"Breaking Bad", "30 Rock" and more – Variety

While the highly-regarded series "The Big Bang Theory", "Game of Thrones" and "Veep" end with episodes of the finale that have met with mixed reviews from fans and critics, it is becoming increasingly more obvious than someone is more invested with a piece of programming, the more they will personally take goodbye – for the better and for the worse.

Mastering multiple seasons of complex characters in exalted worlds that have provided escape, or even simply comfort and reflection, to millions of people around the world is not easy. But over the years, there has been a special selection of series that have more than blocked their arrival, sending their stories on a positive note and raising the bar for others who followed them. Right here, Variety selects the best series finals over the years.

"30 Rock" (NBC)
"The Last Lunch" (Originally released in January 2013)
What made the start of the series so satisfying was that the show in the show was coming to an end, so the audience did not feel like they were missing the TGS adventure. Tina Fey and Tracey Wigfield, who wrote the episode, spent half an hour of perfect reminders and last moments for all the unusual characters, from Liz (Fey) "having lived everything" with her children, her husband and a new show, Jenna (Jane Krakowski) preparing a moving musical number, from Lutz (John Lutz) winning a rare victory and being allowed to choose the lunch order. But most importantly, it paid off something that Jack (Alec Baldwin) had projected at the beginning of the series: that everyone would eventually work for the former Page, Kenneth (Jack McBrayer).

"The Americans" (FX)
"START" (Originally released in May 2018)
Family or country? It was an essential dilemma in the Soviet espionage drama of Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg. After six seasons, the hard truth was finally revealed. Philip (Matthew Rhys) and Elizabeth (Keri Russell) planned to leave America for the USSR with their daughter, become more involved in espionage over the years, but not their son, still innocent . The episode also delivered some moments of truth par excellence: first when Stan (Noah Emmerich) confronted his friends, forcing Philip to deal with the loss of his only friend, then when Paige (Holly Taylor ) remains after all – and his parents left him.

"Breaking Bad" (AMC)
"Felina" (first broadcast in September 2013)
Walter White (Bryan Cranston) had good motives, but for five seasons he did very bad things. Walter White was dying of cancer, but he was determined to get out of it in his own way. That's why, even though he was dying on the ground after being hit by a machine gun at the end of the drug drama, the corners of his mouth were turned to a smirk. He did what he had to do – including a last conversation with Skyler (Anna Gunn) – and he was not going to waste, but rather go out in a torch of glory. Some viewers may choose to believe that he had the pulse when the police officer checked, but he feels a lot more moving when he does not do it.

"ER"
"And at the end …" (Originally released in April 2009)
Although often described as a medical procedure, it is the characters who made up the fictitious county hospital. Of course, the finale of the series has given rise to serious emotional medical problems (like a teenager addicted to alcohol and an HIV-positive patient who learns that he also has terminal cancer), but most of all , it allowed the public to take place some of the most important players during the 15 seasons of the series have a drink together. And of course, that would not make us forget those who were no longer among us, namely Mark (Anthony Edwards), whose very tall daughter has returned to the hospital for an interview for a position and has allowed everyone to linger until the show had come.

"Stop and catch fire" (AMC)
"Ten of Swords" (Released for the first time in October 2017)
The CMA drama apparently began to focus on two men who were trying to change the computer industry, but he quickly revealed that women were also a driving force. As the show unfolded, it was the power of four characters that made it magical, but after losing one (Gordon, played by Scoot McNairy) earlier in the season, the remaining trio had to finally recognize and move on to what they once were. . Although there was no question of whether they were happier and healthier outside of this extremely competitive world, it was nice to see them finish on a positive note, especially when Donna (Kerry Bishe) called the true heart and the true soul of the world. show, his partnership with Cameron (Mackenzie Davis).

"Happy Endings" (ABC)
"Brothas & Sisters" (Released for the first time in May 2013)
The third season of David Caspe's comedy of friendship was not explicitly meant to be a final of the series, but the series was on the bubble for two seasons. The screenwriter-producer was therefore clever enough to create a close-fitting story that included the modern classic hijinks for which the series had become known, such as Penny (Casey Wilson) and Max (Adam Pally) changing the cycle of the series. news with a number of rumors to prevent the truth from separating, but ended with a softer and deeper feeling as the six main characters all simply danced at a wedding.

