For everything there is a season, and sometimes a midseason, and a time for every beloved series to end. From sitcoms to award winning dramas and reality staples, we lost a lot of good television shows that ended in 2015.
Reboots aside, the fact that shows still eventually call it quits is one of the few things that hasn't changed about how we watch TV these days. Streaming and marathons have not yet diminished the power of a series finale. That's still event television, and people sit down to watch a finale when it airs. We saw that this year with the end of several long-running and beloved programs. It's not easily to get a finale right, either. How do you say goodbye to the characters and the world in a way that's fitting for both the show and the audience?
Because whether it sounds silly or not, the end of a television series is a mourning process — even if it only had one season. As we get ready to head into the new year, let's take a minute and pay tribute to all the shows that we lost in 2015. May they go on without us. Feel free to queue up your favorite "In Memoriam," music to set the mood.
1. Parks & Recreation
Pour out some syrup (directly onto your waffle) for the end of Leslie Knope.
2. Extant
The CBS summer science fiction series was canceled after two seasons.
3. Mike & Molly
Allegedly it won't return for a sixth season, according to actress Rondi Reed, but CBS hasn’t confirmed this. At least it would free up Melissa McCarthy for the reported Gilmore Girls Neflix revival, right?
4. Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris
It was short-lived, but so ambitious. Godspeed.
5. Hannibal
Oh Will, how I loved to worry about your well-being. How I indulged in this beautiful, yet unsettling show....
6. Mad Men
The end of Mad Men hit me in ways I didn't expect. This truly is the end of an era, and I miss it every day.
7. Glee
May we never forget the Gleeks that sung and danced their way into our hearts.
8. The Mentalist
You were like Psych, and Sherlock, but different. May The Mentalist pave the way for more creative procedurals in the future.
9. Justified
We don't have too many modern day Westerns, and for that reason, I tip my hat to the departed Justified.
10. The League
Another FX show to bite the bullet, I look forward to seeing the comedians who made up this fantasy (football) series in future projects.
11. Parenthood
This show had a long, full life, and creator Jason Katims basically can't go wrong, but it was still sad to see it go.
12. Two And A Half Men
Though, with a show that's been on for so long and is already dominating reruns, is it ever truly gone?
13. Nurse Jackie
A moment of silence for Edie Falco's series, which knocked it out of the park every time.
14. Cougar Town
Its cult audience knew that rebranding wasn't necessary, but they couldn't save it in the end.
15. Community
Speaking as someone who actually watched and enjoyed Season 6 on Yahoo, I think it's time to finally say goodbye to Community.
16. Looking
While there will be a follow-up movie in 2016, this year saw the end of HBO's quiet, and often very touching, San Francisco-set comedy.
17. Hemlock Grove
The Netflix series aired its third and finale season in 2015.
18. Hart of Dixie
The CW may be following a different path, but at least Hart of Dixie had four seasons.
19. The Following
Kevin Bacon's Fox series concluded at the end of Season 3. It's one of many thrillers we said goodbye to, while covering our eyes with our fingers, in 2015.
20. Revenge
Moment of silence for Revenge, which helped usher along most of the costume mysteries we're obsessed with today.
21. Key & Peele
While I'm sure both Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele will be in our lives for a good long while, their sketch show had a fun format. Fond memories.
22. Kroll Show
Another sketch show that kicked the bucket in 2015.
23. America's Next Top Model
I think we all took ANTM for granted, and so this news came as a bit of a shock. However, whether a show was canceled in 2015 or allowed to bow out gracefully, letting go is still a process. Here's to 2016, hopefully it won't be so harsh on us!
Images: Courtesy of AMC, Giphy (23)
