Random TV Shows That Had Supposedly Happy Endings (13 items)

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  (#1) How I Met Your Mother

  • Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan, Cristin Milioti

  After nine seasons, the titular mother (Cristin Milioti) of How I Met Your Mother is in the show for like a minute, then she dies. It feels like she only exists so that Robin (Cobie Smulders) and Ted (Josh Radnor) can end up together, even though viewers have seen time and again that Ted and Robin are fundamentally incompatible, and that their relationship is destined to fail. Also, what kind of dad talks to his kids about having sex with random women this much? Ted doesn't seem to have matured much from the series's start, and his kids are inevitably going to have some sexual hangups when they come of age. 
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  (#2) Chuck

  • Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Sarah Lancaster, Adam Baldwin, Ryan McPartlin, Mark Christopher Lawrence, Scott Krinsky, Vik Sahay, Julia Ling, Bonita Friedericy

  After watching Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah's (Yvonne Strahovski) love slowly develop over the course of five years, the final episode comes as a slap in the face for longtime fans. Just as things are starting to wrap up, Sarah is brainwashed, and forgets all about the couple's intimate history. 

  The episode ends with them kissing, which implies that Chuck has successfully restored Sarah's memories, but this hope is never explicitly confirmed within the show (the creators even refused to confirm or deny anything after the fact). The reality is, there's a 50/50 chance that her memories are not restored, and that the road ahead of the couple is long and hard. 

  When the show starts, the pair's love is all an act, as Sarah is tasked with impersonating Chuck's girlfriend so that she can protect the super-computer inside his brain. However, as the series progresses, Chuck's nerdy charm slowly wins over Sarah, and the two actually end up getting married at one point. If one is to believe that the finale ends on a negative note, then the couple has to go through this courting all over again, and lightning may not strike twice. 

  Even if Sarah does get (some of) her memory back, the mere fact that Chuck has to convince his wife she loves him is heartbreaking, yet the show presents this tragedy in a characteristically lighthearted manner. Sarah has it even worse, as her memory was forcibly removed from her head, meaning that her life was basically stolen. 
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  (#3) Friends

  • Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow

  Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) end up together (because of course they do); Monica (Courtney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) have twin girls and embark on a life outside the city; and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) marries Mike (Paul Rudd), who perfectly counterbalances her zaniness. Happily ever after for the whole gang, right?

  Wait, what about Joey (Matt LeBlanc)? By the end of the series, Joey is in his late 30s, and is totally alone, even though he seems focused on finding true love. Viewers get the vibe that Joey's just along for the ride, so his future doesn't really matter, but that's kind of tragic when you think about it. To make things worse, Joey — the two-season spin-off that focuses on the struggling actor — sees him in a one-sided relationship with a woman who doesn't share his desire to get married. Poor guy. 
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  (#4) Frasier

  • Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce

  In the final season of Frasier, the titular character (Kelsey Grammer) starts dating a matchmaker named Charlotte (Laura Linney) who he connects deeply with, even though they theoretically shouldn't be a good pair. As the series comes to a close, so too do many of Frasier's dreams. His radio program wraps up, as does his relationship with Charlotte, who moves back to Chicago. 

  As his romance fizzles and his family moves on — Daphne (Jane Leeves) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce) have their first child while Frasier's dad (John Mahoney) gets married — Frasier accepts a job in San Francisco, where he'll have his own TV show. As he's preparing to leave, he says goodbye to his loved ones, and acknowledges how they've moved on with their lives; it's almost as if he recognizes he has no place there anymore. Then the episode ends with the revelation that he's actually going to Chicago to win back Charlotte. 

  Fans have to wonder why he's passing up such an amazing career opportunity for a woman he's only known a few months. Does he truly want to spend his life with her, or is he simply envious of his family members, who've found fulfillment through love? Plus, whatever happened to the whole Roz (Peri Gilpin) and Frasier thing? There was something there and it feels like a missed opportunity. 
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  (#5) Weeds

  • Mary-Louise Parker, Hunter Parrish, Alexander Gould

  To be fair, it's pretty ambiguous whether or not the ending of Weeds is supposed to be happy. Since the final scene depicts Nancy (Mary-Louise Parker) contentedly smoking a joint with her entire family on the porch (despite their myriad issues and separations), the implication is that things have kind of worked out, especially since she makes a mega-lucrative deal with Starbucks to sell off her empire. Are things really all good though? 

