History Main / SeriesFauxnale

* Music/{{Queen}}'s 1989 album ''Music/TheMiracle'' was made after Music/FreddieMercury's HIV/AIDS diagnosis, which he disclosed only to his family and bandmates. Since viable antiviral medications for HIV weren't available at the time, the virus was a functional death sentence, leading Freddie to record the album under the impression that it'd be his last with Queen. However, he was miraculously able to live long enough to record 1991's ''Music/{{Innuendo}}'', though only managed to record vocals for three songs on ''Music/MadeInHeaven'' before his passing in November 1991 (the rest were cobbled together from whatever the band had on-hand).

* Music/{{Queen}}'s 1989 album ''Music/TheMiracle'' was made after Music/FreddieMercury's HIV/AIDS diagnosis, which he disclosed only to his family and bandmates. Since viable antiviral medications for HIV weren't available at the time, the virus was a functional death sentence, leading Freddie to record the album under the impression that it'd be his last with Queen. However, he was miraculously able to live long enough to record 1991's ''Music/{{Innuendo}}'' and much of 1995's ''Music/MadeInHeaven'' before his passing in November 1991 (with his bandmates filling in the gaps on the latter), leading them both to serve as the collective finale to Queen's career with Freddie.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'':
** "Mortal Folly" and "Mortal Recoil" were originally intended to be the final episodes of the show in case Creator/CartoonNetwork didn't renew the show for a third season.
** The original series ended with "Come Along With Me", an hour-long finale that concluded many of the show's major plotlines, most notably [[spoiler:Betty's quest to cure Simon of being the Ice King]]. Two years later, a series of specials called ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTimeDistantLands'' began streaming on Creator/HBOMax, following various characters after the events of the GrandFinale.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' has the aptly titled episode "The Finale", the final episode of the show's second season. The episode parodied the notion of {{negative continuity}} by showing that everything the Wattersons have done in the series had serious consequences, leading to them being imprisoned and, at the end, mobbed by the entire town who wants them dead. The show would end up running for another four seasons, seemingly concluding with the [[LeftHanging cliffhanger ending]] of "The Inquisition" before a television movie was put into production two years later to tie-up the remaining loose ends.
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'':
** The infamous season 7 opener, "Hot Water", was written to be aired as a finale when the writers weren't certain Fox would renew the show. When it ''was'' announced that ''American Dad!'' would continue, the episode became a non-canon season premiere.
** "Blagsnarst: A Love Story" is another, with the entire series revealed to be Stan reading a story that chronicles how Kim Kardashian was born and putting a book called ''American Dad! on FOX'' on a shelf next to some classic novels (''The Brothers Karamazov'', ''Moby Dick'', ''From Whom the Bell Tolls'', and ''War and Peace'').
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'': Even though the ending of [[Recap/AmericanDragonJakeLongS02E20Homecoming Homecoming]] does leave plot points (Rotwood knowing Jake's a dragon, Jake's dad not knowing he's married into a magical family, etc.) unresolved, there is still a lot of finality to this episode, to the point where it could serve as a satisfactory GrandFinale and one could be forgiven if they thought it was. The show's main villain is dead, the overarching threat of the season is neutralized, and Jake and Rose's relationship, [[MythArc which is ostensibly the show's main plot]], is seemingly permanently concluded.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'': Despite the massive CliffHanger ending in which [[spoiler:the main character is seemingly murdered]], the Season 7 finale was this. By WordOfGod, they weren't sure if they were going to get renewed or not, but felt that [[spoiler: Archer's death]] would be a good place to end the series if they didn't. However, they also included a few hints towards ways the CliffHanger could be resolved if they did get renewed, which, luckily for fans, they did.
* ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'':
** The series played with this by naming one SeasonFinale "Last Last One Forever and Ever" and ending it with the titular trio moving away, with Carl poignantly saying, "[[TitleDrop Truly, they were an Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]." Then it was revealed that the producers were already planning new episodes, and the next aired episode revealed that the Aqua Teens moved into the other house next to Carl's. At the end of the episode, the Rabbot from the first episode returns and destroys the house. The Aqua Teens fully expect a SnapBack, but it doesn't happen, so [[StatusQuoIsGod they go back to their old house]].
** The episode "The Last One Forever and Ever (For Real This Time) (We Fucking Mean It)" plays off as a GrandFinale, which ends with [[spoiler: Shake and Frylock dead and Meatwad starting a family.]] Three days later, the ''real'' final episode, "The Greatest Story Ever Told" was leaked onto the Creator/AdultSwim website (and aired on TV a week later), which was more in line with a typical ''Aqua Teen'' episode.
--->'''Shake:''' Come on, really?\\
'''Carl:''' So that's it? That's how they end it, the series?
* ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger'' has "Butterflies Are Free". For a show largely centered around the junior high experience, it focuses on graduation from junior high and even contains a retrospective montage with clips from earlier episodes at the very end. Despite this they do not GraduateFromTheStory. There's another season dealing with the characters in high school, and especially Ginger's maturing love life.
* According to [[WordOfGod Bob Forward]], the writing staff of ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' didn't know if they were going to get renewed, so [[spoiler:they gave the first season a DownerEnding, and the second season a ''massive'' SequelHook]].
* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'': The "War of the Worlds" 2-parter has a very GrandFinale-esque feel, with Ben having saved the entire universe from the Highbreed (including the [[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum Highbreed]] [[HeelFaceTurn themselves]]), and thus reaching his peak as a hero. The episode also ends with the Omnitrix resetting itself, with Ben implying that he had yet again been locked into another new set of 10 alien heroes, an obvious {{Bookend|s}} to both the original and ''Alien Force'' pilot episodes. Of course, this wasn't actually the end of the series (and nowhere near the end of Ben's [[WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien adventures]] [[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse overall]]), with him going on to have many, many more adventures afterward. The HereWeGoAgain ending was also {{retcon}}ned to Ben only having unlocked a single new alien, which he starts using in the third season.
* ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6TheSeries'': Even though a third season would be confirmed and the ending to the second season did leave plot points unresolved, there was still a lot of finality to the episode, to the point where it could've served as a satisfactory GrandFinale and one could be forgiven if they thought it was. Wasabi, [=GoGo=], and Honey Lemon graduate from SFIT, Hiro accepts Tadashi's honorary degree, Chief Cruz exonerates Big Hero 6 and Globby and is allowed to know their secret identities, and the threat that was started in the beginning of the series is completely neutralized.
* The third season of ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' was supposed to be the last, with "It's Goin' Down" to serve as the GrandFinale.
* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'': The season two two-parter "Summit To Save Earth" plays out a lot like an endgame for the series, with Gaia's rival Zarn teaming with all of the Planeteers eco-villains, traps Gaia and depletes her powers to the point she ages signficantly, and turns the world into a toxic pit. After the Planeteers and Captain Planet defeat their enemies and send Zarn packing, the titular 'Summit' goes off without a hitch and the goverments of the world all agree to do more to keep the planet cleaner, which evokes an emotional reaction from Gaia.
* Towards the end of the one and only season of ''WesternAnimation/{{Centurions}}'' there are several multi-part adventures that serve as functional series finales. There is the epic five-parter ''Man Or Machine'' which reveals the origins of the Centurions, Doc Terror and Hacker and involves a battle to liberate Skyvault from Terror and stop an alien machine from destroying humanity. Other candidates include' ''To Dare Dominion'' which appears to kill off Terror and Hacker completely and wipes out their base of operations after they unleash a near universe-consuming Lovecraftian nightmare, and ''The Better Half'', where Terror and Hacker's robot halves combine to create an even more powerful and malevolent threat, forcing them to ally with the Centurions and destroy those parts of themselves. The story also resolves the BelligerentSexualTension between Centurion Ace and Crystal Kane, as the two finally kiss.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheCrumpets'': "Sound The Alarm" was the final episode of the second season and the original batch of episodes. It features the developing relationships of the teenagers Caprice and Marylin, and Pfff and Cassandra, then it concludes with a ConcertClimax and Pa mentioning a "happy ending". Afterwards, two more seasons were made and also focuses on the teenagers. The episode retrospectively serves as a bridge to the events of the newer episodes; however it is the last episode of the original episodes' English dub which has its own voice cast and due to the show's partial Website/YouTube release and [[NoExportForYou geographic availability it's difficult to find some of these episodes including this one]]. The newer episodes have probably yet to be released in its entirety in English.
