Under normal circumstances, the movie industry rakes in billions of dollars every year, and although there are plenty of terrible films with horrible writing, there are still a few that manage to tell amazing and complex stories. A traditional movie usually runs between 90 and 120 minutes, but that is not always enough time to tell a proper story, which is why TV has become such an important storytelling medium.There are literally hundreds of TV shows to choose from, but there are certain comedy and drama series that stand above the rest in terms of quality and popularity. Most of these great series air for more than five seasons, and some of them end in decent ways, but there are several great shows that managed to infuriate their fans with terrible endings that ultimately ruined the show's integrity.Updated April 14, 2022, by George Voutiritsas: When it comes to movies & TV shows, audiences want to be entertained by meaningful stories and relatable characters, and they generally want what they are watching to be well-written. Television gives writers more time to flesh out stories and characters, and shows that do well tend to last five or more seasons. There have been a lot of terrible TV shows, but there are plenty of great shows as well. Breaking Bad is a perfect example of a great show because it is masterfully written and acted, and it did not overstay its welcome. Unfortunately, not all great shows know how to end their stories properly, and they often leave fans with a sour taste in their mouths.
14 The Sopranos Left Tony's Fate Up In The Air
The Sopranos ran for 6 seasons, and it is arguably the best HBO drama of all time. The crime drama focuses on Tony Soprano, a mobster from New Jersey who tries to balance his family life while running a criminal organization, and these conflicts were explored during his therapy sessions.
The show's finale was good, but the final scene managed to split the entire fanbase down the middle, as the screen cut to black when a shady character enters a diner where Tony is eating with his family. This ending is infuriating because it left Tony's fate completely up in the air, and to this day, no one knows if he lived or died.
13 Supernatural's Finale Left Fans Divided
Supernatural ran for 15 seasons, a feat that very few shows have achieved, and it only happened because it had a small yet passionate fanbase. The show centered around Sam and Dean Winchester, a pair of brothers who traveled around America hunting ghosts, monsters, angels, demons, and gods.
The final season saw the brothers take on God himself, and they eventually won. The final episode started off like a filler, and Dean suffers an anti-climactic and un-satisfying death at the hands of ordinary vampires. Sam's ending was not satisfying either because of how rushed it was, and Castiel, who was a fan-favorite, wasn't even mentioned in the finale.
12 Scrubs Should Not Have Come Back For A Final Season
As far as great comedy series go, Scrubs does not get the attention it deserves. The series focused on the point of view of Dr. "J.D." Dorian, who also served as the narrator. The first 7 seasons aired on NBC, where it became known for its fast-paced and surreal vignettes.
The show moved to ABC for its final two seasons, and season 8 actually provided the perfect send-off for all of the main characters, which is why season 9 felt so out of place. It brought in a slew of new characters, an act that placed established characters on the sidelines. ABC did not renew the series, so season 9 ends as though there were more stories to tell.
11 The Vampire Diaries Lost Steam Without Its Lead
Vampires are known for being quite vicious, and that viciousness was on full display in The Vampire Diaries. The CW series ran for 8 seasons, and it followed the life of high school student, Elena Gilbert. Her life changes when she meets Stefan and Damon Salvatore, a pair of vampire brothers.
The show features the type of teenage drama that the CW is known for, but it was fairly dark and violent as well. Nina Dobrev, who played Elena, left the show in season 6, and season 7 was fairly decent, but the final season ran out of steam quickly thanks to poor story threads and a lackluster villain, and Damon received a happy ending that felt undeserved.
10 Two And A Half Men Failed To Provide Closure
A lot of people were not fond of Two and a Half Men's style of jokes, but that did not stop it from becoming one of televison's top comedies. Charlie Sheen was the main character for 8 seasons, but he was fired after making derogatory comments about the show's creator.
Ashton Kutcher replaced Sheen as the main character for 3 seasons, and the show's ratings and quality took a nosedive. The series finale was especially divisive because it kept alluding to Charlie's return. Instead of offering fans closure, the creator used the final scene to take a shot at Sheen by having his character get crushed by a random falling piano.
9 Dexter Ended Up Becoming A Logger
Dexter was a crime drama that lasted 8 seasons, but it should have ended after 6. The series followed Dexter Morgan, a Miami forensic technician who also happened to be a vigilante serial killer who kills murderers who managed to avoid justice.
The final two seasons saw a drastic decline in quality, and the finale left fans angry because Dexter's sister Debra died a senseless death, and they then believed that he died because he drove his boat into a hurricane. Fans later see that Dexter did in fact survive, but he now lives as a logger in the middle of nowhere. Showtime tried to correct Dexter's ending with a new miniseries called Dexter: New Blood. It was released in 2021, and it was actually really well-received, but it still does not make up for the original series' terrible ending.