  Andy (Justin Kirk) and Nancy's relationship has finally come to a definitive end, and while that may be for the best, it still leaves each of them alone after years of tumultuous romances. Silas (Hunter Parish) is happy with his wife, but he's made it clear that, while he still loves his mom, he doesn't want a relationship with her, which is sad no matter how you slice it. Things aren't quite as bad for Doug Wilson (Kevin Nealon), as he's managed to become a successful fraudulent cult leader, which at least comes with some benefits.

  Then there's Shane (Alexander Gould) who, despite his best efforts, has fallen victim to substance abuse and kind of hits rock bottom. He's an alcoholic detective, and although his family eventually convinces him to try rehab, he's somehow managed to end the show more unhinged than he was at the start. Best case scenario, it's all bittersweet.
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  (#6) Battlestar Galactica

  • Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber

  At the conclusion of Battlestar Galactica, the surviving 38,000 humans and Cylons land on a prehistoric Earth, just as humans are starting to come into being. To dispose of all their dangerous, advanced technology, Anders flies their fleet into the sun. Following this, it is revealed that the entirety of Battlestar Galactica is actually a creation myth, or at least the fictional origin of modern humanity.

  That's all pretty cool, but destroying all that technology means that humanity has to go through thousands of years of bloody history. If humans had access to Cylon regeneration from the very start, there would be no tragic assassinations or mass genocides in our history books today. Plus, the humans and Cylons destroyed their own cultures, and probably won't be able to survive in the harsh, uncultivated Earth, considering how dependent they are on technology.
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  (#7) Happy Endings

  • Eliza Coupe, Elisha Cuthbert, Zachary Knighton, Adam Pally, Damon Wayans Jr., Casey Wilson

  For a show called Happy Endings, the series's finale is ironically anything but happy. First of all, the show was canceled after only three seasons, despite having an avid fan base and generally good ratings. For the characters on the show, things didn't work out too great either. Penny's (Casey Wilson) engagement ends shortly before the series finale, Max (Adam Pally) continues to be a slovenly mess with no real direction, and Dave (Zachary Knighton) and Alex (Elisha Cuthbert) break up once again, putting everyone right back where they were when the series started. Basically, the three years viewers followed these people's lives consists only of wasted time. 
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  (#8) Girls

  • Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet, Adam Driver

  Early on, Girls tells the story of a weird, narcissistic, generally unpleasant person, who is surrounded by people who share her issues to some degree. As the show comes to a conclusion, not much has changed, except that the protagonist Hannah (Lena Dunham) is now having a baby.

  First of all, the baby's name is Grover, so he's starting off life with a supreme disadvantage; the Muppet jokes practically write themselves. On top of that, there's not a whole lot to suggest that Grover is going to have a wonderful upbringing, given how characteristically awful his mother is. 

  Would anyone really be surprised if the selfish Hannah decided to give up Grover for adoption after like a year, just as the baby was starting to recognize and love her? She'd probably say that raising children is harder than she expected, or something equally pithy. 
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  (#9) Mad Men

  • Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser

  In the final moments of Mad Men, Don Draper (Jon Hamm) seems to have escaped the hollow world of advertising; the viewer finds him smiling on a beach, seemingly at peace. Then comes the successful Coca-Cola campaign that uses Don's slogan, and viewers are hit with the immediate realization that Don never escaped that world at all.

  His peace is fleeting, as he's more than happy to dive right back into what's apparently the only life he knows how to live. From the first episode, it's clear that Don thinks highly of himself, and his character doesn't grow or mature much over the course of the series. While, technically, he's returning to a successful career, the very premise of the show is that his job is ultimately his undoing. There's a reason no one likes being called a "mad man." 
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  (#10) Newhart

  • Bob Newhart, Mary Frann, Tom Poston

  Newhart is the story of a lovely couple who escapes the rat race of New York to run a quaint bed and breakfast in Vermont. Dick (Bob Newhart) and Joanna Loudon (Mary Frann) seem to be genuinely happy in their serene corner of the world, as they're surrounded by odd but lovable townsfolk. Then comes the jolting finale, wherein Bob Newhart wakes up in his bedroom from The Bob Newhart Show. Emily (Suzanne Pleshette), his wife from that show, is lying next to him, and he realizes that the entirety of Newhart was actually a dream.

