Even in a broadcast-TV season upended by Hollywood strikes, this spring still went by in the traditional blur of 30-something finale episodes. And now that the dust has settled, we’re taking stock of the highs and lows that this year’s finales had to offer.
In the list below, we’re reflecting on 34 season or series finales that aired across ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and The CW earlier this year, with quick-hit recaps of each episode’s strengths and weaknesses. But when it came time to rank these three dozen-ish hours of TV — a near-impossible feat on its own — we turned to TVLine readers for help, ranking the finales based on the average grades you gave them in our reader polls at the time of each episode’s airing.
Note: Though most of the finales below aired in May, we also included season enders for shows like Found and Quantum Leap, which arrived earlier in 2024. And in the case of any ties — where multiple finales earned the same average score from TVLine readers — we’ve listed the tied shows in alphabetical order.
So, which finale(s) did you deem the strongest of the 2023-24 broadcast season? And which finales left something to be desired? Keep scrolling for a complete assessment of this spring’s season/series enders, then drop a comment with your thoughts on the results!
THE GOOD: The team rallied to another courtroom victory following a case that hit close to home for Tony Goldwyn’s Nicholas Baxter.
THE BAD: Did no one say goodbye to Camryn Manheim’s Lt. Kate Dixon, who departed the show after three seasons? And should we be worried that D.A. Baxter’s election was too close to call? — Keisha Hatchett
THE GOOD: Surprises galore (Jo really is pregnant, Blue came face to face with his amnesiac ex, Lucas aced the ABSITE test).
THE BAD: As Richard prepared to retire his scalpel, Catherine sacked Meredith, Amelia, Teddy and Owen! — Charlie Mason
THE GOOD: Benson gifted Maddie Flynn’s mother the necklace Stabler gave her; Stabler completely understood.
THE BAD: Fin got shot! — Kimberly Roots
THE GOOD: Darlene agreed to co-sign a lease for Harris; Darlene gave Becky the OK to let Tyler move in, to ensure they’re compatible before her sister makes any drastic moves.
THE BAD: Everything involving Mark’s efforts to save money for college (the repo man gig, the hacking lair, etc.). — Ryan Schwartz
THE GOOD: Max brilliantly outwitted the Big Bad (and has a new, secret beau!); Josh was reinstated.
THE BAD: Max’s ability to “hack” DNA in subpar conditions was a stretch; it looks like Josh/Serena are 100% dunzo. — Matt Webb Mitovich
THE GOOD: With Sam sidelined by exposure to a bioweapon, everyone on Jane’s team had a hand in taking down the Big Bad; the going-away party for Sam effectively doubled as the cancelled series’ sad aloha to viewers.
THE BAD: Was the show and/or Maggie about to bring back Jane’s recently teased mom? We’ll never know! — M.W.M.
THE GOOD: Plenty of tension courtesy of Ripley and Charles’ argument, and suspicions turning to Ripley when Pawel accused him of assault.
THE BAD: No big developments for Maggie and her new beau; Crockett’s impending exit. — Vlada Gelman
THE GOOD: Stunning shootout filmed on location at the Olympic ski jump site in Holmenkollen; closure on Scott’s whereabouts, even though it means he’s gone from the team.
THE BAD: After the two-episode hero edit that guest star Colin Donnell got, NSA liaison Brian Lange isn’t a keeper? — M.W.M.
THE GOOD: James Van Der Beek’s surprise appearance as the Walkers’ new cult-leader neighbor!
THE BAD: That we won’t get to see the above storyline play out. — V.G.
THE GOOD: Bobby surviving his cardiac event was a relief, along with Hen and Karen getting to keep Mara in their lives via Maddie and Chimney.
THE BAD: Christopher angrily leaving town in the finale as a result of Eddie’s affair — as if that storyline hadn’t done enough damage already! — Andy Swift
THE GOOD: Bode’s free, if unable to work for Cal Fire; hmm, did Gaby maybe not go through with her wedding?
THE BAD: It’s way too soon to introduce Gen’s likely dad/break Jake’s heart! — M.W.M.
THE GOOD: Eli and his girlfriend, Becky, are having a baby.
THE BAD: Emery got away with a briefcase full of chemical weapons, and Joe Jr. is the kingpin’s new right-hand man. — K.R.
THE GOOD: Thony and Jorge worked together to take down Ramona; Camila and her mom were rescued from the cartel’s workforce.
THE BAD: Nadia’s unexpected murder, just as she was finally getting out from under the cartel’s thumb. — Rebecca Iannucci
THE GOOD: A nice, dramatic showcase for Gary Cole and Katrina Law — including the promise of insight into Parker’s past.
THE BAD: Oh no, did Jess just quit the team (and Jimmy)?!?! — M.W.M.
