The greatest TV finales (no spoilers)

A great series finale is rarer than a great pilot. The first episode only has to make a promise; the last one has to keep it, after years of stories, characters and expectations. When a finale works, it changes how you remember everything that came before it.

The shows below are widely regarded as having stuck the landing. Nothing here gives away what happens. Instead, each entry explains what kind of ending to expect and why it lands, so you can decide whether the journey is worth starting.

Six Feet Under (2001)

Six Feet Under2001 · Show Watchlist

Alan Ball's HBO drama follows the Fisher family, who run a funeral home in Los Angeles, and every episode begins with a death. That structure gives the whole series a quiet theme about mortality, and the final episode, "Everyone's Waiting", pays it off more completely than almost any show has managed. Its closing minutes are still the first thing many critics mention when the subject of great finales comes up. Watch it from the start; the ending only works because of the five seasons behind it.

Breaking Bad (2008)

Breaking Bad2008 · Show · ★ 4.9 on TellyFlick Watchlist

Vince Gilligan's story of a chemistry teacher who turns to making methamphetamine is built on consequences, and its finale, "Felina", treats them seriously. What makes it satisfying is how tidy it feels without being cosy: loose threads are addressed, and the ending fits the character the show spent five seasons building. It's ideal for viewers who want a decisive conclusion rather than an open question.

The Americans (2013)

The Americans2013 · Show Watchlist

Created by Joe Weisberg, a former CIA officer, this FX drama follows two KGB agents living as an ordinary married couple in 1980s suburban Washington. The finale, "START", is remarkable for its restraint. Rather than relying on spectacle, it finds its tension in conversations and in what the characters have to give up. Many fans consider it one of the most emotionally precise endings in television drama.

Better Call Saul (2015)

Better Call Saul2015 · Show · ★ 4.5 on TellyFlick Watchlist

A prequel had every reason to end predictably, since part of the destination was already known. Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould instead used the final episode, "Saul Gone", to focus on character rather than plot, asking who Jimmy McGill really is underneath all the aliases. You don't need to have seen Breaking Bad to follow it, though fans of both shows get an extra layer.