The Art of a TV Show Finale

Today as I was reading various articles, I came across an interview with David Shore who is the executive producer of House. I found this article to be very interesting because he talked about how difficult it was to bring the show to end.  It got me thinking. Show finales, if you think about it, must be the most difficult thing to pull off.  Everyone will be watching with critical mindsets.  It's no wonder finales are always such a big deal. They have to be.

Shore made a point about season finales that really stuck with me. The fact that they have been making one hundred and something quality episodes and yet a lot more people are going to analyzing their last.  This is not just him justifying the final episode, it's an honest point. A point showing that audiences should appreciate the long creative run the show had, and not so much on how it ends.

But it's so hard not to! Finales are always the shows that end with a big bang! I always look forward to the first and last episode of a season because it's then that the writers really try to give the audience an impression.  Take Dexter for example. Pretty much every season finale has ended with a cliffhanger. Something for the audience to look forward to in the next season. But when a show is coming to an end, that's a whole different story.

Not only does it have to have season finale type writing, but it also has to bring the story-line to a reasonable the end. An end that the viewers will be happy with (remember you can't please everyone). Any questions about the characters, plot, anything, has to be resolved or at least addressed in some way.  Take Lost's finale for example.  The writers actually did a really good job answering all the lingering questions in the audiences' minds while also keeping the Lost-esque (aka confusing) writing.

Ultimately, we have to remember that finales are very difficult. They might not end how you want them to. They may not be as good as previous finales. You just have to remember that the shows that are having major finales are the ones that already put out good content and have been working hard for years and years to please the viewers. Don't set out to just judge a show by the end. It's like judging how good an athlete is by seeing them score the last point in the game. It doesn't give you the whole picture.

Click here for the full article with David Shore.