Fans are bound to be saddened when one of their favorite shows takes that final bow, but the important thing in such an instance is that the show ends on a high note and that it ends at the right time. Some shows will drag on and on for a season or two when the main point has already been made and the final bit of closure has already been doled out. For one reason or another, the showrunner might feel that they need to reveal more of the story and keep it going for longer than fans are willing to keep watching. In this case, it usually happens that fans get tired of the constant need to add on to a story that should have already been finished and was DOA before the final season came along. Some stories though are told in a way that is hard to deny when it comes to stating that they were allowed to run their full course and came to a fitting conclusion that both resolved the overall story of those involved, up to that moment at least, and allowed the idea that life would go on once all was said and done. It takes a bit of skill to keep people interested in what might happen later while at the same time feeling satisfied with how things were left.
Here are a few TV shows that ended at just the right time.
5. Sons of Anarchy
There are plenty that would gladly state that this show should have ended a couple of seasons before it did since it felt like it started to drag on and became less about the motorcycle club than it was about the drama that had been caused. But after a while, it did feel that Gemma and Juice, two of the main characters that died near the end, were causing more problems than they were worth and simply needed to go. Plus, the fact that Tara was killed and that Jax’s life was such a mess kind of needed a good close that wasn’t bound to come any other way. So Jax settled up old scores and went out in the best way he knew how hopefully protecting his MC and his sons.
4. Mad Men
It’s hard to say just what really happened to Don Draper at the end of Mad Men since seeing him at the retreat does make it feel as though he’d finally found some sense of peace. It also feels that everyone else had found their own state of equilibrium and had finally managed to start living life the way they wanted. For all that happened and went down during this show, and there was a lot that people watched the characters endure, it does feel as though it all came back to Don at the end and it either centered on or radiated from whatever his life was going through at the time. By seeing him gain peace if felt like everyone else was allowed to as well.
3. Parks & Recreation
Some would say that this show struggled to find its identity throughout the entire length, but that’s one of the things that managed to give the show so much of its charm since it was about as realistic as it could be when one really looks at it. The constant rigamarole of trying to get things done within a county office is never easy apparently and comes with an increasingly huge number of checklists and conditions that have to be met for each and every little thing that needs to be done before a person can get to the things they WANT to do. That was pretty well represented in this show.
2. Friends
Let’s put it this way when it comes to Friends, they were all ready to move on with their lives and it was time to part ways finally. Anyone that’s had more than one best friend will understand this feeling since unless everything works out the way a person wants, you’ll have to move on from certain people at some point in your life. It’s an immutable fact that not everyone is going to fit into your perfect, personal utopia at all times, but it’s also evident that you don’t forget those that were there when you really needed them, and vice versa. The whole idea of this show ending was a sad note that broke a lot of hearts but was a painfully real lesson that a lot of people have to learn.
1. Breaking Bad
After all the crap that Walt put everyone through it’s hard to believe that he ever started out so mild-mannered. But there was a time when he couldn’t hold a gun without his hand shaking and when the mere thought of being caught by the police had him ready to enter a shootout rather than be caught and disgrace his family. From that moment though things took a serious turn as he became a meth cook and then a criminal mastermind that waded his bloody way through one individual after another, trying to convince himself and others that he was doing all this for a higher purpose.
Some shows end when they should, and others just don’t get it until it’s too late.
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