant about not wanting children. It was an unusual quirk that made her character stand out among sitcom heroines, and one that the series was impressively committed to maintaining. As such, it was a predictable but disheartening twist when The Big Bang Theory’s finale revealed she was pregnant.
Luke Hides His Daughter April From Lorelei — Gilmore Girls
Luke hugging Lorelai
While Gilmore Girls has plenty of disappointing plots, only one of them derailed the entire series. The cult classic never recovered from Luke’s decision to hide his daughter, April Nardini, from Lorelei in season 6. This directly led to the pair’s breakup, Lorelei’s reunion with Christopher, and, by extension, everything that didn’t work in the infamously weak season 7.
The Finale Kills Off The Mother — How I Met Your Mother
Cristin Milioti as Tracy McConnell/The Mother looking serious in How I Met Your MotherCredit: MovieStillsDB
How I Met Your Mother’s entire premise centered around the revelation of the much vaunted title character. As such, expectations were predictably high when season 9 finally introduced Cristin Milioti as the infamous mother of Ted’s children.
Shockingly, Milioti’s performance was so likable that she soon established superb chemistry with the show’s long-established lead characters, living up to all the hype surrounding her character and proving to be the best thing about season 9. This made it all the worse when, in the worst sitcom finale since Roseanne, How I Met Your Mother’s ending callously killed her off.
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Roseanne
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-PG Comedy Release Date 1988 - 2018-00-00 Network ABC Showrunner Bruce Helford Directors Andrew D. Weyman, Gail Mancuso, John Pasquin, John Whitesell, Philip Charles MacKenzie Writers Amy Sherman-Palladino, Danny Jacobson, Eric Gilliland, Joel Madison, Maxine Lapiduss, Don Foster, Jennifer Heath, Joss Whedon, Norma Safford Vela, Grace McKeaney, Bob Nickman, Michael Borkow, Pat Bullard, Tom Arnold, Denise Moss, Sy Dukane, Daniel Palladino, Garland Testa, Janet Leahy, Nancy Steen, Norm Macdonald, Richard Whitley, Stan Zimmerman, Allan KatzCast
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We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful.
Is it important for a TV show's finale to provide a satisfying resolution to the main story arcs and character journeys, or are there other factors that make a finale successful?
Cathal
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18 minutes ago
This is a complex issue with no clear consensus. Many fans argue that a strong series finale should tie up loose ends, answer major questions, and provide a sense of closure for the characters and their arcs. They may feel cheated if a show ends on a cliffhanger or leaves important plot points unresolved. However, other viewers prioritize emotional resonance and thematic coherence over neat resolution. To them, a powerful and impactful finale that captures the essence of the series is more important than answering every question. There are also practical considerations, like whether the show was canceled unexpectedly or the creators always planned an ambiguous ending.
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