The best series finales of all time, from 'Mad Men' to 'Six Feet Under'

Creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould delivered 69 minutes of outstanding television in the shocking conclusion to their "Breaking Bad" prequel, resulting in the undoing of everyone's favorite "criminal" lawyer, Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk).

For six seasons, we watched Jimmy McGill's fall from grace from a promising attorney to a selfish, sleazy "criminal" lawyer named Saul Goodman. Many suspected the show would end with the death of Kim (Rhea Seehorn), the love of Jimmy's life, or of Jimmy himself, after refusing to pay for his crimes in jail.

Neither happened.

The series finale, which aired on August 15, 2022, started off with a heart-pounding foot race from the cops and culminated in a shocking trial confession. Just when we thought Saul miraculously sweet-talked his way one last time into what a judge referred to as "the most generous sentencing recommendation," he did the unthinkable.

In one of the show's finest moments, Odenkirk delivered one final show-stopping courtroom performance, much like the one that kicked off the series, tossing away a seven-year prison sentence and implicating himself for 86. In doing so, not only did he sacrifice himself to save the love of his life from a legal mess he dragged her into, but he also cleansed his soul, showing it's never too late to change your path in life.

"Better Call Saul" was better than "Breaking Bad." — Kirsten Acuna, entertainment correspondent

From shocking deaths to heart-wrenching storylines, what "Orange is the New Black" did best was make viewers fall in love with a motley crew of female prisoners in middle-of-nowhere New York.

But the reason the finale, which dropped on Netflix on July 26, 2019, succeeds is it gives us closure, and in some cases, hope, for every single one of those characters.

For some, it's a happy ending: Getting out of prison, reconnecting with family, and starting a new life. For others, it's less hopeful: Transferring to a new prison as theirs is shut down, or facing death as a final stop on their journey.

Regardless of the plot, the entire episode is comforting. In some twisted way, viewers understand that all of these women are going to be okay, even if the road to getting there is treacherous. — Rebecca Cohen, breaking news reporter

As is fitting for a show about Russian spies, "The Americans" series finale, which aired May 30, 2018, was its own covert operation. In finally giving us the long-awaited confrontation between KGB officers Philip and Elizabeth Jennings (Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell) and their FBI agent neighbor Stan Beeman (Noah Emmerich), it managed to subvert our expectations of how a conversation this explosive would actually end: not with Stan killing or arresting his friends upon learning their true identity, but with his quietly heartbreaking decision to let them and their daughter Paige (Holly Taylor) escape unscathed, therefore ruining his life and career.

Physically unscathed, that is — not emotionally. Though "The Americans" had its fair share of gruesome scenes, the series was always more interested in the emotional damage the Jenningses inflicted on everyone around them through their espionage. And after six seasons of Philip and Elizabeth losing friends and killing assets, there was only one comrade left whose decision to leave the KGB could truly rattle them: Paige.

When Philip and Elizabeth discover their own daughter has left the train they were fleeing the country on and is staring mournfully at them from the platform in the US as they cross the border, these two typically steely spies come as close as they're capable of to breaking down. It's the show's final, most devastating betrayal in a series built on them — and a scene so gut-wrenching that I'll never hear U2's "With or Without You" the same again. — Samantha Rollins, deputy editor of entertainment

"I'd like to buy the world a Coke."

If you don't recognize the iconic 1971 commerical from being alive in 1971, you definitely know it from the "Mad Men" finale, which aired May 17, 2015.

In this version of reality, advertising mogul Don Draper (Jon Hamm) ends up at a spiritual retreat in California while his coworkers panic to complete work for one of their biggest clients: Coca-Cola.

Mid-meditation, Don, after an episode-long breakdown about his self-worth and purpose, smiles. Cut to: The 1971 Coke commerical. Don Draper came up with that idea.

It's perfect. It brands our main character a hero — even though he is most definitely not — but ultimately solidifies to both Don and the viewer that all of it meant something. Every late night, every failed ad campaign, every fight, every death, was worth it, because Don Draper just did the thing. He created the greatest commercial of all time, and there's no coming down from that.

After nearly spiraling out of control, the series leaves viewers hopeful and satisfied that our main character finally got it right. On the verge of crashing and burning, Don, ever the genius, surprises us again, and actually comes out on top by some act of fate.

This finale likely isn't at all what viewers expected to see, and that's why it just works. — R.C.