* The Season 3 finale of ''WesternAnimation/CraigOfTheCreek'' is a five-part episode called "Capture the Flag" and wraps up a long running plot-line featuring the king from the Other Side of the Creek in a massive event where characters from the entire series unite to defend their side of the Creek. However, a fourth season of the show was greenlit, making this no longer the show's swan song.
* Meet ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'', the show so nice it did this twice! First was the Season 2 closer, "Last But Not Beast", a crossover where Dexter and his family, Monkey, and the Justice Friends battle a {{Kaiju}}. Creator/GenndyTartakovsky didn't think this episode was a satisfying conclusion so he made an hour-long TV movie, "Ego Trip", where Dexter teams up with versions of himself from other time periods. Three years later, Creator/CartoonNetwork noticed the amazing ratings even the reruns were pulling down and produced two more seasons without Tartakovsky's involvement.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'': The Season 3 finale was written before the show was renewed for Season 4, and it shows. The show's main MythArc is resolved, as the heroes reunite the titular dragon with his mother, and there appears to be a chance for peace between humans and elves after they join forces against [[BigBad Viren's]] mystically mutated army, while Viren himself is given a DisneyVillainDeath. Even then, however, a SequelHook is thrown in at the last scene, where Claudia [[BackFromTheDead resurrects Viren]] and reveals that [[SealedEvilInACan Aaravos']] familiar has entered a cocoon, implying that the latter's own [[HiddenAgendaVillain agenda]] is going forward.
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'': "Til Nephews Do Us Part" ended the first season of sixy-five episodes. All the major characters, and many one-time characters, appear as guests at the wedding of Scrooge and Millionairia Vanderbucks. Scrooge finds out at the last minute that Millionaira is only marrying him for his money; but that doesn't save him from being chased into the parking lot by his old girlfriend, Goldie, brandishing a shotgun! ''[=DuckTales=]'' would go on to have an even hundred episode and a [[TheMovie cinematic motion picture]]. The real GrandFinale was the two-part (save-the-world) episode "The Golden Goose".
* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'':
** The Season 4 finale, "Take This Ed and Shove It", had Eddy refusing to grow up and [[AllJustADream dreaming he and the neighborhood kids have gotten old]]. This was followed by a fifth season which had its own Fauxnale, titled "A Fistful of Ed", in which the Eds finally end an episode being fully content. This was followed by a handful of specials and two more episodes, before the series was definitively wrapped up in [[WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddysBigPictureShow the movie]].
** [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Another one that almost happened]] for ''Ed, Edd, n Eddy'' was a series finale known as "All's Ed That Ends Ed". It was written specifically to act as the series finale, revolving around the Eds and the rest of the kids trying to stop the cul-de-sac from being demolished for a construction project.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'' had the final ''[[{{Crossover}} Jimmy Timmy Power Hour]]'', which was the intended finale for both shows. However, both series were renewed and the crossover rewritten as a result.
** The live-action movie, ''Film/AFairlyOddMovieGrowUpTimmyTurner'', which WordOfGod said was the canon ending to the series, retconning the ending to ''WesternAnimation/ChannelChasers''...then this movie got two sequels in ''Film/AFairlyOddChristmas'' and ''Film/AFairlyOddSummer'', the latter of which ends with Timmy [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascending to a Higher Plane of Existence]].
** ''Jimmy Neutron'' had the episode "The League of Villains", which was clearly intended to be the series finale, as it had a majority of Jimmy's enemies from the series gang up to try and beat him for good. Despite taking place after several episodes in season 3, it wound up airing [[OutOfOrder before those said episodes even premiered in America]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' has had FOUR of these. Five if you include the video game.
** "[[Recap/FuturamaS4E18TheDevilsHandsAreIdlePlaythings The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings]]" rather sweetly concluded the fourth season, and it was canceled for several years... until the straight-to-DVD movies, culminating in the second finale, ''[[Recap/FuturamaM4IntoTheWildGreenYonder Into the Wild Green Yonder]]'', which ended with all of the major characters flying into a wormhole, not knowing where in the universe it would bring them, but admitting it didn't matter if they never found their way back to Earth, as long as they had each other. Then the show was completely UnCanceled, and it was revealed that the wormhole led straight to Earth.
** Between the fourth season and the DTV movies, the ''VideoGame/{{Futurama}}'' video game (the story of which was written by the show's writers and so is considered official canon) also acted as a finale for the series, with [[spoiler:Fry, Bender and Leela all [[DownerEnding dying at the end]] and the game forming a StableTimeLoop]]. After the series was UnCanceled, the events of the game fell into CanonDiscontinuity.
** Season 6's "[[Recap/FuturamaS6E25Overclockwise Overclockwise]]" was a ''third'' series finale in which Bender overpowers himself and Fry and Leela worry about their future together. [[WordOfGod The show writers]] created it in case Comedy Central didn't pick up any more seasons. The network ended up greenlighting another season though.
** Season 7's "[[Recap/FuturamaS7E26Meanwhile Meanwhile]]" was a ''fourth'' series finale in which [[spoiler: Fry and Leela get stuck in frozen time together due to a time-reversing button being broken. Stuck in that instant, they make the most of it, get married, and grow old together. Once an unstuck Professor fixes the time button and sets it to make time go back to before the button was conceived, the events of this episode are undone, Fry and Leela content with living their lives over again.]] To add to the feeling of finality, Comedy Central followed up the premiere of this episode with [[Recap/FuturamaS1E1SpacePilot3000 the pilot episode]]. From its airing in September 2013 to the February 2022 announcement of 20 more episodes from Hulu set to air sometime in 2023, it was the longest-lasting of the show's finales.
* ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'': The season 2 finale plays a lot like the end of the series with the Justice League being honored, Gotham City restored, and Ivy and Harley driving off into the sunset with their new relationship. The show's crew themselves appear to have no idea whether they'd get a third season while the episode was made, given the final "The End?".
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' had two: "Starcrossed", which is the GrandFinale to the original series, and "Epilogue", and episode of ''Justice League Unlimited'' that was the ''chronological'' end to the DCAU as we know it. It should be mentioned that every season finale was a multi-part blowout in case they didn't get picked up again. The reason for this is because the previous DCAU series (''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', and ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'') never got any major pay-offs due to being dropped unexpectedly. When the creators got to do ''Justice League'', they decided to always end each season with a bang, just in case there weren't anymore.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': The episode "Let's Play Bye Bye, Yoghurt" was originally intended to be the series finale, and it had the characters re-create moments from past episodes and ended with a PetTheDog moment between [[HiddenHeartOfGold Mr. Cat]] and Quack Quack. The show wound up getting renewed, but [[UnfinishedDub this was the final episode of the English dub]].
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': The MadeForTVMovie ''[[WesternAnimation/KimPossibleMovieSoTheDrama So the Drama]]'' was expected to be the end of the show as a result of Creator/DisneyChannel's then-ironclad [[SixtyFiveEpisodeCartoon 65 episode rule]], complete with LastMinuteHookup. Then they got another season due to fan demand. Oddly enough, ''So the Drama'' debuted while there were still '''five''' unaired episodes (including one [[ThreeShorts Two Shorts]] episode) [[OutOfOrder that nominally took place before it]], and one of those episodes didn't even air until ''[[TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment over a year]]'' after ''So the Drama'', by which time the PostscriptSeason was in the works.
* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' had the episode "Lucky's Wedding Suit," in which Lucky and Luanne got married (and, in a shining example of ContinuityPorn, many single-episode characters showed up). The show was later renewed for three more seasons (with the final episode being "To Sirloin with Love" where Hank finally discovers that Bobby has a talent that doesn't embarrass him[[note]]identifying and inspecting the quality of meat[[/note]] and the series ends with everyone gathering for a small, neighborhood barbecue and showing that Kahn can give his daughter a break in studying, Luanne and Lucky are happy together as a married couple and parents, Dale can please his wife better than John Redcorn, and Boomhauer has a job [[spoiler:as a member of the Texas Rangers]]...and then there were the four {{Missing Episode}}s only viewable on syndication (both cable and free-to-air TV) and streaming sites, with "Just Another Manic Kahn-Day"[[note]]the episode where Hank and his friends use Kahn to build a grill after learning that he's very talented at robotics when he's not on his medication to curb his bipolar mood swings[[/note]] as the final broadcast episode).
