Ending a TV show is notoriously difficult, but there are some shows which earn top marks for their series finales. There are some great shows which have terrible series finales that almost spoil them entirely, so naturally there's a lot of anxiety whenever a popular show decides to wrap things up. Fans fear a repeat of what happened to the likes of Game of Thrones, Seinfeld and How I Met Your Mother.

Fortunately, some brilliant TV shows save their best until last, delivering series finales which enhance the entire show. Despite the overwhelming expectations which are placed on series finales, a universally-acclaimed final episode is possible. It's important to wrap up the story in a way that feels unexpected but organic. A good finale should also deliver one last dose of whatever it is that fans love about the show. If a finale can do all this and more, it can achieve perfection.

10 The Good Place

Season 4, Episodes 13 & 14, "Whenever You're Ready"

The Good Place season 1 ends with a perfectly executed twist. What's even more impressive is that the show finds a way to keep building in the aftermath of this twist. What starts as a show about four strangers becoming friends and enemies in the afterlife evolves into something far more ambitious. By the end fo the show's fourth and final season, Eleanor and her friends hold the fate of the universe in their hands. The Good Place achieves this transition naturally.

The series finale reinforces the uplifting message of The Good Place, even though it's a bittersweet ending.

The series finale reinforces the uplifting message of The Good Place, even though it's a bittersweet ending. One by one, the main characters each accept the chance to move on and cease their existence. They do so having saved their own souls and achieved more than they could have hoped for. However, the series finale doesn't end with any of these teary goodbyes. It ends with Michael living on Earth as a human, finally reveling in the glorious mundanity of daily life. The Good Place suggests that nothing in the universe is more beautiful and miraculous than the everyday.

9 Veep

Season 7, Episode 7, "Veep"

Some of Veep's best seasons follow Selina Meyer and her entourage during election years. Armando Iannucci's razor-sharp American political landscape seems to be more precise when it can lampoon the shallow pageantry of presidential election campaigns. Selina's party is never explicitly revealed, but this doesn't matter because political ideologies and policy decisions never seem to be as important as public image. It's fitting that Veep's final season sees Selina desperately pursuing one more taste of power.

Armando Iannucci's razor-sharp American political landscape seems to be more precise when it can lampoon the shallow pageantry of presidential election campaigns.

Ultimately, Selina sells out everything she believes in for another four years in the Oval Office. This includes her own daughter and her loyal servant Gary, the only person who sticks by her side through thick and thin. Veep doesn't end on election night, however. The final moments flash forward to show Selina's funeral. She is ed as an ineffectual president who stood for nothing and helped nobody. This downbeat ending reflects Iannucci's dark view of the current political climate.

8 Breaking Bad

Season 5, Episode 16, "Felina"

Walter White's cancer diagnosis is revealed as an inciting incident in the first episode of Breaking Bad, so it always seemed likely that the show would end with his death. However, Breaking Bad's finale is surprisingly positive for Walt. He ensures that his family get the money from his work, he dispatches the last of his enemies, and he gets to die beside his "Baby Blue," as the closing song so aptly puts it.

Breaking Bad isn't so much a show about a good man turning to the dark side as it is a show about a man acknowledging the darkness within him.

While the scene with the machine gun spraying out the back of Walt's car is the most eye-catching in the series finale, the moment which best sums up the show's appeal is the conversation which takes place between Walt and Skylar. Bryan Cranston radiates power and malevolence as Walt tells Skylar that he has enjoyed his life as a drug kingpin. Ultimately, Breaking Bad isn't so much a show about a good man turning to the dark side as it is a show about a man acknowledging and exploring the darkness that was within him all along.

7 Blackadder

Season 4, Episode 6, "Goodbyeee"

Each season of British sitcom Blackadder takes place in a different historical time period. Starting in the medieval period, Blackadder eventually works its way up to the First World War. Although the show doesn't shy away from showing the depressing reality of the living conditions and social inequality in each era, it always does so with wit and lighthearted humor. This is what makes the more dramatic finale so powerful.

The poignant finale provides a surprising amount of pathos for such an irreverent and proudly silly comedy.

The earlier seasons of Blackadder might as well take place in fantasy realms, since their historical eras are so far removed from modern life that they feel whimsical and alien. The First World War setting of Blackadder's fourth season is different, and the show bridges the gap between history and the present with a poignant finale that provides a surprising amount of pathos for such an irreverent and proudly silly comedy.

6 Curb Your Enthusiasm

Season 12, Episode 10, "No Lessons Learned"

As soon as Larry David announced that Curb Your Enthusiasm was coming to an end, fans inevitably looked back to the notoriously divisive Seinfeld series finale. Curb's final season makes plenty of early references to the Seinfeld finale, leading people to believe that David was planning on doubling down on the idea, despite having to put up with years of criticism. Ultimately, Curb did repeat the Seinfeld finale in a way, but David put a fresh spin on it.

Simply having the audacity to repeat such a controversial idea is one reason why Curb manages to succeed.

