Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

TV Series That Had The Absolute Worst Endings

A viewer sitting in front of the TV
Mollie Sivaram/Unsplash
Make us preferred on Google

TV audiences put a lot of pressure on screenwriters to pen the perfect ending to a series, and it's no surprise.

Dedicated viewers have invested their limited time season after season watching their favorite characters evolve and overcome any hardships thrown their way.

Writers owe it to fans to close out the show that's kept them on the payroll in a respectful manner.

A perfect example of one of the best TV series finales is HBO's Six Feet Under, where all the main characters got the proper send-off in a poignant manner to give fans a sense of closure.

But not all series have achieved this benchmark so effectively.


Curious to hear examples from disappointed TV viewers, Redditor AbelNB asked:

"What TV Show had the worst ending?"

FYI: Spoiler alerts that can actually help prevent you from wasting your time.

These fantasy shows were way beyond the realm of being plausible.

Hocus Pocus

"Merlin has a pretty horrible ending. Seasons 4 and 5 really felt like the show was beginning to be something special and then it just ends."

– jamers_the_great

Puppet Alien

"Nobody will remember this, but the correct answer is ALF."

"It was supposed to be a cliff hanger, but the show got cancelled, and they ended the series with ALF being captured and taken away to be disected. GOOD NIGHT KIDS!"

– Fritzo2162

End Of The Race

"Dinosaurs ended on a mass extinction event caused by the dad or something. GOOD NIGHT KIDS!"

– MelQMaid

Defeated

"Xena:Warrior Princess."

"20 years later and I am still pissed off."

– EfficientDismal

These TV viewers were left with unresolved plot lines.

Classified Bummer

"X-Files."

"Tried to tie several story arcs together that directly contradicted one another and did it with a clip show."

– Thegerman959

Closure From A Different Show

"Like Quantum Leap, My Name Is Earl ended on a cliffhanger which was cancelled soon after S4 . The only resolution given was on the first episode of Greg Garcia's next project Raising Hope where a TV news broadcast in the background said a man in Camden County completed his list."

"NBC had a knack for making bonehead decisions..."

– Final-Ad-2033

House Of Cards

"Should have ended when he got the presidency. It was all weak after that - Frank had a goal in the first few seasons, it's what drove him. Then he gets it, and his motivation is just... keeping what he has."

"Perfect end scene was when he did his signature knock on the president's desk. Cut to black. End show."

– SeraphStarchild

This Bombed

"Jericho. That show had so much potential and they just loosely wrapped it up leaving me very unfulfilled with no conclusion or closure."

– iamkylo214

Ambitious shows have a tendency of not delivering at the end.

"Heroes. God the writer's strike really had that show go wildly off the rails."

– RozRae

Pretty Little Mess

"Pretty little liars, the creator never even knew how it would end. I hate that show because it was great for the first maybe 2 seasons then just terrible from then on."

– Weirdo_trans_guy

Schlock Holmes

"BBC Sherlock"

"The whole reason I loved that show was the mystery being explained by cold hard logic and the powers of observation. The entire last season was basically Sherlock sister has mind control which takes effect within seconds. Total BS and I hate it. That was my favourite tv series of all time and I felt physically ill when they just murdered the whole season like that."

– benawen

I held off on watching Game of Thrones because I didn't want to give in to the hype.

After hearing so many fans gripe about the disappointing series finale, I'm glad I didn't waste my time.

But I wonder, is the journey still worth the commitment, even if the destination leaves you feeling all dressed up and nowhere to go?

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

George Conway; Laura Loomer
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for CNN; Brandon Bell/Getty Images

George Conway Epically Trolls Laura Loomer After She Claims New York DMV's Credit Card Machine Displayed 'Palestinian Flag'

Conspiracy theorist and acolyte of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump Laura Loomer drew widespread ridicule over her latest outrageous claim. Lawyer and ex-husband of Trump staffer Kellyanne Conway turned anti-Trump activist George Conway lead the charge on calling Loomer out on her latest nonsense.

On October 7, Loomer shared a photo on X that was allegedly taken at a Department of Motor Vehicles office in New York City. The MAGA influencer also tagged NYC's progressive Democratic Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani's personal X account.

Keep ReadingShow less
Susan Collins
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Susan Collins Dragged After GOP PAC Boosts Her Campaign In The Wrong Portland

On July 4, 1786, the city of Portland, Maine, was officially founded with its newly-minted name. Almost 60 years later in 1845, Maineiac Francis Pettygrove won a coin toss against Asa Lovejoy and named their soon-to-be incorporated city in Oregon Portland after the largest city in his home state of Maine.

Since then, Portland, Oregon, has swelled to a city of approximately 675,000 people while its namesake boasts a population of just 70,000. In 2026, when people hear Portland, they think of Oregon instead of the original city in Maine.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Whitey Taylor
CNN

CNN Just Visited A Struggling MAGA Store—And It Spells Bad News For Trump

CNN correspondent Elle Reeve returned to Whitey Taylor's Trump Town USA in Boones Mill, Virginia, for the first time since visiting in 2023, and her segment shows that business for the Donald Trump-themed shop has collapsed as more MAGA followers break away from the president.

Reeve, in a segment for Anderson Cooper 360, reported that "things aren't what they used to be" for the store. She spoke with Taylor, who revealed that the store, which used to make $12,000 to $15,000 in sales per day now only makes between $1,500 - $2,000 per day. On occasion, Taylor will hit $3,000 in sales if he's lucky.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pete Hegseth
Alex Wroblewski / AFP via Getty Images

Pete Hegseth Roasted After Video Of Him Trying And Failing To Keep Up With Marines Goes Viral

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was widely mocked after he was shown struggling to keep up with Marines while running around a track during a recent training.

In a C-SPAN video shared by FactPost on X, Hegseth is shown lagging beyond the pack as Marines jog around a track in San Diego.

Keep ReadingShow less
Vice President JD Vance speaks during a Washington, D.C., press conference on American jobs and visa fraud.
C-SPAN

JD Vance Blasted After Sharing His Absolutely Mind-Numbing Definition Of 'Socialism'

According to Merriam-Webster, socialism broadly refers to economic and political systems centered on collective or government ownership and control of the means of production.

Not exactly a concept requiring a Ph.D. to explain. One would think Vice President JD Vance, a Yale Law School graduate whose party practically uses the word as punctuation, could manage a working definition.

Keep ReadingShow less