THE GOOD: Resolution to Alec’s decades-old bombing mystery; Kylie joined the FBI as an independent contractor (read: more Travina Springer in the action).
THE BAD: Who kidnapped Rose?! — K.R.
THE GOOD: Nice, surprising-ish assist from the Rookie: Feds team; John and Bailey are on the adoption track; vulnerable Tim’s speech to Lucy in the elevator.
THE BAD: The “Argentina” action was a bit of an eyeroll; ugh, Bailey’s ex escaped prison. — M.W.M.
THE GOOD: Happy endings for everybody — well, except for Chaos Kate, who nobody liked, anyway.
THE BAD: This wasn’t just the season finale, it was the series finale — and the show was on freakin’ fire! — C.M.
THE GOOD: Tiffany got closure on Hobbs’ murder; there was no hint that Maggie might choose parenting over the job, as teased weeks prior.
THE BAD: Didn’t feel like a season finale — you have a three-season renewal, play with a cliffhanger! — M.W.M.
THE GOOD: M&A rescued Dasheka, the girl who’d been missing since the series premiere.
THE BAD: Can the team recover after walking out on Gabi when she confessed to holding Sir captive in her basement? And is Sir about to make good on his promise to kill Lacey? — K.H.
THE GOOD: Isaac realizing what he really wants and that he’s not ready to get married, followed by a dangerous but fun cliffhanger as Patience pulled him into the dirt.
THE BAD: Pete’s power limitation possibly putting a premature end to his romance with Donna. — V.G.
THE GOOD: The mysterious Merritt Folding finally showing up was a heck of a cliffhanger, and we fully support Todd deciding to go all-in with Judy.
THE BAD: We won’t get to see any of these storylines play out in future seasons, because CBS decided to cancel the show. — A.S.
THE GOOD: Crystal was revealed as the serial killer (twist!); Will imagined growing old with Angie (d’aw!).
THE BAD: Will placed Angie under arrest, sealing their fate as a couple. — R.S.
THE GOOD: The future-set series finale afforded everyone a happy ending*.
THE BAD: *A rushed happy ending, clocking in at just under 22 minutes. — R.S.
THE GOOD: A classy farewell to Chief Boden; the cliffhanger twist that Damon and Severide share a father!
THE BAD: Violet realizing too late that she messed up with Carver, who took a furlough and wouldn’t answer her calls. — V.G.
THE GOOD: After a harrowing brush with death, Voight made it out of that serial killer’s basement alive.
THE BAD: How is Voight going to mentally recover from that, especially now that Upton has left? — K.H.
THE GOOD: Bringing Jennifer Morrison into the fold as an old family friend with fresh intel on the Shaw family conspiracy.
THE BAD: The improbable wrap-up to the case of the week, in which Colter was able to coordinate with the FBI and take down a crooked sheriff — all in under 15 minutes. — R.S.
THE GOOD: Finding out that Max had been plotting with Ricky for months was a fun twist, as was the final reveal that she knows who killed Ellis’ brother.
THE BAD: Following Max and Ellis’ first kiss in the series premiere, we figured (slash hoped) they’d be closer to a second one by the end of the finale. — A.S.
THE GOOD: A fine farewell to family patriarch George Sr.; Sheldon’s arrival at Caltech.
THE BAD: Trusting that every viewer has seen The Big Bang Theory and knows that Mary and Missy are going to be OK. — R.S.
THE GOOD: An upgraded office and a permanent gig with the NYPD nicely cemented Elsbeth’s new home; Wagner sweetly showing up at Elsbeth’s fashion show.
THE BAD: No Good Wife/Good Fight cameos. (You can’t just name-drop Cary and then not deliver!) — V.G.
THE GOOD: Nell finally encountered a ghost she knew; Lexi and Edward’s strangely sweet moment in the hospital.
THE BAD: No resolution to the cliffhanger question of whether Duncan remembers Nell’s secret. — V.G.
THE GOOD: After two seasons apart, Addison and Ben were finally back together!
THE BAD: Now, there are two more leapers lost to time, with no way of returning home. — K.H.
THE GOOD: Thanks to his sister-in-law’s lousy love life, Deacon was able to dodge retirement and stay with 20-Squad; awesome Hondo/tanker chase stunt.
THE BAD: Tan warmed up to Alfaro, but we need more time. — M.W.M.
THE GOOD: Janine and Gregory’s super steamy kiss; Barbara getting hilariously tipsy at Janine’s party.
THE BAD: Having to wait until fall to see if that heated lip-lock will lead to an actual relationship. — V.G.
THE GOOD: Shaun making peace with Glassman’s death and starting a foundation in his honor.
THE BAD: Claire losing her arm! — R.S.