The series finale is one of the best Curb Your Enthusiasm episodes ever, while many fans would rank Seinfeld's finale among the show's worst. One key difference, of course, is that Larry gets a happy ending after all, whether he deserves it or not. Simply having the audacity to repeat such a controversial idea is another reason why Curb manages to succeed. An underrated factor is that Larry continues some of his fights in the courtroom, yelling back at the witnesses on the stand. As the episode title suggests, Larry the character learns nothing. Larry the writer, however, pulls it off perfectly.

5 Succession

Season 4, Episode 10, "With Open Eyes"

In Succession's 21st century reconstruction of King Lear, the pretenders to the throne were never going to have it all their way. A happy ending for Succession always seemed impossible, not because the main characters couldn't have achieved their goals, but because none of them are good enough people for that to feel like a victory. However, the last season of Succession showed one or two signs that the dysfunctional Roy siblings might be starting to get along, and even enjoying each other's company.

It's a poetic finale that aligns with Succession's themes.

In the end, Succession provides a tragic, traumatic ending that sees the Roy family's frail alliance being torn apart by their long-held mistrust of one another and their deep-seated insecurities. It's a poetic finale that aligns with Succession's themes. It's also one of the show's best episodes in of fundamentals like dialogue, acting, and cinematography. The feel-bad ending seems inevitable in hindsight, but it still carries a devastating impact.

4 Six Feet Under

Season 5, Episode 12, "Everyone's Waiting"

Every episode of Six Feet Under begins with a death. Every episode, that is, except the show's critically-acclaimed series finale "Everyone's Waiting". The series finale begins with a birth instead. This subversive twist is more than just a gimmick, however. It's symbolic of the nuanced and mature way that Six Feet Under ponders death, while always linking it to new beginnings. Six Feet Under's series finale wraps up the show while touching on all its major themes.

Six Feet Under manages to provide a satisfying story conclusion for every single one of its main characters.

Six Feet Under manages to provide a satisfying story conclusion for every single one of its main characters. Some of these stories are tied together, while others are more isolated. This is just one way that Six Feet Under's ambitious finale meditates on the nature of life, death and change in a little over an hour. The closing montage is what truly makes the finale stand out, as the episode flashes forward to show each character's death. Still, Six Feet Under retains its positive, life-affirming outlook.

3 Gravity Falls

Season 2, Episodes 18, 19 & 20, "Weirdmageddon"

Gravity Falls gets darker than most cartoons aimed toward children, and its three-part finale took things to a new level. The three-part "Weirdmageddon" finale sees Bill Cypher and his demons running rampant in the town of Gravity Falls, bringing about an apocalypse of surreal torture. Bill disfigures Pacifica's father as soon as he arrives, before releasing a plague of flying eyeballs and creating a throne out of the townsfolk.

The best thing about "Weirdmageddon" is how much satisfying payoff the show crams into the finale.

"Weirdmageddon" raises the stakes like never before. Gravity Falls has plenty of great episodes which amount to very little. They're just entertaining and hilarious stories about the occult. The three-part finale breaks new ground for the show. It's a risky time to do so, but it pays off. In fact, the best thing about "Weirdmageddon" is how much satisfying payoff the show crams into the finale. Seemingly insignificant details from earlier episodes become the keys to defeating Bill, and each character's arc coalesces into a harmonious finale.

2 Fleabag

Season 2, Episode 6, "Episode 6"

With just two seasons, Fleabag is a miniature masterpiece, and it wraps things up perfectly. While season 2 has a different focus from season 1, Fleabag's series finale provides a satisfying conclusion for the major stories of both. Fleabag's flirtatious relationship with the Priest reaches its sad but inevitable ending, and she also gains some inner peace. By the time the series finale rolls around, Fleabag finally starts to onish herself of the guilt she feels over her best friend's death.

The brilliance of the Fleabag finale is that the season's arc ties into the broader narrative of the show.

The brilliance of the Fleabag finale is that the season's arc ties into the broader narrative of the show. Fleabag's relationship with the Priest and her struggles with her family in season 2 are vital to finally resolving the leftover trauma from season 1. To put the icing on the cake, Fleabag's final episode ends with a beautifully written and beautifully acted scene. It's fiendishly simple, but the catharsis of seeing Fleabag and the Priest finally talk things out is immensely satisfying. The closing moments see Fleabag let go of her fourth-wall breaking crutch and living in her own reality at last.

1 Schitt's Creek

Season 6, Episode 14, "Happy Ending"

The series finale of Schitt's Creek is called "Happy Ending" in reference to the surprise David gets during a massage on the morning of his wedding day, but it's also an apt description of the way the show sends off its characters. In an era when so many of the most popular comedy shows are trending toward cynicism, Schitt's Creek offers up an unabashedly sentimental finale that blows a kiss to its cast of lovable characters.

Schitt's Creek offers up an unabashedly sentimental finale that blows a kiss to its cast of lovable characters.

In the tradition of many great comedies, Shakespearean and otherwise, Schitt's Creek ends with a wedding. David and Patrick's wedding is a celebration of family, both old and new, and a rare happy ending for a queer couple on TV. However, the final episode is more than just a victory lap. There are still some hilarious moments, a helping of light jeopardy, and one last outrageous wig from Moira. It's one of Schitt's Creek's best episodes, and not just because it gives the fans what they want.