* The final episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'''s first season, "Endgame", with the show first planned as a one-season MiniSeries. As such, it wrapped up all the major plot points: [[spoiler: Amon's true identity is revealed and he is defeated, Korra enters the Avatar State for the first time, the love triangles are resolved by Korra and Mako getting together, and Korra learns how to restore the bending that Amon had taken away from others.]] Nickelodeon would go on to commission a second season partway during production, followed later by a third and fourth during that season's production.
* Each season of ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' is a major example of the idea "write every season finale as if it will be your last." Season 1 ended with [[Recap/LittlestPetShop2012S1E26SummertimeBlues an episode where protagonist Blythe moves away to another state for a few years]]. Season 2 ended in a [[Recap/LittlestPetShop2012S2E25TheExpoFactorPart1 two]]-[[Recap/LittlestPetShop2012S2E26TheExpoFactorPart2 parter]] in which Blythe's amateur fashion design gained international recognition and she was on the fast track to going pro. And Season 3 ended on another [[Recap/LittlestPetShop2012S3E25ItsThePetFestPart1 two]]-[[Recap/LittlestPetShop2012S3E26ItsThePetFestPart2 parter]] with Blythe founding her own convention and becoming a celebrity via the talents her friends and family have demonstrated over the previous two seasons, even ending in a ClimacticMusic sequence. Every single time, the following season would begin with the ResetButton being hit, with the prior events being handwaved (if even addressed at all), and things returning to normal.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' had a shortened, 13-episode third season due to the series being intended as a SixtyFiveEpisodeCartoon. The season finale was a MusicalEpisode that [[NothingIsTheSameAnymore changed the status quo]] when main character Twilight Sparkle authored her own magic, [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence]], and returned as an [[WingedUnicorn alicorn]] [[LateArrivalSpoiler princess]]. However, the overwhelming popularity of the series resulted in a fourth season of the show and a SpinOff being ordered, leading to the episode being rewritten to loosely be the first part in a three-episode arc to be continued the following season. The main show would go on to have nine seasons, a movie, and a few specials, while the ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls Equestria Girls]]'' spin-off would see several movies, specials, and shorts in its own right.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'' has two examples of this.
** "Rise of the Spinjitzu Master" was originally intended to be the series finale, until the immense fan outcry and demand caused the show to be renewed for a third season.
** "Endings" has all the trappings of a series finale, right down to the title. Downplayed however, as while the show is still going, this episode would end up being the GrandFinale for the Hageman Brothers era of the show and the last episode [=WILFilm ApS=] animated.
* A rather GenreSavvy example: the season one finale of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' titled "Phineas and Ferb Get Busted" was actually produced halfway through the first season; that way the producers had a final episode that they could neatly wrap up the series with all ready to air, in the event that the Creator/DisneyChannel didn't renew the show for a second season or ended up cancelling it prematurely. [[HilariousInHindsight The series naturally went on to become one of the longest-running shows in Disney Channel history.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' originally ended with the season five episode MusicalEpisode, "See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey" in which the girls make a deal with a reality-altering gnome to rid Townsville of the villains plaguing it in exchange for their powers. Realizing that evil still lurks in Townsville in the form of a cult formed by Gnomey, and that evil will always exist as long as there is good, the deal is broken and they go to stop him. For years, this episode [[MissingEpisode never aired in the United States]], only becoming available years after the show's run through the complete series DVD set and digital download.
* ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' ended its third season assuming that there wouldn't be a fourth season, [[WrapItUp wrapping things up nicely]]. It unexpectedly [[UnCanceled got renewed for a fourth season]] and the creators went into ''that'' [[TemptingFate with the expectation]] they would have at least five seasons... and [[YankTheDogsChain promptly got canceled again]].
* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' parodies this in "Forgetting Sarick Mortshall", the ninth episode of Season 5, which ends with Rick realizing what a toxic and unhealthy relationship he and Morty have and refusing to reunite with him, instead telling Morty that he's LeavingYouToFindMyself. It's [[StylisticSuck deliberately]] written to provide an [[TastesLikeDiabetes overly-cheesy]], [[DeusExMachina abrupt]], [[AntiClimax anti-climactic]] wrap-up for Rick's and Morty's character arcs, complete with ending on an AwardBaitSong and the post-episode behind-the-scenes segments with the writers treating it like Rick and Morty have truly "broken up" for good. There was little fear of viewers taking it seriously considering that the series had already been renewed at this point for many more seasons, and what's more, "Forgetting Sarick Mortshall" wasn't even the ''season'' finale. The next episode, "Rickmurai Jack", hit the ResetButton and [[StatusQuoIsGod restored the status quo]] within the first ten minutes.
* Although there aren't many loose ends to tie up, most ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' season finales involve [[RunningGag the show being canceled]], should [[LifeImitatesArt life imitate art]]. Given the show's high ratings during it's peak led to things like two-season orders, at this point, it's purely a RunningGag.
* The original run of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' ended with an episode where Angelica was moving away, and Tommy told the others he would miss her. When the others asked for clarification, Tommy explained how it was Angelica who made them all friends, complete with a flashback origin story. It turned out Angelica didn't have to move, but it ended up in one of her purest JerkWithAHeartOfGold moments, and because of that the series later got renewed.
* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' had the episode "Aku's Fairy Tales", a largely comedic episode centered around [[BigBad Aku]] telling fables to a group of young children, [[FracturedFairyTale altered to feature him as the protagonist and Samurai Jack as the villain.]] After failing to entertain them, Aku leaves frustrated. The kids tell their own story, wherein Samurai Jack reaches a portal to his own time period after striking down Aku once and for all. This episode, despite taking place in the imagination of children, was meant to provide some semblance of closure if the show were not renewed.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': The season 23 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS23E9HolidaysOfFuturePassed Holidays of Future Passed]]" was slated to be the final episode, as FOX was having budget issues with the show. Once everyone agreed to take a pay cut in order to keep the show afloat for at least two more seasons, this was re-framed as a ChristmasEpisode. The show is currently on track for 34 seasons. Even before this, "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E22BehindTheLaughter Behind the Laughter]]" back in Season 11 has an air of finality to it. Given its setup and how most of the old staff left after this, it feels like this was the backup in case the show ended here.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' did this with "You're Getting Old". Many people at the time believed that it was, in fact, a surprise finale, as the show's creators said they were exhausted from working on it.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
** The ending narration of the Lost Episode, "The Sponge Who Could Fly", implies that it's truly the last episode. Regardless, a few episodes were made soon after to start production back in preparation of the then- upcoming ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobSquarePantsMovie''.
** Said movie was indeed supposed to be the finale, but naturally, the series carried on due to ExecutiveMeddling, and even spawned more movies (albeit with no direct links to the first one).
** "[=SpongeBob=]'s Last Stand" was thought to be the GrandFinale (and its name also suggests this), with a NearVillainVictory (Plankton has successfully driven away business from the Krusty Krab, and Mr. Krabs was ready to hand over the Krabby Patty secret formula, until a bunch a jellyfish stopped that from happening by going on a rampage, making it a DidntThinkThisThrough moment for Plankton).
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': "The Wrong Jedi" at the end of the fifth season gives this impression, being an emotionally heavy conclusion, but they did intend for a sixth season that was meant to be more of an epilogue. After the Disney purchase of Lucasfilm the sixth season was truncated and released on Netflix, culminating in [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS6E13Sacrifice "Sacrifice"]], an episode focusing on Yoda that brought the show to a philosophical resolution but largely disconnected from the actual war. It was then {{Uncanceled}} with a seventh and final season on Creator/DisneyPlus, providing an affirmative conclusion by [[SimultaneousArcs intermingling events]] with ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', the official conclusion to the war.
