Five Famous Sitcoms That Never Got a Proper Finale
Say what you will about the final Seinfeld episode — namely, that it sucks — but at least it had a proper finale. While TV networks can be cutthroat about axing new shows with low ratings, when they cancel a long-running show — say, five seasons or more — they usually give the creators a heads-up so they can plan accordingly.
And, typically, the creators use that final season to build up to a climax and resolution. Say, a big wedding, a surprise pregnancy or a character’s unexpected revelation that gives new meaning and depth to the series. Or they can just call all their old guest stars and parade them into a courtroom set for an unsatisfying glorified clip show offering no new laughs (that Seinfeld finale is truly terrible).
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The point is, it’s good to know things are ending, and the long-running sitcoms below clearly never saw that axe falling.
Taxi
With 31 Emmy nominations and 18 wins, Taxi was more of a critics’ darling than a ratings king. It did well during its first two seasons, but it floundered after that. Despite sharply-written scripts and a cast filled with gems like Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd and Andy Kaufman, ABC canceled the show after its fourth season. NBC gave it a fifth season, only to cancel it again.
Taxi ended on the episode “Simka’s Monthlies” in which Simka, the wife of Andy Kaufman’s character Latka, is on her period, which causes her to act crazy (women!), jeopardizing her chances to stay in the country due to an immigration hearing. The episode has some solid laughs, but it wasn’t a satisfying way to say goodbye to such an acclaimed series.
The finale should have given some closure to series lead Alex (Hirsch) or even Elaine (Merilu Henner), as the show began with her character’s arrival and she always aspired to be more than “just a cabbie.” They even could have done something with Louie (DeVito), as he had the most growth in the series. Instead, one of the most lauded shows in sitcom history ended on a period joke.
The Jeffersons
When the Jeffersons moved from recurring characters in All in the Family to their own show, it would have been hard to predict just how successful they’d be. Not only did the show become a hit in its own right, but with 11 seasons, it even surpassed All in the Family’s run.
Unfortunately, despite spending more than a decade on CBS, the network unexpectedly canceled the show after Season 11. Cast members actually found out about the cancellation from the news and friends who called to offer condolences. As for the final episode, it was an entirely unremarkable one about George Jefferson leading a Girl Scout troop.
The saddest part about the unceremonious ending was that Isabel Sanford never seemed to get over it. Thirty years after The Jeffersons ended, she told the Television Academy Foundation, “I thought they could have at least called us back and maybe we had like, an hour closing show. You see, the other sitcoms had a closing show. Mary Tyler Moore, M*A*S*H and the others that were playing along with us at the same time, they all had closure. I thought we should at least have that respect. We had been running as long as they had.”
Bewitched
Behind-the-scenes drama led to an abrupt end for Bewitched. Before the show began, star Elizabeth Montgomery married William Asher, who would go on to direct most of the show’s episodes and eventually serve as executive producer. By the end of the eighth season, though, the couple was headed for a divorce, and Montgomery didn’t want to continue working with Asher, even though Bewitched was already renewed for two more seasons.
The final episode starred Samantha’s mother, Endora (Agnes Moorehead), who casts a spell that compels everyone at a dinner party to tell the truth. What’s especially lackluster about the episode is that it was a remake of an episode from Season Two. (The show began regularly producing remakes in Season Five — they even ended up doing a remake of one of their remakes.)
While it’s clear that Bewitched was creatively bankrupt by the end of Season Eight, it still had been a top-rated show for several years and deserved a real send-off.
Diff’rent Strokes
Diff’rent Strokes, the show about a wealthy white businessman who adopts two Black kids from Harlem, died by a thousand paper cuts. Dana Plato, who played Kimberly Drummond, the businessman’s daughter, struggled with substance abuse and got pregnant during Season Six, so she was written out of the show. New characters were introduced that just didn’t take off and the writing suffered as the show’s kids — especially Gary Coleman — got older. Diff’rent Strokes was canceled by ABC after Season Seven, only for NBC to save it and cancel it again a year later (a la Taxi).
The last episode was a much-maligned “very special episode.” In it, Arnold (Coleman) is working on an investigation for his school newspaper about some kids at school who are using steroids. In the end, the juicing jocks get busted, and someone delivers a preachy sermon about relying on one’s own abilities. It’s the kind of dull, lackluster ending that would have made Arnold say, “What’choo talkin’ ‘bout, NBC?”
The Wonder Years
From the beginning, The Wonder Years was meant to grow with its young star Fred Savage, who was cast at the age of 12. And, for a while, it did. But when Kevin was creeping up through his teen years, ABC shied away from showing his high school “sexual awakening,” especially with an airtime of 8 p.m. (time slots once really mattered).
The producers had plans for a seventh season — which would have been Kevin’s senior year of high school and a natural place to end the show — but ABC pulled the plug after Season Six. That season finale saw Kevin and Winnie (Danica McKellar) reunite after a break-up and possibly have sex for the first time (it was purposefully ambiguous). The axe then came down for a few reasons: one of them being disagreements over how much sex should be in the show, another the declining ratings and lastly the behind-the-scenes turmoil over a sexual harassment suit against the now 16-year-old Savage.
Before the episode aired, however, a closing narration from the voice of future Kevin (Daniel Stern) provided a summation of the life of the series regulars. In its most divisive move — one that still enrages fans — future Kevin says that Kevin and Winnie don’t end up together. Although, if future Kevin turned out anything like Savage did, maybe Winnie’s better off.
