History Main / FinaleSeason

* Season eight has been announced as the final season of ''{{DesperateHousewives}}''.

Some series get [[{{cancellation}} cancelled]] and CutShort. Other series last far longer than any fan had wanted and becomes a FranchiseZombie. But some series decide to end the show on their own terms, long before the network decides to cancel them and before the fans begin to tire of them.

* An interesting example is {{Chuck}} - The producers weren't expecting NBC to renew the show beyond the third season's initial 13 episode order, and wrote the thirteenth episode as a potential GrandFinale, only for NBC to order more episodes & for the season to end on a cliffhanger. The same thing happened with the fourth season, and when the show was renewed for a fifth season (Again with a 13 episode order), it was confirmed shortly after that it would be the final season.

* The final season of ''{{ER}}'' resolved several storylines, and brought back many of the show's beloved original cast.

* After ''{{One Tree Hill}}'' was renewed for a ninth season, it was confirmed as the final season

* Season eight has been announced as the final season of ''{{DesperateHousewives}}''

* It was pretty much known from the beginning that season eight would be the final season of [[Magnum P.I.]].

* It was pretty much known from the beginning that season eight would be the final season of ''[[Magnum P.I.]]''.

* It was pretty much known from the beginning that season eight would be the final season of {{Magnum P.I.}}.

* It was pretty much known from the beginning that season eight would be the final season of ''Magnum P.I.''.

* It was pretty much known from the beginning that season eight would be the final season of ''{{Magnum P.I.}}''.

* Similarly, all the commercials for the episodes of the last season of Monk always had the tagline of it being the final season.

* In ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', the entire final season is the Justice League fighting against Darkseid and the forces of Apokalips. This parallels with the final season of ''SuperFriends'', the show it was based from.

* AvatarTheLastAirbender was planned as a three season series from the get go, even having the seasons named Book 1, Book 2 and Book 3, like a book trilogy. Book 3 was their FinaleSeason, in which the battle with the BigBad gets resolved and all loose ends tied up.

* ''TeenTitans'' previously had {{Half Arc Season}}s focusing on a specific member of the team. The final season focused on Beast Boy, but also used the season to introduce a large number of teenage superheroes and villains, establishing an international Teen Titan network. The very last episode, "Things Change", also (sort of) resolves [[BittersweetEnding Terra's arc]].

* The final season of ''KimPossible'' changed the status quo of the show by having Ron and Kim dating, as well as casting Ron as a high school quarterback and Wade coming out of his room far more often. And let's not forget the ninja baby and the alien invasions.

* ''{{Smallville}}'' is currently in its final season, even putting the words "The Final Season" above the title in the commercials. This season has a new big bad, Clark revealing his secret to Lois, a new Vigilante Registration Act, apparently all leading up to Clark finally becoming Superman.

* ''{{Scrubs}}'' had two attempts - Season seven was ''originally'' this, as evidenced by Dr Kelso retiring & [[FanPreferredCouple J.D. & Elliot rediscovering their spark]], [[WhatCouldHaveBeen but the writer's strike forced production of the show to end prematurely]] & [[ScrewedByTheNetwork NBC refused to renew the show for an eigth season to give the fans the send-off they had been hoping for]]. ABC then picked the show up, and season eight continued the plotlines from the previous season and ended with J.D. leaving Sacred Heart. Then ABC decided they didn't want to only air the show for a year & renewed it again, but with new sets, a mostly new set of characters and a new focus (The show was now about med-students), the show was cancelled halfway through the season.

* ''{{Supernatural}}'' actually gets ''two''. The series was planned to run 5 seasons, but towards the end of the fourth, the [[TheCW CW Network]] elected to fulfill the ''six'' season contract with the producer and two lead stars. So, the fifth season ended as planned, and the sixth opens and closes new cans of worms, as well as potentially answering any lingering questions from the previous five.

This is not simply the last season of a series or a celebration of a series that ends before it can become a FranchiseZombie. The defining characteristic of The Final Season is that it is a planned final season and is announced as such from the very beginning. The Final Season will work to tie up any loose ends and answer any unanswered questions. During the Final Season, the writers may feel the freedom to tackle themes and stories they would otherwise not attempt, and to upset the [[StatusQuoIsGod StatusQuo]] so much, they risk JumpingTheShark. Think of it as a GrandFinale, but stretched across an entire season.

This is practically an EndingTrope, so expect unmarked spoilers.

* ''{{Scrubs}}'' had two attempts - Season seven was ''originally'' this, as evidenced by Dr Kelso retiring & [[FanPreferredCouple J.D. & Elliot rediscovering their spark]], [[WhatCouldHaveBeen but the writer's strike forced production of the show to end prematurely]] & [[ScrewedByTheNetwork NBC refused to renew the show for an eigth season to give the fans the send-off they had been hoping for]]. ABC then picked the show up, and season eight continued the plotlines from the previous season and ended with J.D. leaving Sacred Heart. Then ABC decided they didn't want to only air the show for a year & renewed it again, but with new sets, a mostly new set of characters and a new focus (The show was now about med-students), the show was cancelled halfway through the season. Fandom

* For the final season of ''{{Roseanne}}'' Roseanne won the lottery and had lots of OOC adventures; it turned out in the end to be All Just A Book She Was Writing To Get Over The Fact That Dan Had Died Of A Heart Attack.

* AvatarTheLastAirbender was planned as a three season series from the get go, even having the seasons named Book 1, Book 2 and Book 3, like a book trilogy. Book 3 was there FinaleSeason.

* ''{{Smallville}}'' is currently in it's final season, even putting the words "The Final Season" above the title in the commercials. This season has a new big bad, Clark revealing his secret to Lois, a new Vigilante Registration Act, apparently all leading up to Clark finally becoming Superman.

* ''{{Supernatural}}'' actually gets ''two''. The series was planned to run 5 seasons, but towards the end of the fourth, the CWNetwork elected to fulfill the ''six'' season contract with the producer and two lead stars. So, the fifth season ended as planned, and the sixth opens and closes new cans of worms, as well as potentially answering any lingering questions from the previous five.

* ''TeenTitans'' previously had {{Half Arc Season}}s focusing on a specific member of the team. The final season focused on Beast Boy, but also used the season to introduce a large number of teenage superheroes and villains, establishing an international Teen Titan network. The very last episode, "Things Change", also (sort of) resolves [[BittersweetEnding Terra's arc]].

* In ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', the entire final season is the Justice League fighting against Darkseid and the forces of Apokalips. This parallels with the final season of ''SuperFriends'', the show it was based from.