8 Seinfeld Had Impossible-To-Meet Expectations
Seinfeld may not be appealing to younger generations, but it is still one of the greatest and most influential comedy series of all time. The show about nothing began in 1989 and ran for 9 seasons, and it focused on the personal life of a fictionalized Jerry Seinfeld and his three friends.
Some episodes really stand out in terms of comedy, but the finale left a sour taste in many people's mouths. All of the main characters were reprehensible people who lacked morality, and the finale saw them put on trial for not helping someone in need. The finale followed the show's traditional tone and style, but it fell flat because it left a lot of potential on the table.
7 Chuck's Finale Destroyed The Show's Pivotal Relationship
Chuck was an NBC spy-comedy series that ran for 5 seasons, and it focused on a computer specialist who read an email that caused him to download all of the United States' biggest spy secrets into his brain. The series was by no means a ratings juggernaut, but it did have a strong following, and the majority of that fanbase hated the series finale.
Chuck fell in love with Sarah, one of the CIA agents assigned to protect him, and their romance proved to be the foundation of the entire show. The finale had Sarah lose all of her memories, and she never got them back, which left the fate of the pair's relationship uncertain.
6 True Blood Ended Bill & Sookie's Relationship In A Disappointing Manner
True Blood was by no means one of the best drama series of the 21st century, but it still had a rabid fanbase that allowed it to run for 7 seasons. The series focused on a telepathic waitress who falls in love with a vampire while having another relationship with another vampire and werewolf.
The show was incredibly raunchy and violent, but the final season felt like a complete mess. When it was all said and done, the season failed to provide any meaningful closure for the main characters. Sookie's relationship with Bill was the crux of the entire series, and it ended with Bill choosing death so that Sookie could lead a normal life, which was never going to happen in a world with supernatural creatures, and she ends up with a random guy whose face is never even shown.
5 Rosanne's Original Finale Left Fans Crying For The Wrong Reasons
The original Roseanne series ran for 9 seasons, and it received massive acclaim because of its realistic depiction of a working-class American family. The show was known for tackling difficult issues, but it always maintained its brash comedy, which is why the finale felt so out of place.
The final season saw the Connors win the lottery, which caused a drastic change that did not sit well with long-time fans, but the finale took things down a much different and darker path. The finale revealed that the entire season was part of Roseanne's imagination, and she did this because her husband Dan actually died from the heart attack he suffered at the end of season 8.
4 The 100's Final Season Felt Very Confusing & Pointless
The CW is known for its Arrowverse shows and campy teenage dramas, but it has been known to produce decent drama series as well. The 100 was set almost 100 years in the future, and the remnants of humanity lived on a massive space colony orbiting a post-nuclear Earth. With the colony at near capacity, 100 teenage criminals were sent to the ground to see if it was habitable.
The story saw a lot of conflict between various human factions, but at the end of the day, the show strived to show that there was always hope. The 7th and final season managed to sideline most of the main characters, and it ended with the human race going extinct.
3 Lost Built Up Compelling Mysterious That Went Nowhere
The first episode of Lost was one of the most expensive pilots ever made, and this turned out to be a great decision on ABC's part because it became a phenomenon. The first 3 seasons were filled with mystery, but the creative juices began to dry up in the 4th season.
By the end, many of the mysteries were left unanswered, and the finale revealed that the entire series was basically some form of purgatory, which cheapened the entire mythology that had been built up over the series.
2 How I Met Your Mother Spent Years Building Up To A Step-Mother
How I Met Your Mother is definitely one of the best comedy series of the 21st century, but it will also go down in infamy for having one of the most disappointing series finales of all time. As the name suggests, the show told the story of how a man met his children's mother, and there were plenty of great and emotional episodes.
The 9th and final season showed how Ted actually met his future wife, but it is later revealed that she died and that he was only telling his kids the story so that they would be okay with him asking out Robin. This made the premise of the show meaningless, and it was so hated that an alternate ending was shot and packaged into the season 9 DVD.
1 Game Of Thrones' Entire Final Season Was A Let Down
For a decade, Game of Thrones was the most popular drama series in the world, but hardly anyone talks about it anymore. The first five seasons were phenomenal, but once the showrunners passed the source material, the writing went downhill very quickly.
The last two seasons consisted of 13 episodes, and they all felt incredibly rushed. The Whitewalkers which had been built up since the first episode were defeated in a single night, and Jon Snow's lineage proved to be meaningless. Daenerys managed to go from liberator to insane tyrant within 3 episodes, and her romance with Jon was insanely rushed and lacked chemistry. Not to mention, Bran of all people ended up on the Iron Throne.