Why The Final Seasons Of These Shows Should Have Never Happened

Highlights

• Some iconic TV shows have disappointing final seasons, compromising their legacy and leaving fans wishing they had ended sooner.
• Unpopular concluding seasons fail to wrap up plots, resolve character arcs, and make the multi-season journey worth it for viewers.
• Viewers dislike the final seasons due to writers running out of ideas, cast changes, confusing plots, new characters, making fans wish they never existed.

Some of the most iconic television shows have disappointing final seasons, leaving even the biggest fans wishing they would have ended much sooner.

The final season of these shows should never have happened, compromising the legacy of much-loved shows. These concluding seasons are unpopular due to a failure to wrap up key plots, give characters the resolution they deserve, and make the multi-season journey worth it for viewers.

Whether their unpopular last seasons were due to the writers running out of ideas, cast and crew leaving, disliked new characters, confusing plot twists, or all of the above, some viewers wish they could go back in time and pretend these last episodes never existed. In the following, we take a look at some shows that went on for one season too long and explain why their final season shouldn’t have happened.

8 The Flight Attendant

2020-2022

• The Flight Attendant aired for two seasons.

HBO’s 2020 hit The Flight Attendant felt like a one-season miniseries, which became so popular that the network renewed it for the second season. Based on the novel of the same name by Chris Bohjalian, the second series noticeably ran out of source material and struggled due to this.

Despite the first season’s popularity, the sophomore outing struggled to find its footing. Moving the alcoholic and often accident-prone Cassie into the world of CIA espionage lost some of the charms of the first season, which saw Kaley Cuoco‘s character wake up in the bed of a murdered man.

Even the lead actress, Kaley Cuoco was unsure if a second series was necessary, telling Seth Meyers “Guys we got away with it, let’s go, let’s just walk out of here, leave it, it was really good.”

7 That 70’s Show

1998-2006

• That ’70s Show aired for eight seasons.

Season 8 of That ’70s Show struggled after Topher Grace exited the show, and Ashton Kutcher‘s screen time was minimized. The producers tried replacing Grace’s character Eric with Randy Pearson, but it never worked. After Grace left the show to appear in Spiderman 3, the writers sent Eric to Africa, causing him to break up with Donna. It was an out of character decision and the series should never have been made.

Screenwriting duo Jeff and Jackie Filgo were also notably absent for the last season after serving as executive producers for over 170 episodes and contributing to much of the writing. In fact, the last season of That ’70s Show was so poorly regarded, it was retconned in the first season of That ’90s Show.

In the last season, Jackie and Fez ended up together, yet in the Netflix sequel, Jackie and Kelso were married with a son. Even Wilmer Valderrama (who played Fez) admitted both he and Mila Kunis (who plays Jackie|) were surprised by the decision to have their characters date. “We kind of ran out of everything,” he told Today in 2021.

6 Scrubs

2001-2010

• Scrubs aired for nine seasons.

The last season of Scrubs is considered so disastrous that many fans would like to forget it ever existed. Season 8 of Scrubs delivered a satisfying finale that said goodbye to a lot of the show’s most beloved characters.

Sadly, they decided to continue the show with an almost new cast, making it feel like a totally new show. Subtitled Scrubs: Med School, season 9 featured many of the show’s main characters in supporting roles, while the main focus concentrated on a new set of medical students.

While it delivered some solid moments and decent gags, the ninth season felt too different for fans of Scrubs. Although it works as a standalone, it shouldn’t have been considered part of the main Scrubs shows.

5 Once Upon A Time

2011-2018

• Once Upon a Time aired for seven seasons.

Season six of Once Upon A Time brought the original storyline to a close, tying up nearly every loose end, from the truth about Prince Charming’s father to satisfyingly ending Emma’s storyline.

Once Upon a Time’s seventh and final season decided to soft reboot the fantasy drama, removing all the elements that made the show so loved by viewers. The final season mimics much of the first season to the point it feels repetitive. However, by changing the cast and location, it lost all the charm of the opening episodes.

Many fans of the show wished that the ABC series had ended after the big battle in season six. After Emma wins the battle, the book Henry relies on finally closes. That would be an ideal point to end the show, instead of starting a new book in the following series.

4 The Wire

2002-2008

• The Wire aired for five seasons.

While The Wire is considered one of the best shows in television history, it would have been even better if it had ended with the fourth season. If The Wire had ended on season four, it would have ended on the hopeful note of Namond escaping the streets.

While season five is still a good television series compared to many others of the era, it does not meet the quality of the previous outings. Many viewers of the Baltimore-set crime show felt that the serial killer narrative was hard to believe and the tone was inconsistent.

3 Roseanne

1988 – 1997, 2018

• Roseanne aired for 10 seasons.

Roseanne was one of the most popular sitcoms of the ’80s or ’90s, even reinventing itself in recent years as The Conners. The appeal of the show was watching the ups and downs of a working-class American family.

The last season turned the show’s premise on its head, with The Conners winning $108 million in the lottery. It made no sense at the time and ruined the reliability of the sitcom family. Ultimately, it turns out that it was all fake, and Roseanne was inventing positive scenarios to cope with the death of her husband, Dan.

After Dan has a heart attack at the end of the previous season, audiences think he survives when, in fact, he dies. Perhaps the show would have been better liked if it had ended with the death of the patriarch.

2 Gilmore Girls

2000-2007

• Gilmore Girls aired for seven seasons.

Gilmore Girls was a comfort watch for many, but the last series is by far the worst outing. The seventh season suffered from creator Amy Sherman-Palladino stepping away from the series.

Sherman-Palladino’s sharp and witty dialogue was missing, which meant many beloved characters sounded stilted and out of character. It wasn’t just the dialogue that made the characters start feeling unlike themselves, it was also their actions. Rory had pursued Logan and worked so hard for their relationship; it felt so unbelievable she would turn down his proposal so quickly. On the other hand, Lorelai’s marriage to Christopher Hayden felt unrealistic after she had spent so long terrified of commitment.

Fans also felt Sookie St. James and Lane Kim were hard done by with their pregnancy storylines. Although season seven is considered a disappointment, it was still better received than the recent Netflix reboots.

1 Game Of Thrones

2011-2019

• Game of Thrones aired for eight seasons.

Season 8 of Game Of Thrones is considered the biggest downgrade in television quality in history. The decline of the HBO show can be traced back to its overtaking of books, resulting in a deviation from George RR Martin’s source material.

Various elements of the last season of Game of Thrones shouldn’t have been made, with it feeling like a mad rush to be finished, unlike previous seasons, which took their time to explore characters and locations. It upped its pace, moved characters too quickly around Westeros, and played around too liberally with character development.

Unlike other seasons on this list, audiences felt like Game of Thrones needed more seasons to fully complete the epic narrative of the battle for power in Westeros.