  It's unclear whether this shocking turn of events is supposed to be happy or sad, it just is. Viewers have a lot to think about; the life of Dr. Bob Hartley — a happily married psychologist living in Chicago — seems to be objectively good, but the dream suggests that he'd be happier living a quieter, simpler life. Then there's the fact that Joanna isn't real. She might amount to little more than Bob's personal take on the male gaze, or she could embody Bob's ideal partner and primary missed connection; either way, this finale throws all of the characters' psyches into disarray. 
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  (#11) Rules of Engagement

  • Patrick Warburton, Megyn Price, Oliver Hudson

  Rules of Engagement comes to a reservedly sentimental end (as most run-of-the-mill sitcoms do) with a final few gags thrown in on the way out the door. One of these gags is Russell (David Spade) marrying his assistant Timmy (Adhir Kalyan) to save the young man from deportation.

  While this makes for a passable (if insensitive) one-time gag, Russell and Timmy's marriage is obviously a sham, and the faux couple are undoubtedly in for years of close, horrifying government scrutiny. How funny is the joke when, years after the finale, Russell is caught locking lips with a woman in public? When that happens, Timmy will be swiftly deported, and Russell will potentially face jail time. 
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  (#12) The Office

  • Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B. J. Novak, Melora Hardin, David Denman, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nunez, Phyllis Smith, Ed Helms, Mindy Kaling, Paul Lieberstein, Creed Bratton, Craig Robinson, Ellie Kemper, Zach Woods, Amy Ryan, James Spader

  There has always been some debate surrounding the character of Jim Halpert (John Krasinski); many see him has the lovable nice guy, whereas others whole-heartedly believe that he's actually a terrible person, and that Pam (Jenna Fischer) is much better off without him.

  While many fans of the show were delighted when Jim and Pam's rocky relationship finally worked out, one has to wonder whether Jim is truly a supportive husband and co-parent, or whether Pam's just getting stuck with an additional child by marrying him. Throughout the series, Jim consistently puts his needs above Pam's, and their marriage goes on hiatus in season nine when he takes a job in Philadelphia (without telling his wife). 

  Jim's "dream job" causes him to miss important events in his children's lives, and Michael and Dwight are left to help Pam raise their kids. On top of that, he dumps $10,000 of their savings into this new company (again, without telling Pam). This all leads up the the series finale, wherein Pam decides to reward Jim's impersonal sweetness by putting her life on hold so that they can relocate to the company's new branch in Austin, TX. 

  While this is all great for Jim, there is a mountain of evidence to suggest that the sweet, selfless Pam is destined for a life of misery. In addition to having no real future career path in mind, the way the finale wraps spells trouble for Pam's prospective future employment. Dwight fires the couple so that they can collect severance packages, which is great for Jim (who already has a new job lined up), but leaves Pam hunting for employment after having been fired from her previous position of 10+ years. There's no way this ends well for her. 
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  (#13) 30 Rock

  • Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, Scott Adsit, Judah Friedlander, Katrina Bowden

  The final scene between Liz (Tina Fey) and Jack (Alec Baldwin) is beautiful; the duo expresses their mutual feelings of platonic love, just before Jack — who has left his job as head of the network — sails off on his boat into the cold, dark night. After decades spent climbing the corporate ladder left him unfulfilled, he's hoping to start a new life of adventure that will allow him to experience true happiness. 

  That's all well and good, but at this point, Jack is a 60-something-year-old man who has no love in his life (beyond the one true friend he's sailing away from) and not much direction. Sure, he's rich and he'll probably be fine financially speaking, but is there any real indication that he's going to find happiness? If he's looking for human connection, he's unlikely to find it on the archetypally isolating ocean, and the show never suggests that he's become less of a money-hungry businessman, despite his rejection of full-time work. 

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