"MASH POTATOES"
"Goodbye, Goodbye and Amen" (Originally released in February 1983)
The dramatic comedy of the war had a lot of content in its finale, which was treated more like a movie than the 256th episode of the long series. The dangers of the decor, such as an assault tank and the fire of a bomb, were still present, but there was a sense of celebration, too, that these characters had survived and could do plans for life after the fighting. It was an emotion inherent to the weight of their professions and what they had overcome (in the last episode, Hawkeye, played by Alan Alda, still hesitated on a procedure before carrying it out), but the message goodbye Literal enunciated rocks, left for Hawkeye while he was coming out was an instant lachrymation bait.

"Newhart" (CBS)
"The Last Newhart" (Released for the first time in May 1990)
For a writer to say "everything was a dream", at the end of a story, a public investing a lot of time and emotion is usually considered a cop. But maybe that's because no one can do it as smartly as Bob Newhart. At the end of his second eponymous sitcom, his character woke up in bed after such a crazy dream – but he ended up in Dr. Bob Hartley's room (from Newhart's eponymous sitcom). "The Bob Newhart Show") and his wife was Emily Hartley (Suzanne Pleshette). That made everything that had happened over eight seasons on "Newhart" as the content of his sleepy subconscious, but it paid off his long-time fans in a completely unexpected way and ended up being an extra finale to "The Bob Newhart" Show". ," as well.

"Nurse Jackie" (Showtime)
"I say a little prayer" (Released for the first time in June 2015)
After seven seasons, viewers should have known that incumbent Jackie (Edie Falco) was not going to change her habits. She did not want to, and wanting to get better is the first step of a real recovery path. In the end, although Jackie's life seemed to improve with a new job at another hospital, she did not ask for the help she needed, but went back in search of a another solution, the one that was probably the last. The end of the series saw Jackie ODing and her substitute daughter Zoey (Merritt Wever) repeat Jackie's own words to her. The most optimistic people might think that the flow of movements on Falco's face was a sign of life, but in some ways this end would be even more tragic, as it is clear that the cycle would most likely start over again.

"Parks and Recreation" (NBC)
"One Last Ride" (Originally released in February 2015)
The two-part ending cast a light on the future of each of its main characters to provide them – yes, even Jerry (Jim O & Heir) – the positive trajectory that they all deserved after having spent so many years in the thankless work of the public service. Most importantly, it followed the political rise of Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), who began by having her swing repaired much faster than she was able to build a park, and then became governor of Indiana and, ultimately, as the Secret Service agents around her in the final scene and hope in the hearts of the audience, president of the United States of America suggests.

"Six feet underground" (HBO)
"Everybody Is Waiting" (Original Release Date: August 2005)
At the time of the reboot culture, the final episodes are never finished enough to literally kill all of his characters, allowing Alan Ball to take risks and be a visionary. Although the episode begins at birth, it flashes in the last few minutes and traces the life events of all the main characters until their death. The dead were not really peaceful – Keith (Mathew St. Patrick) was shot dead and David (Michael C. Hall) and Rico (Freddy Rodriguez) had heart attacks – but they were handsome in their own way, start with Ruth (Frances Conroy) passing around loved ones and ending with Claire (Lauren Ambrose) passing in the same way, with pictures of the entire Fisher clan.

"The thread" (HBO)
"30" (Originally released in March 2008)
If you want the finals of your television series to be well connected, this is not the one for you. This commitment to the truth, however, is what made the series so revolutionary. the last moments could not be different. Of course, some character arches were left in transition, such as Tommy Carcetti (Aidan Gillen) becoming governor and Ellis Carver (Seth Gilliam) becoming a lieutenant; and yes, there was at least one potential happy ending with Bubbles (Andre Royo) laundering. But add the new generation that follows in the footsteps of Bubbles addiction and it is clear that David Simon understood that there was still a lot of disorder in the world and that the victories were deeply influenced by the point of view of the justice. This is certainly not the most optimistic end, but it is perhaps the one that has made the public think the most.