We love a series finale that outlines where each of the main characters' lives is going and how their storyline wraps up. And that's exactly what the last-ever episode of "Parks and Recreation" does.

The entirety of the final season is set three years in the future, giving viewers a look at where our beloved characters are headed. But in the hour-long finale, which aired February 24, 2015, each of those characters gets a special moment as Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) says goodbye to her friends and coworkers before her big move from Pawnee, Indiana, to Washington, D.C.

We also get a perfect goodbye to each member of the main cast. Tom (Aziz Ansari) writes a book that blows up. Donna (Retta) starts a nonprofit. Andy (Chris Pratt) and April (Aubrey Plaza) have kids!

The finale ties the entire series up nicely in a pretty box with a big bow. There are no questions left to be answered and you're filled with pride at how much this little group actually got done. It's a comforting sendoff that doesn't leave you wanting more, though it does encourage a near-immediate rewatch of the entire series — especially the Snake Juice episode. — Rebecca Cohen, breaking news reporter, and Chris Panella, breaking news fellow

"Friday Night Lights" was not a show dependent on plot twists, mystery boxes, or deep lore (season two murder plot aside). It was about a small town in Texas, the obsession surrounding their high school football teams, and the people affected by this obsession. The series finale, "Always," which aired February 9, 2011, follows Coach Taylor (an Emmy-winning Kyle Chandler) as he takes his team through one last attempt at the Texas State Championship, while he also tries to handle his wife Tami (Connie Britton) asking him to leave Texas behind so she could chase her dream for once in Philadelphia.

Spoiler alert: the Taylors live happily ever after, walking off the football field arm-in-arm, proving once and for all that successful marriages aren't boring marriages on TV.

But the moment (and line) that's stuck with me in the years since I finished the show is when Coach Taylor talks to his star quarterback Vince (a very young Michael B. Jordan) and simply tells him, "You may never know how proud I am of you." Vince responds, "You changed my life, coach."

This was always a show about Coach Taylor molding the young men on his team in the best way he knew how, and it was full circle that these two, who did not always get along, had this moment together.

You know what to do: cue up Explosions in the Sky and repeat, "clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose" as needed. — Gabbi Shaw, lifestyle and entertainment reporter

"Lost" concluded on May 23, 2010 with one of the most controversial — and profoundly misunderstood — series finales in television history. To this day, people malign the show as "disappointing" because "they were dead the entire time."

In reality, the final season of "Lost" is brilliant because it subverts that very expectation. The characters were emphatically not dead the entire time.

The series culminates with the actual death of our hero, Jack, who sacrifices himself to save the island. In the final scene, he's reunited in the afterlife with the people he met — and grew to cherish — after their fateful plane crash.

The finale puts forward the idea that your soul will rest alongside the most important people from your life, with whom you shared your most transformative moments. Much like the show itself, this concept is brilliant and melodramatic and deeply moving. Yes, the island is real (no, it isn't purgatory), just as any place becomes mysterious and magical when it holds the perfect combination of people — the backyard where your siblings played make-believe, the local bar where your friends assembled every Friday, the restaurant where you first said "I love you."

On the island, the backyard became a beach and the local bar became a steel hatch. Characters exchanged "I love yous" over bonfires and plane debris, not appetizers and wine.

This is the stuff that makes survival worthwhile. Like Jack says in the very first season, "If we can't live together, we're gonna die alone." — Callie Ahlgrim, senior music reporter

"Scrubs" was special for so many reasons: Its quirky, dream-scene comedy skits, its beautiful soundtrack, and its ability to make viewers fall in love with characters outside of the main cast.

The season eight finale (the real Scrubs finale before it was renewed for its much-maligned ninth season sans many key members of the cast) combined all of those unique elements for an unforgettable, tear-jerking ending.

The 40-minute episode "My Finale (Part 2)," which aired on May 6, 2009, closes with John "J.D." Dorian (Zach Braff) walking through the halls of Sacred Heart as visions of the entire cast, both dead and alive, see him out the door for one last time. In the background, Peter Gabriel's beautiful yet haunting, "The Book of Love" is playing.

I'm not crying, you are. — Barnaby Lane, entertainment reporter

In the 2000s, "Avatar: The Last Airbender" set a precedent: cartoon series geared towards children could contain vast, uncontainable universes; they could tell resonant, mature stories; and they could be silly and goofy without compromising the thoughtfulness of their writing. That legacy stands because "Avatar" stuck its landing exceptionally well, concluding with a four-part spectacle on July 19, 2008 that metes out justice with empathy.

