Why do some TV shows end so badly?

[BCRanger10]

Why, after however many seasons and developing such loyal fanbases, do some shows end so terribly? People actually (or, I guess, supposedly) put thought into these and took the time to write them. Did none of them think it through at all or did they just say "hey, we've had a good thing going for ten years. You know the best way to wrap this up? Let's completely change the story or add some last-minute plot twist that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Kill off a beloved character for no reason. Let's jump ship to work on a garbage movie and leave the show in far less capable hands."

Do they think these endings work? What's the worst series finale you've seen?

[Chazmatazz269]

“Game of Thrones” infamously botched the final season because they got ahead of themselves and, more importantly, Martin. “Lost” infamously went south because they began with like three seasons in mind, but once it blew up they got greedy and tried to stretch out material that just wasn’t there. It bears mentioning that the lessons learned from “Lost” essentially built the foundation for streaming series with potentially endless story arcs. Even if you hated how it ended, you probably loved one or more of the great series that we got as a direct result of the game changing after “Lost”.
Way back in the day, series ended poorly because they were always written open ended. Casts and crews never wrote finales until they got the news of cancellation. Which was typically very abrupt. So finales felt sudden and little closure could be found. We yearned for cast and show reunions when that happened.
One of my all-time favorite shows ended tragically. Joss Whedon created a fantastic series called “Firefly”. It was cancelled after one season. No finale. No closure. So he created a movie called “Serenity” to bring the story to a close for his die hard fans. However…


!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!


They killed off a number of key characters from the series. It almost felt malicious to hardcore fans who have long held out hope for the series to return. But then they have to retcon some of the main characters! So i suppose he was trying to give us meaningful closure, but it felt a little spiteful and ultimately it couldn’t overcome the residual hope for more. “Firefly” has become a cult classic in that it has actually gained audience since cancellation. Their panels are still extremely popular at conventions and fans get excited about small reunions on completely different shows. I started watching the remake of “V” and two of the actors from “Firefly” appear. I was instantly excited!
Some things just aren’t meant to be, i guess. “But a thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts. It’s a privilege to have (experienced it in the first place).”

[NathanDavis]

simple...

once the show becomes a hit... big companies without a soul (FUCK YOU DISNEY) buy out the creators, directors, actors, writers and everything else...

and so they sell out, and then rush the final seasons just to get out of the contract and the commitment

[AngryCarl3]

It's all about money. Producers won't end a show while they can wring another season out of it, and when the show gets cancelled it's too late. A lot of shows start with no clear idea of where the story is going, Lost and Game of Thrones being perhaps the most notorious examples.

[exitseven]

A lot of TV shows get cancelled suddenly so there is never a finale. Some shows purposely do not have a finale because it has been shown that having one decreases the interest in watching reruns.

[LC75LC71]

Executives didn't give a shit. Alf got captured, Sopranos went out with nothing, Seinfeld was different.. Married With Children didn't even get a proper ending.