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A missing monkey, a token tennis bracelet, and the end of the Korean war! These are the most uplifting and moving finales in TV history, according to Guardian readers. Warning, spoilers lie ahead.
Friday Night Dinner
After nine years of following the Goodman family, the boys – Adam and Jonny – finally bring home “females” to meet parents Jackie and Martin. The dinner is absolute chaos, Martin has ruined all of the food, he’s thrown a piece of bread at Adam’s girlfriend, their neighbour Jim keeps running in with bags of dog vomit, Jackie is having a total meltdown, and then everything stops in a beautiful moment when both girls announce they’re pregnant.
The family boogie to the theme song would be a moment of sheer joy on its own, but it’s made even more so since this turned out to be the final episode. The sad and untimely death of Paul Ritter, who played Martin, the year after the broadcast makes this scene all the more poignant. The image of the family celebration is a reminder to embrace the family dance, whether it’s happy times or times when you say: “Sh*t on it.” Amy, Tampa, Florida
Superstore
The US sitcom Superstore spends several seasons gently pointing out the flaws of capitalism, US employment and immigration law, and the general folly of humanity, while making you fall in love with (most of) the flawed and horrifying characters you meet. Has there ever been a greater villain than Sandra’s arch-nemesis Carol?
Set in a fictional supermarket, it takes you through increasing digitalisation of the industry and the Covid pandemic with a feather-light touch, and absolutely hilarious vignettes of the worst behaviour you can imagine in retail. The arc of its central pairing, Amy and Jonah, is compromised through the final series as lead actress (and producer) America Ferrera briefly left the programme, but she returns to wrap things up with a beautiful and deeply satisfying peek into the future. The finale is a fitting testament to love, endurance and, above all, friendship. Jill, 43, Derbyshire
Heated Rivalry
Heated Rivalry, season one. I hope they don’t make any more seasons because they’ll never be able to capture the magic of the first. The ending was a perfect wrap-up of the short six-episode series. As a gay guy of a certain age, I’ve found that the vast majority of movies and TV shows about gay men I’ve had to sit through have been tragic or whitewashed. In the US, we drag shows out until all the fun has been completely drained out and at the end they’re unrecognisable from where they began. Danny, 57, New York state
The Good Place
The Good Place is an extraordinarily rare gem. It’s a comedy that’s actually funny, with characters that you really care about despite their varied faults. However, the end of the first series immediately sent up the red flag for other series with such a strong opening – where can you go from here?
However, it remained a gem for all four seasons, until the four principal protagonists finally create the heaven they’d always wanted and, one by one, each at their own time, they decide they’ve had enough of everything, are as happy as they could ever be, have experienced everything they’d ever wanted to experience, and that it’s finally the right time to just … go. It’s beautiful and uplifting, and makes me feel happy whenever I think about it. Andy, Japan
Scrubs
Scrubs is an amazing show with some genuine character development. We follow a trio of budding medical interns – JD, Elliot and Turk – as they grow and become well-rounded doctors and human beings.
In a final two-parter, (for season eight, that is, and not the “should-have-been-a-spin-off” season nine, or the recent reboot), JD accepts a job at a new hospital to be closer to his son. And then, on his last day, he goes to painstaking lengths to have the perfect swan song – the constant farewells with his best friend, Turk, finally learning the name of the janitor who tormented him the entire series, and having the perfect final moment with his gruff but ultimately caring mentor, Dr Cox (even if it did take some coaxing).
And then the grand finale: JD realises through a patient that you need to accept the future and all the uncertainties it holds. JD walks through the hospital’s halls, filled with all the people he interacted with right back to the first season, as he stops to watch a giant screen projecting a moving montage of the future, set to Peter Gabriel’s The Book of Love. A pitch-perfect ending. Arjun, 26, London
Ghosts
The ending of Ghosts is moving and life-affirming, and a perfect example of what this show does brilliantly, which is to land its moments (sad and funny) without lingering on them for too long. It might be because I binged it, but it felt like the ending was really made up of the season’s last three episodes. The fifth one has the heartbreaking reveal of the Captain’s backstory, followed by that joyous line dancing scene. Then there’s episode six, which has a well-crafted throwback to the beginning, with Alison finding out that Julian pushed her out of the window. He’s the one who has to persuade her to stay, via a beautiful monologue made all the lovelier coming from him.
And then, just when you think it’s settled and they’re staying – the Christmas special. It’s happy and satisfying and sad. I love Pat teaching the Captain how to do baby talk and the way they all run to the answering machine to hear Mike’s message. The episode gives all of the characters a moment to be truly themselves. You get a sense of how much Alison loves the ghosts and vice versa; it’s incredibly sweet without being saccharine. Emily, Hampshire
Sleepers
Does anyone else remember Sleepers? A post-glasnost spy comedy in which Warren Clarke and Nigel Havers are Soviet agents sent to infiltrate Britain in 1965, and build lives they’re very happy with, thank you, and don’t want to go back to shabby apartments in the Nevsky Prospect. By the end of the series, both have been captured by the hardline KGB officer sent to recover them, and are drugged and shipped out to a waiting submarine. They wake up, and the KGB is returning them to their homes. But while the lead characters are safe, Clarke’s daughter’s cuddly monkey Maurice is missing! Weeks later he appears, wearing a Russian fur hat, having been on an adventure of his own. A perfect show. Nick, 58, Yorkshire
M*A*S*H
The show I grew up with in the 70s. Beautifully anti-war with top-drawer writing and brilliant characters. The ending is a tear-fest. After the ceasefire is announced, the members of the 4077th throw a party before taking down the camp for the very last time. So many great moments: Hawkeye and BJ saluting Colonel Potter, upper-class Charles leaving in a garbage truck, the death of Henry, and Hawkeye saluting Radar. And the final scene where Hawkeye, who spent the last episode unable to say goodbye, spells it out in rocks that BJ can only view from the air as he lifts off in a chopper. No, you’re crying. Cameron, Ledbury
Six Feet Under
Everybody dies! But that’s also what makes it such a special ending, because we get to see how every character’s life plays out in vignettes as the weight of the show’s themes are lifted from them. Claire finally escapes her mother’s overbearing influence, without having to destroy their relationship to do so. Rico gets to run his own funeral home, without the Fishers’ influence. David slays his demons and lives happily ever after with Keith when it looked as if they would destroy him. Brenda realises she can be a good mother after all. Then – yes, as everybody dies! – we get surely the greatest closing montage sequence on TV, with an exceptional soundtrack (Sia’s Breathe Me) to accompany it. I think someone’s started chopping onions in here again … Stephen, 47, Solihull
Schitt’s Creek
Not only does the finale offer the sheer joy of David and Patrick’s wedding (Moira in her papal mitre and gloves, sobbing her way through the ceremony, the Jazzagals singing Simply the Best, Alexis accidentally dressed as a bride), but the beautiful denouement of the show, as they quietly move on with their lives, back to success but so differently than they imagined in the beginning.
I can’t watch it without sobbing. It is to me the happiest of endings: the guy gets the guy, the girl gets the career, Johnny finally makes it back to business, and Moira? Exactly where she belongs, back to Sunrise Bay, along with a token tennis bracelet. It is a sublime moment that takes such good care of the fans and how invested we are in each of Rose’s (and Stevie’s) journeys. It is so refreshing to give everyone a simple happy ending without compromise or drama. Casey, 34, Brighton
