When do you personally think a tv series should have finished?

[Soubriquet]

The last season of Once Upon A Time should not have happened.

It ended with a good ending in series 6, and then tried to do an entire new series with the same story line. Bad failure.

Glee. Although there are some good episodes when the original cast left for college, it should have finished after they won nationals and graduated high school.

Handmaids tale. I think it should have finished after series one.

‘Last of the summer wine should have Died with Bill Owen. (Compo).

Mrs Brown's Boys should not have had more than the pilot episode.

Most tv sitcoms should not have more than two series and then a few one-off specials.

Dexter - brilliant series wrecked by the last season and the ending.
Walking Dead - I got really bored later on. I prefered the early zombie fights when the zombies stood a chance and the people were cornered. When it got to the point where one of them could take on hoards of zombies blindfolded it became dull.

Agree the latest season of Line of Duty wasn't great. Pains me to say it
as in many ways I still love it.

The Good Fight was a bit silly from the start and just went downhill. I don't think it's finished but I just stopped watching it.

I'm torn about The Handmaid's Tale. After season one it diverged massively from the book, but that's inevitable really as the book is so short and high-concept. In the second season I thought the internal logic was visibly creaking, but seasons three and (so far) four I've enjoyed; it's become pretty much a thing in its own right now as it's gone so far beyond the book's scope and by that metric I like it. I like what it has to say about the effects and consequences of war.

I've never seen a series worth watching after season 3 - at that point, it's lost all that was fresh about it , the plots are being stretched out, or are just add-ons to the original concept, and half the original actors have left.

Shameless was so fresh when it first appeared but it went on so long I lost all tolerance for it and was delighted when it finally shuffled off.

ER - great show, fantastic. Should have ended two series before it did.

@StCharlotte

Only Fools and Horses should have stopped before they got women. The first series was hilarious but I stopped watching by the end as it became sooo tedious. Talk about flogging a dead horse.

I think Only Fools and Horses should have ended when they got the money for the watch, that was a perfect, fitting ending, the series after that ruined it.

Totally agree about the Good Fight, Latest season ( is on here in Ireland at the moment, the last episode I watched as absolutely crap.

Agree with Once Upon A Time and Charmed!

OUAT had redeemed itself towards the end of Season 6, after steadily going downhill for the last few seasons, then it had a brilliant ending and then…pointless soft reboot. Having said that, I did like the final part of Rumple’s story and felt it was very good.

Charmed, I’m sure I read somewhere they were forced to intro the new characters for the final season so they could do a spin off, but the spin off didn’t happen and their budget was slashed. So we ended up with a really annoying character taking up precious storyline time and was pointless as her character didn’t even get the spin off.

As much as I adore Buffy and love season 6 and 7, I do think season 5 would have been a perfect ending, which it was originally intended to be before it got picked back up. A bloody sad, depressing one, but fitting.

I love/d the Royle Family but those Christmas specials were well below the quality of the actual series.

I think MTVs Teen Mom OG needs to stop (if it hasn't already, I'm not sure). The show was originally about the problems faced by young parents but the girls aren't even teens anymore, some of them are married with subsequent children and everything they do seems contrived to create drama.

EAstenders about 15 years ago !

@Soubriquet

Supernatural is a hard one

I thought the quality during the time of the leviathans really ruined the series to the point where I didn’t watch it again for years

But I’ve recently dived back in and I’m glad I did because we get characters like Charlie and Rowena. However, whilst some episodes are brilliant and hilarious (dean talks to dogs…and let’s not forget the scooby doo crossover) it just doesn’t have the same energy. I’m about to watch season 15 just so I can see how it ends

I gave up after season 6 tbh, I thought the first 5 seasons we're really good and then it felt like it had had a finale and ran out of story for me

Only Fools and Horses when they became millionaires

Brilliant last two episodes and ended on what we all hoped for them. Following episode just didn’t come close

Dexter series 1, 2 and 4 which was excellent (3 wasn’t so good)

Dallas before Bobby had that weird dream

Homeland after series 3

1 and 2 were so so good

Californication
Should have needed at season 4.
Was brilliant till then.

The most obvious of all!!!

Happy Days.

The episode before Fonzie pulled on his skis and jumped the thing with the fin.

Completely agree about once upon a time

Funnily enough DS(23) and I were just having this conversation.

Friends was on and it was Rachel's 30th birthday and DS said this is a sign that it should have ended-it started out being for ppl like him starting out in adult life-by the time they are 30 it is a different life stage and stopped being funny.

Do agree with PP the end did sort of wrap it up but think it struggled along for a few seasons before that!

And as a contrast Fawlty Towers made 2 seasons and every one a gem-
a perfect example of "leave them wanting more"

It takes a lot of bravery for a successful and money-spinning show to end where it should do rather than where it can do. The US The Office probably limped on for one season too many, whereas its British counterpart was the perfect length. Jane the Virgin was maybe 1-2 seasons too long in my opinion. The Handmaid’s Tale again has maybe stretched to its limits now. Six Feet Under was perfect. Ended at precisely the right time and with the best ending ever. Always leave the audience wanting more and all that. Russell T Davies is a writer who’s consistently good at this, he never brings his stuff back however much people want it. Queer as Folk was just one series with a feature-length episode the next year, Bob and Rose was just one series, Cucumber just one series and It’s a Sin just one series. I hugely admire him for telling self-contained stories so beautifully and not spinning them out either because they’re popular or because they’d be a cash cow.

@OhWhyNot

Homeland after series 3

1 and 2 were so so good

I agree, it just became ludicrous and I gave up on it.

Mount pleasant went on two series too many!

Silent Witness - it should have been buried after the first series

Yes, Silent bloody Witness limping on year after year. It'll be like Last of the bloody Summer Wine and go on for 40 years.

Haaaaaate Silent Witness