I loved the Abbott Elementary finale. Not just because of we finally got J&G but because it was a great pay off for what I call the season of Janine’s glow up. She got win after win this season and topping it off with the perfect party and getting the guy being icing on the cake.
NCIS should have been higher, but did such a good job with the cliffhanger that too many fans thought Jessica was really leaving. I predict that by the end of the season premiere she’ll be back on the team.
Also , why aren’t they show runners of these cancelled shows Not Trying to save them by shopping around to other streaming services or networks. I feel in the past we would hear about them. Looking into other networks and streaming about possibility, saving them for another season and stuff, but not anymore, not since the magnum pi reboot. Also.
Why do they want to move some of them? CBS shows to Paramount+. Also, streaming services Look at some of the canceled shows to see if maybe they’re worth saving. Because sometimes there’s streaming services don’t have a lot of content, you know But I guess sometimes it’s quality over quantity. And I get it procedurals are formulaic.But people like him so tap into that market Streaming services. I’m not talking about one case over the whole season.Kind of cause they already have that market.I’m talking about case of the week kind of thing
Because usually shows that are cancelled are cancelled for a reason. Most shows aren’t cancelled aren’t doing stellar numbers. They are doing poorly and aren’t making money. That alone doesn’t make sense for another network to pick them up.
Shows that get picked up by other networks when that happens have something working for them that make them valuable for that network. For example Brooklyn 99 was a perfect fit for NBC’s comedy lineup. It filled out their Thursday comedy schedule and was still doing great numbers. NBC actually passed on it originally and then it was sold to fox. It was also produced by Universal, NBC’s parent company. There’s a really good symbiotic relationship that makes production easier especially in later seasons when salaries start to get higher and costs go up when the production company and network are one and the same. It’s much less costly for the network if it’s being produced by their production company then it would be for Fox…and like I said the show was still in its prime.
This is just one example. Another is a show like Manifest or Lucifer. These were shows picked up by Netflix. They didn’t do well on network by the numbers but they were successful enough on steaming that Netflix was willing to give it a go.
Also Gilmore girls a show that’s been off the air for 10+ years still to this day is a massive streaming success. I think off the top of my head without verifying it was still a trending show during the pandemic. That is why Netflix was willing to pour huge money into a follow up series….and that was successful enough I guarantee they would again if they can get the cast together. I know they have Amy Sherman Palladino with a clause in her contracts that no matter what jobs she takes there is a cutout she can still do more Gilmore girls.
So it’s not as simple as just selling or shopping. Shows are cancelled for a reason. There has to be a viable reason for a network to want them. They have to fill some niche in their network. Like whatever network it was that picked up one day at a time needed a sitcom. It still didn’t do well but they just needed something to fill that slot. Nexstar knows it’s going to die and kill all original programming but it couldn’t shoot it all at once so it gave one last season to walker. It fired everyone it could on Superman and Lois…literally everyone except Superman. Lois, their family and one villain.
But moving a show off network onto a streaming platform doesn’t make it more valuable. We already don’t want to pay for more streaming. I’ve got 4? 5? I alternate but I couldn’t tell you without checking.
You don’t hear about it because the days of streaming platforms buying shows is over. It might happen from time to time but it’s done. Of course conversations and offers are made to try to keep shows alive but why get fans hopes up? The days of streaming platforms writing blank checks are over and they are tightening their belts. Netflix used to never cancel shows on cliffhangers and now we get unfinished stories all the time.
Remember the two years where we would get 3-5 comedy specials a week and about half we might not even have heard of the comedians? Netflix spent millions because it wanted to crush comedy rival networks. How many come out now?
You’re just not gonna see networks waste money on shows that already are proven to not bring in viewers. That’s just not good business. It doesn’t matter if 2 million people are mad.
And yea I am upset too because I just got into quantum leap a couple months ago and I’m not happy I only got to see Addison get stranded with Ben!!!!
But I also remember NBC is the same network that gave shows like the office and Parks & Rec second seasons and to be fair those shows never would’ve been renewed after their first seasons on other networks. Those first seasons while they showed potential were very clunky and awkward. Michael Scott in season 1 was a bad impression of Ricky Gervais and Leslie Knope was a bad impression of Michael Scott.
Also they gave Chuck 5 seasons!!!!!!! In spite of the ratings that was incredible!
I would swap Chicago PD and Med. I thought the Med finale was much better. I thought PD’s was meh.
As to Young Sheldon, most viewers probably saw the Big Bang Theory and were aware that Mary and Missy are OK. This was such an odd critique.
This is why TVLine is my to-go site when I get online ! Love this site ! You’re amazing !
Quantum Leap’s finale wrung me out!!! Such a rush of anticipation of being right there with Ben andthat they were finally reunited but left me wanting more🤩Absolutely captivating!!!