Aang spent the entirety of "Avatar" training to defeat the Fire Lord — and make no mistake, he does. His victory is all the more exceptional because he does so without taking the man's life, choosing instead to remove the source of his power and violence: his firebending. But as a full package, the finale isn't just about defeating the Fire Lord. It's about the young ensemble of "Avatar" finally coming of age, making decisions that end the conflict of their youth and set the tone for the future they govern. — Palmer Haasch, entertainment reporter

"Charmed" may have lost its way in its final few seasons, but it still ended on a magical note on May 21, 2006 with Piper, Phoebe, and Paige getting their happy endings after eight seasons of demon-slaying and potion-brewing.

The final scene, in which an elderly Piper and Leo walks up the staircase at the iconic Halliwell Manor one last time, was so moving after all we'd seen them go through in the series. And that little door flick, echoing the ending of the very first episode, was the perfect symmetry. — Tufayel Ahmed, entertainment editor

Sigh, President Jed Bartlett's two-term administration finally came to a close after eight blissful years leading the country.

What makes the series finale of "The West Wing," which aired on May 14, 2006, stand out is that it managed to hold onto its documentary-style pacing and format while laying out what comes next for all its characters. There were no bells and whistles needed to make this episode a fantastical event — "The West Wing" simply did what it did well for seven seasons to close out its run.

Even though the administration — and the show — have ended, viewers were left with the feeling that the likes of Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) would still be working in the White House for years to come.

It's wistful. It's hopeful. It's heart wrenching. And it made me sob. — R.C.

If you want to feel alive, you should watch the series finale of a show about death. "Six Feet Under" opened the show with the death of the family patriarch and closed it on August 21, 2005 with the death of the rest of the Fisher family.

In the last minutes of the finale, "Six Feet Under" gives us definitive endings for each of its main characters — showing us how they die next to their name and years of life, much like a headstone. They die decades apart: Some of the fates are violent, some are quiet and tragic, and in one particular instance, a character sees his long-dead husband moments before he dies from a presumed heart attack. The show closes in 2085 with the 102-year-old eyes of Claire Fisher (Lauren Ambrose) before quickly cutting to a close-up of her eyes as a 21-year-old as she leaves the life she knew behind.

Sure, the episode could be considered a little maudlin. But for a show that's about the poignancy of life, how can you not be brought to tears? — Rachel Bernstein, editorial partnerships and awards fellow

"Shall we get some coffee?"

"Sure, where?"

That scene from the "Friends" series finale, which aired May 6, 2004, still makes me emotional. The friendship between the six main cast members was always so special on screen and off, so watching what felt like the actors' genuine emotions and tears pour out in the final moments of the sitcom's series finale was heartbreaking. More heartbreaking was the final shot of Monica's now-empty apartment, where it felt like we, the viewers, had shared so many memories over 10 seasons as the seventh companion to Monica, Chandler, Rachel, Ross, Phoebe, and Joey. — T.A.

For seven seasons, Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and her friends (dubbed the "Scooby Gang") fought all manner of monsters as they simultaneously battled their way through the trials of growing up. Viewers followed the characters from their teenage years through their early 20s, watching them lose lovers and family members along the way. We even saw Buffy herself die (and come back) twice.

It was fitting for the series to end on May 20, 2003 with an epic battle, seeing Buffy, her friends, and their crew of "Potentials" (potential slayers waiting to be activated in the event of a current slayer's death) face off against the shape-shifting First Evil, who'd been teased all the way back in season three, and the Turok-Han (aka "ubervamps") at the gate of the Hellmouth. It was also a full-circle moment, because the battle took place underneath the rebuilt Sunnydale High School, where it all began.

The stakes (pun intended) were high, and major characters did die — the show never shied away from killing off series regulars. It was gut-wrenching and exhilarating. I've watched the finale probably a hundred times, and I'll never not get chills watching a badly-beaten Buffy rise up from the ground to tell The First, appearing as her double, to "get out of my face." It was a perfectly crafted ending, right down to the complete collapse of Sunnydale into the ground (good riddance) and Buffy's burgeoning smile in the closing moments. – Caralynn Matassa, senior entertainment editor