Popular TV Shows with Terrible Final Seasons

When you think about the best TV series of all-time, they usually saved some of the best moments for the series finale and the final season. Shows like Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, and The Wire are fondly remembered for their incredible final seasons that ended the show perfectly. On the other hand, there are great shows that had dumpster fire endings. Fans of shows like Lost and How I Met Your Mother are still bitter from the way those series ended. There are plenty of disappointing endings to choose from, but these are ten TV shows with terrible final seasons.

Dexter is held in high regard as one of the greatest series in television history, but its final season is beyond disappointing. The show told the story of Dexter Morgan, who spent his days as a blood spatter analyst and his nights as a serial killer. Although Dexter spent his time killing the worst people in society, he wasn't seen as an amazing person in his own right. A show that started off very strong began to feel stale by its sixth season due to repetitive storylines. Many fans didn't even make it to season eight. By the final season, the actors seemed disengaged and it showed with the product on the screen. Even lead actor, Michael C. Hall, didn't like the series finale.

One word to describe the final season of How I Met Your Mother is infuriating. The long-running series gave fans their favorite moments in locations like McLaren's Pub or Marshall and Lily's apartment. However, these places were nowhere to be seen until the final 15 minutes of the season. The entire season, up until the last 20 minutes, took place on the weekend of Barney and Robin's wedding, only for them to get divorced five minutes later. Marshall wasn't with the group for a majority of the season and an episode told entirely in rhyme had fans upset. While getting rushed through Ted and the mother's entire relationship, just to see him end up with Robin, it left fans in a frenzy.

In 2008, HBO decided to jump aboard the vampire bandwagon and released hit TV series True Blood. As big of a hit the series was, True Blood is one of the ten TV shows with terrible final seasons. Characters were forced into the final season that fans didn't have the time to care about, while beloved characters were killed off. True Blood was a show about vampires that felt very realistic early on, but by its finale, it felt too outlandish and left fans disappointed.

The show that made Zach Braff a household name, Scrubs, tells the story of Braff's J.D on his journey from medical intern to a full-time doctor. Originally scheduled to end after season eight, fans were satisfied with the finale until they were told that everyone except for Braff would be returning for a ninth, and truly final, season. Even though season nine introduced viewers to stars like Dave Franco and Eliza Coupe, Scrubs is truly one of those TV shows with a terrible final season. Despite rumors of potential a reunion, fans probably don't want to see a pair of scrubs again after season nine.

Back in 2004, Lost was what Game of Thrones is now. It was the talk of the office that everyone had to watch. Created by J.J. Abrams, Lost gave fans plenty of questions, but not many answers, and left fans disappointed that it stayed that way through the series finale. The series show-runners battled with ABC to end the series, but Lost was such a ratings hit the network wanted to keep it going. The show that ran for a few seasons too long is definitely one of the TV shows with terrible final seasons.

For many, The X-Files was the show that got them interested in the sci-fi genre. This long-running series went on for ten seasons, but like other shows on this list of TV shows with terrible final seasons, it probably went on for too long. What plagued the final seasons of The X-Files was series regular David Duchovny departing after season eight. After a very disappointing season ten, show creator Chris Carter brought the show back for an unexpected season 11 but fans are still upset with the original ending of season ten.

Before television became convoluted with superhero shows, there was NBC's Heroes. In the beginning, the show had a niche market that quickly became filled with other options, and Heroes fell by the wayside. The series featured too many characters doing too many things that fans disagreed with. The final season of this once hit TV series is barely even remembered by fans it was so bad.

That '70s Show followed the lives of high school student Eric Forman and his closest friends and girlfriend. The demise of That '70s Show began when season seven ended, and lead actor Topher Grace and fan favorite Ashton Kutcher left the show to pursue other opportunities. This forced more interaction between the remaining characters, like Jackie and Fez getting together, and the introduction of a new character that never fit in with the group. Just like most shows where the main character departs, it became one of those TV shows with terrible final seasons.

There seems to be a theme of medical series being TV shows with terrible final seasons, and House, M.D. is no exception. Hugh Laurie's captivating performance as Doctor House couldn't redeem a bad final season thanks to the departure of actress Lisa Edelstein, and the introduction of new doctors fans didn't care about. The show ended with an anticlimactic finale, featuring Wilson dying and House faking his own death that just left fans confused.

Weeds told the story of a housewife turned pot dealer in order to make ends meet. The series started off strong, but as the show progressed the main character, Nancy, became less lovable as she got more involved with illicit activities, like getting involved with a smuggling ring. Nancy's parenting skills also lacked as the show went on, neglecting her youngest son and getting her oldest son involved with her drug-dealing ways. The eighth and final season of Weeds is loathed as having no depth and fans kept watching to justify all the hours put into the show. When fans admit to not caring about the ending, you know it's one of those TV shows with terrible final seasons.