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'':
** Season 1's [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E25MirrorGem "Mirror Gem"]]/[[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E26OceanGem "Ocean Gem"]] was approached as though the network would decide not to renew the series for a second season. The episode revealed that the Crystal Gems are [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien aliens rather than mystical beings]], that all the monsters they've fought [[WasOnceAMan are also Gems]], and has Steven successfully use his abilities on command for the first time. The episode's ending conversation between Garnet and Pearl was also originally meant to be more conclusive. The show ended up being renewed for more episodes early enough that it was replaced with a vaguer exchange that would help set up the remainder of a now extended season, with the two-parter now being a [[MidSeasonTwist midseason]] finale.
** Season 5's finale [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E28ChangeYourMind "Change Your Mind"]] concluded the show's MythArc ([[spoiler:the Crystal Gems defeat the Diamonds and convince them of the error of their ways, the Corrupted Gems are cured, Steven makes peace with his mother's legacy, Homeworld is heading towards a brighter future]], and most of the major plotlines are conclusively wrapped up). Creator Rebecca Sugar believed that this would be the final season, as the network was adamant that they wouldn't order more, forcing her to argue for a handful of extra episodes so she could even wrap things up. Then the network changed their minds, not only allowing her to do the [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie television movie she wanted]], but also greenlighting a sixth season which she decided to turn into the mini-series ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture''.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Teen Titans|2003}}'': The three-part finale of the fourth season, meaningfully titled "The End", pitted the Titans against [[GodOfEvil Trigon]] in a post-apocalyptic wasteland for the sake of the entire universe. Then the show was renewed for a fifth and final season, with two separate endings: a straightforward GrandFinale featuring every major character in the show, and a much more downbeat DenouementEpisode focusing on Beast Boy and a BackFromTheDead Terra.
* The fifth season of ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'' ended with the spies leaving WOOHP and saying their goodbyes to Jerry. This was later followed by the SpinOff ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingSpiez'', in which they made occasional cameos, and a sixth season in 2013.
* The "ComicBook/ContestOfChampions1982" arc from ''[[WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012 Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' was written to serve as a GrandFinale for the show, but at the last second, Disney XD picked up the cartoon for one more season, making it the longest-running ''Spider-Man'' adaptation to date.
* ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'': "Defender of All Universes", the Season 6 finale, has a sense of coming full circle in its conclusion that makes it feel a lot like a series finale, even when it was made with the full knowledge that they had two more seasons. If not for the fact that [[spoiler: Honerva was still out there]], the story could have wrapped up in that episode. There's even a unique credits sequence for it. Quite possibly a MythologyGag referencing the original ''Voltron'', which as mentioned above, also had a Series Fauxnale as its 52nd episode.
* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' was clearly intended to end with the first film, where Bloom finally finds her birth parents after three seasons searching for them and Sky asks her to marry him. But then we're given a SequelHook where the Ancestral Witches (whose spirits were freed when Bloom saved her home) possess the Trix. The creator of the series, Iginio Straffi, [[https://www.corriereadriatico.it/SPETTACOLI/rainbow_avventure_winx_iginio_straffi_villa_musone_marche_rai2/notizie/421983.shtml said in an interview]] that he always planned the show to end after the third season. The show was eventually renewed for more seasons and given two more movies (the first of which resolved the SequelHook), but Straffi wasn't heavily involved with them.
* ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'':
** Episode 13, "[[Recap/XMenS1E13TheFinalDecision The Final Decision]]", has a number of arcs cleanly tied up in case the series wasn't renewed: The Sentinels are defeated, Beast is released from prison, Senator Kelly stops his anti-mutant rhetoric, Magneto and Xavier form a truce, Rogue and Gambit share an IndirectKiss, and Cyclops asks Jean to marry him. It ends with a clearly-tacked-on voice-over by Mr. Sinister (and it sounds nothing like the actor who eventually played Mr. Sinister! It was all ''very'' quick-and-dirty.) to set up the next season's arc.
** There was also "Beyond Good and Evil", written to be the finale. It was a massively massive four-parter where [[BackForTheFinale damn near everybody]] takes part in an epic that crosses time and space, from ancient Egypt to the present to Bishop's future to Cable's future ''and'' Deathbird (who was standing in the background when Fabian Cortez met Apocalypse back in "Sanctuary;" you knew there was something to that!) shows up. In the end, Apocalypse appears to be defeated once and for all. And they get renewed. The second of the intended series finales was more quiet and emotional than either of the blockbuster epic finales: Professor X is dying, and we get some TearJerker moments, character exploration, and ''one'' fight that ends when Magneto is told he can help save Xavier's life. As it ends with Xavier [[spoiler: leaving for intensive care in the Shi'ar galaxy, with those he taught as the caretakers of his dream]], it is named "Graduation Day". Several decades later, Disney renewed the series for another season, to premiere exclusivley on Disney+.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* The first five games of ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' were focused on the story of Desmond Miles and his ancestors, with ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' set up as the GrandFinale of his exploits; The franchise was followed immediately with ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'' and the subsequent games now follow the consequences of Desmond's adventures and are more MythArc driven than actually following a single storyline.
* Though ''Franchise/BaldursGate'' wasn't supposed to end at its second instalment, its DLC had the main protagonist [[FanNickName Charname]] face off against a BigBad who was involved in the start of the ''reason'' behind all of the adventuring, and ended the Bhaalspawn Saga. Yet in October 2020 Baldur's Gate 3 got released in Early Access, and though as of writing this entry in March 2022 the game hasn't released fully, the "Saga" around Baldur's Gate continues. [[note]]Though it could be brand naming, it could also be continuening the story, its uncertain at this time.[[/note]]
* ''VideoGame/{{beatmania}} IIDX 16 EMPRESS + PREMIUM BEST'' was intended to be the final consumer version of ''beatmania IIDX'', featuring the usual bells and whistles of an arcade-to-[[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 PS2]] port as well as a ''PREMIUM BEST'' disc that features a compilation of songs from the original ''IIDX'' to ''beatmania IIDX 15 DJ TROOPERS'', with 198 playable songs between both discs. However, ''beatmania IIDX INFINITAS'' would come along for PC six years later.
* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac: Afterbirth+'' was intended by Creator/EdmundMcMillen to be the final DLC for the remake, with its new ending [[MindScrewdriver clarifying several plot points established by previous endings]]. But a popular GameMod, ''[[VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaacAntibirth Antibirth]]'', was released just a couple weeks earlier, and Edmund liked it so much that he decided to officially re-release it as part of the ''Repentance'' expansion, which has a new [[TheEndingChangesEverything even more conclusive]] ending.
* Creator/TravellersTales wanted to end ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' with ''[[VideoGame/CrashBandicootTheWrathOfCortex The Wrath of Cortex]]'', which billed itself as the game where Crash defeats [[DragonInChief Cortex]] for good and seemingly makes good on its promise in the real ending where Cortex and Uka Uka are banished to the arctic. Vicarious Visions then got hold of the series, releasing ''[[VideoGame/CrashBandicootTheHugeAdventure The Huge Adventure]]'', ''[[VideoGame/CrashBandicoot2NTranced N-Tranced]]'', and ''VideoGame/CrashNitroKart'', which are set in VV's own timeline and give Cortex a SnapBack, before TT continued the series with ''VideoGame/CrashTwinsanity'', which is set 3 years after ''Wrath'' and starts with Cortex escaping his banishment.
* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace3'' seems to end on a decisively final conclusion for Isaac, the Markers, and the Necromorphs. Then the ''Awakening'' DLC comes along to continue the story, ending on a grim cliffhanger. Shortly afterwards the series was put on indefinite hiatus due to "poor" sales performance, leaving the plot hanging on a very dark note.
* While ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' and [[VideoGame/DiabloII its sequel]] both had open/cliffhanger endings, the expansion pack ''Lord of Destruction'' ended on a pretty final note. All of the Prime Evils' Soulstones had been destroyed, permanently killing them off. Of course, that didn't stop Creator/{{Blizzard|Entertainment}} from making ''VideoGame/DiabloIII: [[Film/{{Spaceballs}} The Search for More Money]]''.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'': Creator/BioWare fully admits they didn't know if the game would sell well enough to launch a franchise, so they added more detailed player choices, lasting consequences, and [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue epilogue slides]] detailing the fates of each character and location for decades to come to wrap things up. When ''Origins'' sold well enough to launch the ''Franchise/DragonAge'' franchise, Creator/BioWare gently {{retcon}}ned the end slides to be [[UnreliableNarrator in-universe "rumors"]], and avoided adding too detailed player choices and end slides for subsequent games, to keep future stories open.
* ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'':
** ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys3'' had an air of finality to it and was supposed to be the finale, with the game taking place 30 years after Freddy Fazbear's Pizza closing down for good, the Purple Man getting his [[LaserGuidedKarma punishment]] for his actions, and the murdered children being set free after decades of being stuck inside the animatronic. Overall, it felt like a fitting end to the series that never happened.
** ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys4'' was supposed to be the finale like the third game, showing some of the first events in the series, what happened at Fredbear's Family Diner, and [[AmbiguousSituation possibly]] explaining the origins of one of the characters in the series, but too many mysteries were left, which led to the creation of the following games.
** ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSisterLocation'' was ''also'' supposed to be the finale, focused on the Purple Man (now revealed to be called [[Characters/FiveNightsAtFreddysWilliamAfton William Afton]]) and his family. But the ending left many questions in it, with it ultimately getting a sequel.
** ''VideoGame/FreddyFazbearsPizzeriaSimulator'' was probably the closest to the GrandFinale: The last surviving robots are brought together, mysteries from the past are solved, and it all ends with [[spoiler:the animatronics (including [[AssholeVictim Afton]]), the protagonist (the same person as in ''Sister Location'') and Henry, the GreaterScopeParagon who was the founder of Freddy's and mastermind behind the events of the game, all dying in a fire]], seemingly ending the legacy of Freddy Fazbear for good. The game following it, ''VideoGame/UltimateCustomNight'', is heavily implied to be the epilogue where William Afton gets tortured for eternity... but then ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysVRHelpWanted'' came out, and all the games following it. Looks like we're not getting a true finale anytime soon...
* ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'': The Season 10 finale event ends with the island, all of the skins and the universe being sucked into a black hole. The game then goes offline, only showing the black hole, with its social media pages blacked out, and even being removed from the Epic Games Store banner. Serious dedication.
* ''VideoGame/{{Gothic}} III''[='s=] GoldenEnding not only solves the main conflict of the series (the proxy war between the gods), it also places the Nameless Hero into an entirely new world with no return. It's directly stated that peace will ensue and that there is no way this happy ending could be reversed. However, thanks to ExecutiveMeddling by the publisher, the infamous Gothic III: Forsaken Gods was made, in which [[HappyEndingOverride the war didn't end, so the Nameless Hero had to return to Morgrad]], which turns the original Gothic III into this.
* ''VideoGame/Halo3'' was meant to be the conclusion to the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series. It was even marketed with the tagline, "Finish the Fight". But seeing as how ''Halo'' is Microsoft's main series, they couldn't stop making ''Halo'' games, so they made some spin-offs, and then a [[VideoGame/Halo4 direct sequel]] to ''3''. To be fair, the new saga does deal with a different fight.
* The ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series has not only one, but two fake grand finales:
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' was made, according to WordOfGod, to serve as a potential GrandFinale and wrap up nearly all loose ends from ''VideoGame/{{Kingdom Hearts|I}}'' and ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Chain of Memories]]'', with Organization XIII and both Xehanort's Heartless and Nobody destroyed, and Sora, Riku, and Kairi finally reunited on Destiny Islands. But it ended up being a huge success, and of course [[CashCowFranchise Disney and Square weren't going to let a moneymaker like that go]].
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' was intentionally designed as the GrandFinale of the Dark Seeker MythArc, 17 years in the making, which was started with [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI the first game]]. The story that revolves around the Destiny Islands, the Sea Salt, and the Wayfinder trios are wrapped up and the main antagonists, Master Xehanort and the Real Organization XIII, are defeated for good. However, the game has plenty of {{Sequel Hook}}s serving as a continuation of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX'', which was supposed to be a standalone title. Only Sora has been confirmed to return as protagonist in the next myth arc, while the Foretellers from ''χ'' will return as the antagonists.
* ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'' presents itself as the finale of the 2D ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' games. The game features many game mechanics previously exclusive to certain earlier games, such as a modified Helper system from ''[[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar Super Star]]'', AbilityMixing from ''[[VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards Kirby 64]]'' (albeit in the form of [[SpellBlade elemental weapon imbuement]] more resembling ''[[VideoGame/KirbySqueakSquad Squeak Squad]]''), and [[CoOpMultiplayer four-player co-op]] from ''[[VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand Return to Dream Land]]''. Additionally, the game features a multitude of playable characters in addition to Kirby, the regular Helpers in the Dream Friends, comprised of the other three playable characters from ''Return to Dream Land'' in addition to many returning characters such as Rick, Kine, Coo, Gooey, Marx, Daroach, Magolor, and Susie who likewise represent other individual games, and [[spoiler:the final boss being very obviously connected to the series BigBad Dark Matter and, according to the Japanese Pause Descriptions, also being the GreaterScopeVillain of the whole series]]. While it wasn't the end of ''Kirby'' as a whole, due to the game's direct mainline successor, ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheForgottenLand'', being the series's VideoGame3DLeap, ''Star Allies'' can still be viewed as the ultimate culmination of the series to that point.
* While it was unlikely to be the end of [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda the franchise]] as a whole, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' is clearly written to be a finale to the loose "Hero of Time Saga" started by ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' and continued by ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]''. ''Wind Waker'' itself takes place in the timeline left behind by the Hero of Time when Zelda sent him to a new timeline that would lead to ''Majora's Mask'', and ''Wind Waker'' reveals throughout the game that Ganon escaped his imprisonment and destroyed much of Hyrule with no hero to stand up to him, leading to the survivors pleading to the gods to intervene, itself leading to the creation of the Great Sea and the ruined Hyrule put in stasis. The game as a whole also delivers a CentralTheme of "let the past go", with Ganondorf wanting to bring back Hyrule as part of his stubborn refusal to give up his ambitions and the old King Daphnes wanting to let Hyrule and Ganondorf wash away beneath the waves. Overall, it served as a fitting end to the legacy of the Hero of Time, but ''Wind Waker''[='=]s direct successor, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' would further explore the consequences of the Hero of Time being transported to the timeline of ''Majora's Mask'', albeit in a way that didn't factually invalidate ''Wind Waker'' due to ''Twilight Princess'' being concurrent in the AlternateTimeline.
* The ''Franchise/MassEffect'' games followed the adventures of Commander Shepard against the Reapers and ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' was the conclusion to the "Shepard Saga"; however the franchise continued with ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda''.
* Most ''Franchise/MegaMan'' subseries have had this at least once:
** The classic ''VideoGame/{{Mega Man|Classic}}'' games were evidently intended to wrap up with ''VideoGame/MegaMan6''; this is apparent in the tone of the music, particularly the songs used for the title screen, final stages and final boss, and after the final boss Mega Man arrests Dr. Wily. [[note]]Although after the credits, there is a ToBeContinued, but who knows if it was meant to refer to ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' or the eventual ''VideoGame/MegaMan7''.[[/note]] ''VideoGame/MegaMan7'' came along and opens with [[HappyEndingOverride Wily escaping from prison six months later]], then ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan8 8]]'' came along and became ''another'' Series Fauxnale before ''[[VideoGame/MegaMan9 9]]''.
** The ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' games were intended to end with ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' then segue into the ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series, until they made ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX6 X6]]'' without Creator/KeijiInafune's involvement and the series continued with ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX7 X7]]'', ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX8 X8]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission Command Mission]]''.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManZero3'' would have concluded the trilogy if ''[[VideoGame/MegaManZero4 Zero 4]]'' wasn't made. Despite all the revelations thrown in the player's face and the climax involving [[spoiler:Zero--in an inferior copy of his original body--facing off against said original body]] followed by [[spoiler:the implied deaths of [[BigGood X]] and the Four Guardians]], the developers realized they had one major plot thread left hanging: the BigBad of ''3'' was still alive [[FromBadToWorse and now in control of Neo Arcadia]]...
** ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' was evidently intended to end with ''[[VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork3WhiteAndBlue 3]]'', and much like ''Mega Man 6'' had an air of finality in some parts of its soundtrack, but still continued for [[VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork4RedSunAndBlueMoon three]] [[VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork5TeamColonelAndTeamProtoMan more]] [[VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork6CybeastGregarAndCybeastFalzar games]] and several spin-offs. The last game also ended with a DistantFinale that has yet to be continued from, as [[VideoGame/MegaManStarForce the next games in the timeline]] taking place long after the Hikaris as we know them would be dead.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManXMavericks'' seemed like its fourth game was going to be the last. It pretty clearly concluded the plotline that had been set up since the first game and brought back all the party members for the final showdown. It even lacked a stinger like the previous installments. It turned out to be this when a fifth game was announced a few years later.
* For the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series, ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' goes to painstaking lengths to make sure no potential for sequels exists after its ending. [[spoiler:Solid Snake is an old man with a few months left to live; the mystery surrounding The Patriots is cleared up right before they're promptly destroyed, the off-screen fates of several characters from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' are revealed; EVA, Vamp, Naomi, Ocelot, Zero and Big Boss all die; the remaining characters finally get their happy ending and the game recontextualizes all the canon games up to that point as specifically leading up to ''Guns of the Patriots''.]] This didn't stop Konami from trying to continue the story in several ways: ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidV'' are main series interquels that focus on gameplay and themes rather than the overarching plot (with ''MGSV'' specifically revolving around clearing up a ''single'' plot hole that the extended series caused in the ''first game''[[note]][[spoiler:Specifically, how Big Boss survived despite definitely being killed in ''VideoGame/MetalGear1'']][[/note]]), while ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' is a spin-off sequel to ''4'' that's contrived to the point of parody.
* The ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series has had two of these:
** ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' was originally meant to be the ending of the series. In this game, the Metroid species goes extinct, and all of Samus's enemies in the Space Pirates are destroyed for good. And for a long time, this game was indeed the end of ''Metroid'': it took another 8 years for new installments in the franchise to release, with ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' being a continuation.
** For the ''Metroid Prime'' games, ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'' was also meant to be the end of that series: in that game, Metroid Prime/Dark Samus is KilledOffForReal, and all Phazon in the universe is destroyed. Then ten years later, ''Metroid Prime 4'' was announced (although it's arguable that one year earlier, ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeFederationForce'' already resulted in this).
** Defied with ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'': series creator Yoshio Sakamoto confirmed that ''Dread'' will be the end of the Metroid story arc that began with [[VideoGame/Metroid1 the first game]], but it will not be the end of Samus Aran's adventures.
* ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' were designed with the assumption they would be the last installments in the franchise, as nobody at Creator/GameFreak was certain at how long the series' popularity would last. The main story features the dissolution of Team Rocket, and the second half of the game focuses on the player revisiting the Kanto region and challenging the old Gym Leaders. The game climaxes with [[DuelingPlayerCharacters a fight against Red]], the player character from ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Red & Blue]]'' and the TrueFinalBoss. Ultimately, ''Gold & Silver'' were wildly successful and proved that ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' had enough staying power to continue work on the franchise.
* The ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'' series was initially planned to be a trilogy (and was announced in Japanese as such), which is why ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheUnwoundFuture'' wrapped everything up. But neither the fans nor the staff wanted the series to stop at three games, and Creator/{{Level 5}} continued the series by announcing a trilogy of prequels (similar to ''Franchise/StarWars'' minus the giant gap in release dates).
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' seems like it was designed to be the finale of the series. Original protagonists Chris and Jill reunite (under some very unique circumstances) and series BigBad Wesker finally takes direct action after several games of plotting from behind the scenes. The game also brings the Umbrella Corporation to a final end with the death of founder Oswell E. Spencer, and reveals the true origins and motives of the evil pharmaceutical company. In the end only a few plot threads were still left hanging, mostly involving [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 Sherry and Ada Wong]]. Subsequent games have either been [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations interquels]] or had the feel of a [[PostScriptSeason post-script]] ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil6 game]]'' ([[BreadEggsBreadedEggs or a post-script]] [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations2 interquel]]). And then ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7'' came out, extending the series in an entirely new way while maintaining the same overall themes.
* ''[[VideoGame/RType R-Type Final]]'' was supposed to be the last of the series. However, it was soon followed by spinoffs ''R-Type Tactics'' in 2007 and ''R-Type Tactics II: Operation Bitter Chocolate'' in 2009. Then it was fully subverted with ''R-Type Final 2'' releasing in 2021.
* ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' originally ended with ''[[VideoGame/SakuraWars4FallInLoveMaidens Fall in Love, Maidens]]'', which concluded Ichiro Ogami's storyline from the first four games. However, Creator/{{Sega}} released the next mainline title, ''[[VideoGame/SakuraWarsSoLongMyLove So Long, My Love]]'', in 2005.
* The endings of both [[VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves the second]] and [[VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves third]] ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'' games were designed so the series could feasibly end there. Then came ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'' in 2013.
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' is suggestive of this, likely because Creator/{{Sega}} knew the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast would be discontinued that year. Officially it was the most ambitious game in the series at the time, serving as a celebration of Sonic's 10th anniversary. It ends with all the characters -- including [[BigBad Dr. Eggman]] -- teaming up to save the world, and ends on a solemn note as they bond over [[spoiler:Shadow's supposed death]]. The real kicker is the preview to the Hero Story, which outright says: "Farewell, Sonic. Forever." However, Sega became a third-party company and released ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' three years later.
** While ''Sonic Adventure 2'' wasn't the last story-driven 3D Sonic game, there still hasn't been a true ''Sonic Adventure'' game since it. [[note]]Unless you count ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', which went back to ''Adventure''-style gameplay and made use of a HubWorld much like [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure the original]], and/or ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', which started production as ''Sonic Adventure 3'' and is titled ''Sonic World Adventure'' [[MarketBasedTitle in Japanese]].[[/note]] As such, it could still be considered the ''Adventure'' series' GrandFinale.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/The100'' has the fifth season finale, which wraps up most of the major character arcs, and brings the plot to a circle from the beginning, with the idea that the characters will be able to try to find a new home again, this time with a unified front and the benefit of experience, and looking to the future with hope. It even concludes with the credits "End of Book 1", making it clear that the first five seasons are of a piece.
* ''Series/TwentyFour'':
** Episode 13 of the first season, [[Front13Back9 written when the producers were unsure they'd be coming back for another half-day]], has Jack rescuing his wife and daughter, and has all the hallmarks of a climactic happy ending. Only the addition of a couple of scenes, revealing a new threat, were necessary for the show to keep on going. This led to one of the hallmarks of the series: invariably, the problem that started the arc of the season (and the villains behind it) always turned out to be DiscOneFinalBoss material as either [[UnwittingPawn the real plan was helped by the heroes efforts]], or the bad guys adjust their strategy and [[FromBadToWorse Plan B is even worse than Plan A]]. Whatever the season was advertised as being about is long-forgotten old news by Episode 15.
** Season 6 definitely had a finale vibe. We were introduced to the rest of Jack's extended family, [[BabiesEverAfter Chloe is pregnant]], and Bill & Karen are allowed to resign without being prosecuted.
* ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'' was supposed to finish up with Death #1000, which showed a woman visiting her elderly father as he's about to die in the hospital from natural causes (and the narrator concluding that ''1000 Ways to Die'' isn't just a sleazy show depicting the many horrific ways people can die, but it's also a guide to how to live, as most of the people who died on the show weren't good people, while the old man who died led a good, morally upstanding life). Then, the show was un-cancelled...
* The half season episode of ''Series/TheAdventuresOfBriscoCountyJr'' titled "Crystal Hawks" was structured in case the series wasn't extended for a full season: Brisco catches John Bly, forms a partnership with Lord Bowler, resolves a NoOneCouldSurviveThat moment from the pilot, and finally gets some vague information on the series MacGuffin, the Orb. The final scene where Socrates tells Brisco that Bly had escaped DiabolusExMachina style was put in once the full season order had come through.
* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' wasn't renewed for a Season 6 until about a week before the Season 5 finale aired. Thus, said finale is designed very much like an ending (even being titled "The End"), and wraps up with [[ButNowIMustGo Coulson and May leaving the team]] and going to [[BookEnds Tahiti]] in order to spend Coulson's [[YourDaysAreNumbered last days]] in peace. Meanwhile, the rest of the team [[AndTheAdventureContinues flies off on another mission]].
* ''Series/AllInTheFamily'':
** "The Stivics Go West", which wrapped up Season 8 with Mike, Gloria, and Joey bidding a tearful goodbye to Archie and Edith and moving to California. Norman Lear had indeed intended for this to be the show's finale, but CBS executives (along with Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton) convinced him to let the show continue for another season without his participation.
** It can be argued that the show's ''actual'' finale, "Too Good Edith", was this as well, since ''All in the Family'' was then {{Retool}}ed into ''Series/ArchieBunkersPlace'', which lasted for four more seasons. Ironically enough, ''that'' show -- and thus the entire 13-year story of Archie Bunker -- [[LeftHanging never got a proper finale]].
* ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'':
** The Season 1 finale, "Let 'Em Eat Cake", which ends with George Bluth escaping prison, Tobias and Lindsay reconciled, George Michael deciding not to pursue Maeby, and Michael Bluth deciding to let the family fend for themselves.
** Almost of the show's season finales were like this. Most noticeably, the Season 3 finale, "Development Arrested", was the actual finale for many years until the show was brought back for a Netflix revival in 2013.
* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'':
** If it weren't for confirmation of a Season 4 literally right as it ended, you'd be certain that Season 3 was its last. [[spoiler:Oliver retires to live a life with Felicity knowing that the city is in safe hands with the other superheroes around in Black Canary and Speedy, Diggle is hinted at becoming the new Green Arrow, Ray gets plenty of set-up for his spin-off show, Malcolm becomes the new [[Characters/BatmanRasAlGhul Ra's Al-Ghul]] thanks to his deal with Oliver, and Nyssa returns to the League of Assassins in order to bide her time until she can avenge Sara's murder. Even in the flashbacks, Oliver is show to be capable of returning to Starling City when he wants but holds it off for his own reasons.]] Essentially all the major players and plots are accounted for in a fashion that doesn't leave viewers hanging in case the show couldn't have gotten renewed.
** Similarly, despite already being renewed for Season 6, the Season 5 finale also had all the markings of a GrandFinale -- it returns to Lian Yu, WhereItAllBegan for both the show and the Series/{{Arrowverse}} in general [[spoiler:and which ends up [[TrashTheSet entirely destroyed]]]]; has a RoguesGalleryShowcase of many of the series' most popular antagonists; and features a FinalBattle with a BigBad whose [[CreateYourOwnVillain origins trace all the way back to Oliver's actions]] as the Hood back in Season 1. Plus, the MythArc of having flashbacks depicting Oliver's "five years in hell" backstory finally come to a conclusion, bringing the series full circle as it revisits the show's opening scene of Oliver being rescued from the island.
* Happened to ''Series/BabylonFive'' when it appeared that it was going to be canceled at the end of its fourth season (five seasons had been planned). So Creator/JMichaelStraczynski (the show's creator and writer) squeezed the first half of the fifth season's plot into the three penultimate episodes at the end of Season 4 in order to resolve most of the major story arcs, resulting in season four's second half containing nothing ''but'' {{Wham Episode}}s. Then the show got UnCanceled, Season 5 happened on schedule, and [[Creator/JMichaelStraczynski JMS]] had to scramble to fill the gap in season five's plot by stretching out what was planned as a minor continuing storyline into a half-season-long arc. Most fans agree that the first half of season five is the weakest stretch of the entire show. It's worth noting that they filmed the last episode of the fourth season as the series-ending finale, but rather than run it there it was pushed to the actual end of the series.
* The Season 4 mid-season premiere of ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'', "Sometimes a Great Notion", was written with the intent of serving as a finale in the event that the 2007 writer's strike prevented the remaining episodes from being made. It would have been quite the cliffhanger.
* ''Series/BlakesSeven'': The third season ends with the [[spoiler:destruction of the protagonists' almost-magical spaceship, the Liberator. It also kills off both chief villain Servalan and (off screen) original series lead Blake, leading to hasty resurrections when the show came back]]. In the fourth season, the actual series finale [[spoiler: very strongly suggested the protagonists were all killed]], but left a little wiggle room in case there was a fifth season. (There wasn't.)
* The Season 10 finale of ''Series/{{Bones}}'' ended this way, with [[spoiler:Angela and Hodgins deciding not to move to Paris after all but to stay in DC, Booth recovering from his lapse into his old gambling addiction and reconciling with Brennan, and the two of them deciding to leave DC for a quieter life in Kansas, in order to protect both Christine and their as-yet-unborn second child]]. The show was still on the bubble at the time, so the producers wanted to end on a quieter AndTheAdventureContinues note in case this was the last season, but the show was renewed shortly before the finale aired.
* ''Series/BreakingBad'':
** Though not explicitly, the Season 4 finale was written to invoke a feeling of AndTheAdventureContinues, since Vince Gilligan was not sure about a fifth season due to struggles between AMC and Sony.
** Season 5's second cour was dubbed "The Final Season" and its definitive ending is partly what made the series so famous. However, the franchise continued with the spin-off prequel series ''Series/BetterCallSaul'', and the announcement of a sequel film focusing on Jesse Pinkman after the events of Season 5.
* ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'': "[[Recap/TheBrittasEmpireCS1InTheBeginning In The Beginning...]]" was intended to be the final episode of the show, and was a DistantFinale which gave everyone a happy ending. However, the BBC renewed it for two more seasons, although it was made without the original writers or Laura.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** When The WB refused to renew ''Buffy'' for a sixth season, Joss Whedon assumed that this meant the end of the show, so he ended it in the most spectacular and final way possible: by killing Buffy. This left him with a very difficult hole to dig out of, so to speak, when UPN picked the show up for another two seasons.
** Earlier, the Season 3 two-part finale "Graduation Day" served as a conclusion to the era of the show first envisioned as 'high school is hell', saw the [[TrashTheSet destruction of the school that served as the main setting]], killed off several characters such as Principal Snyder, Larry and Harmony (though she was later retconned into becoming a vampire) and saw Angel leaving town for good to [[{{Series/Angel}} do his own spin-off]]. The fourth season would relocate to a college setting, drop other characters like Cordelia (who went to do ''Angel'') and eventually Oz and take the show in a new direction.
* ''Series/{{Bunkd}}'' was originally set to end with the third season finale "Up, Up and Away", given that the Ross kids have accepted once-in-a-lifetime opportunities with their family and since none of them will be here next summer, Camp Kikiwaka has to be sold. In the end, they sell it to their longtime friend Lou. However, the show has gotten extreme popularity, and because of that, it continued on after its third season without the Rosses from there, and eventually became the first live-action Disney Channel show to exceed four seasons.
* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' ended its seventh season on a quieter note without any glaring cliffhangers, [[spoiler:unless you count whether Beckett will decide to accept the rank of Captain or take Kaufmann up on his suggestion to run for State Senate]], and ended with Castle and his family and friends having dinner together and looking forward to the future. As with the ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' and ''Series/{{Bones}}'' examples cited above, the series was on the bubble at the time the finale was produced, but renewed around the time it aired and lasted one more season.
* ''Series/CentralParkWest'''s first season concluded with an episode that functioned as this, given the show was in danger of being cancelled due to middling ratings. Lead character Stephanie Wells returns to her publisher job (having been shuffled off to a retreat in the previous episode) and reasserts her dominance at ''Communique'', humiliating her managing editor in the process, before she and her husband decide to [[BookEnds leave New York and take their chances back in Seattle]], [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere having had enough of the politics and backstabbing and wanting to save their marriage]]. Despite this feeling of finality, the episode did set up additional story arcs, including newspaper columnist Alex deciding to fake her pregnancy so she can marry Peter Fairchild, and a media tycoon comes to New York and enlists stock broker Gil to help him take over Rush Media.
* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'':
** In Season 1, the episode "Wicca Envy" was meant to act as the finale should the show not get renewed for more episodes. It features the closure of the Rex/Hannah story arc and features a nice uplifting ending where the sisters proclaim themselves "witches for life".
** The Season 4 finale "Witch Way Now" has an Angel of Destiny outright spelling out that the Charmed Ones have achieved their shared destiny of defeating the Source of All Evil, and are offered the chance to give up their magic to lead normal lives; making it almost feel like an epilogue to a series-long arc. It similarly ends with the sisters opting to keep their magic, and Piper discovering she's pregnant, but leaves a couple of loose ends open in case there was a fifth season. Funnily enough, the ending shot from that finale would be re-used for the actual series four years later.
** Season 5 had ended on a cliff hanger, confident they would be getting a sixth season, and that season finale featured a big conclusion to a year-long arc involving a lot of high stakes, and a resolution that would have served as a potential series finale had they not been brought back for Season 7.
** Season 7 ended with the gals forsaking magic and assuming new identities, due to the possibility that the show might not be renewed. The original draft had the sisters outright dying in the fight against Zankou, but it was changed to only faking their deaths to leave it open. It was always known that Season 8 would be the end, so it wrapped everything up for a definite conclusion.
* ''Series/{{Chuck}}'': Since the show lived in a state of perpetual doubt, it was peppered with a good number of them.
** Season 2 had "Chuck Versus the Ring", with [[spoiler:Chuck and Morgan both quitting the Buy-More only to return the very next season, Chuck's nemesis dying a Heroic Death, and Chuck losing the Intersect only to get a new, more powerful one]].
** Season 3 had "Chuck Versus the Other Guy", in which [[spoiler:Chuck's nemesis died and Chuck and Sarah resolve their UnresolvedSexualTension]], and "Chuck Versus the Ring, Part II" has [[spoiler: the Buy-More destroyed only to be rebuilt by the CIA in time for the next season]].
** Season 4 was originally planned as a 13-episode season, [[Front13Back9 before being extended to 24]]; and the show's future was ''still'' in doubt. The mid-season one was "Chuck Versus the Push Mix", where [[spoiler:Ellie gives birth to Clara and Chuck and Sarah get engaged]]. Episode 24 ended with [[spoiler:Chuck and Sarah getting married, Vivian happily reunited with her father (and leaving the newlyweds Volkoff Industries), Chuck and Sarah getting the team back together for their own private spy venture... and Morgan becoming the Intersect]]. The title? [[LampshadeHanging Chuck vs. the Cliffhanger]].
* The intended finale of ''Series/CitizenSmith'' got turned into a Fauxnale due to ExecutiveMeddling. Originally, the series was going to end with Wolfie Smith being chased out of Tooting by an irate local gangster. Creator/TheBBC decided that they didn't want the series to have a DownerEnding though, and so they took an episode that was originally intended for the middle of the final season and repurposed it as a ChristmasSpecial, implying that the whole mess seen in the finale blew over and Smith's life went back to normal.
* ''Series/{{Community}}'':
** With its lagging ratings and mid-season hiatus, the series' continuation into a fourth season was uncertain. The third season finale ended with a LastEpisodeThemeReprise, a relatively happy ending for the main characters, and a sense that "if it ends here... that's not too bad."
** The fourth season had one of these as well, since they didn't expect the last second renewal for a fifth season. The finale ends with Jeff and Pierce finally graduating from Greendale and Jeff giving a touching speech about how his friends have changed him and made him a better person throughout the course of the series. He then states that even though he's leaving, he'll still pop in from time to time to hang out with his old friends. It's ambiguous enough to both serve as a GrandFinale moment (but not as blatant as the Season 3 finale) and open the door for future episodes.
** The fifth season also has one of these, since nobody involved could have predicted that the series would be picked up by Yahoo Screen. This finale involved the discovery of the original founder of Greendale and his massive wealth, allowing the study group to prevent Greendale from being turned into a [[ProductPlacement Subway Sandwich University]], only for Chang to take all the money and spend it on replacing his teeth with diamonds without anyone (apart from a concerned Abed) noticing. The ending also had Abed commenting that, if they weren't coming back the following year, it would be because an asteroid has destroyed human civilization. ("And that's canon.")
* ''Series/CornerGas''' Season 4 finale "Gopher It", where Hank pitches an idea that takes off, eventually leading to [[spoiler:Corner Gas and the Ruby getting bought out by a large chain gas station, Emma being elected mayor, and Lacey leaving Dog River to open up a restaurant in Toronto (among other things).]] At the end of the episode, it is all revealed to be [[spoiler:one giant ImagineSpot by Hank after Brent, Wanda, and Lacey told him to think about his idea before pitching it]]. It was actually a ''parody'' of {{Grand Finale}}s; the show's creator ''did'' end it on his own terms two years later, with a much more [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue subdued finale]].
* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' did this in its seventh season with "Exit Strategy", which had Mac leave the NY crime lab to work on identifying the remains of 9/11 victims. It turned into a TenMinuteRetirement, and he came back in Season 8. In Season 8's finale, Mac was shot by a drug store robber and spent the episode in a NearDeathExperience. The show was renewed for a ninth season, which ended up being the last, and its finale concludes with [[TearJerker a heartwarming voice-over monologue from Mac]], followed by the scene many fans had been hoping for ever since he professed his love to Christine, [[spoiler:an equally tear-jerking marriage proposal]].
* The second season of the ''Series/{{Dallas}}'' 2012 {{Revival}} ended with a plot that more-or-less wrapped up the overarching storyline that stretched back all the way to the beginning of the original series, as the showrunners didn't know if they'd be renewed for a third season. [[spoiler:The Ewings finally beat Cliff Barnes once and for all, by framing him for J.R.'s death, putting him in prison for a life sentence and winning Ewing Oil back in the process.]] While there were still a couple of lingering plot threads ([[spoiler:namely, Elena [[FaceHeelTurn turning bad]] and going down to Mexico to ally with a childhood friend, John Ross cheating on Pamela with Emma]]), the entire plot was resolved and all the characters were happy. Compare this to the third-season ending, which concluded with multiple cliffhangers ([[spoiler:Christopher seemingly being blown up in an explosion, Pamela having medical issues, Southfork being set on fire ''again'']]) that were [[LeftHanging never resolved]] due to its cancellation.
* The Season 1 finale of ''Series/DeadLikeMe'' was filmed as an adequate ending to the series, with George finally accepting her life as a Reaper and her family reconciling with her death, but the series ultimately got one more season... and then a direct-to-DVD movie five years after ''that''. Though a lot of fans choose to ignore that last one.
* ''Series/{{Defiance}}'' ended its first season on a cliffhanger with several long-running questions about the MythArc unanswered, but ended its second season spectacularly, with all questions answered and all plot threads neatly resolved. Then it got renewed for a third season and the writers clearly had no idea where to take the story...
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** During the making of Season 26, it became clear to the production team that the show likely wasn't going to be renewed for another season (despite one being planned by the writing team), thanks to how heavily ratings fell over the past few years. Consequently, a closing epilogue was added to the last episode of the season finale, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E4Survival "Survival"]], in order to wrap everything up. The show would eventually receive a continuation via [[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie the 1996 TV movie]] before resuming regular airing in 2005.
--->''"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream. People made of smoke, and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, [[RuleOfThree and somewhere else]] [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the tea's getting cold]]. Come on, Ace — [[AndTheAdventureContinues we've got work to do]]!"''
** ''WebAnimation/DeathComesToTime'' might have been intended as this for ''Doctor Who''. It came out in 2001, when the show had been off-air for 12 years, save [[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie a TV movie]] in 1996, although the huge [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] was still running. It has a universe where the Time Lords have either been mostly killed off or are withdrawing, possibly tying into the ''Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures'' at the time. It also has [[spoiler:the Doctor dying in a HeroicSacrifice to destroy rogue Time Lord Tannis and save his companion Ace]], and Ace gaining Time Lord powers, bringing about a new age for the Universe. However it, oddly enough, features the Seventh Doctor instead of the Eighth, who was the current Doctor, and in many ways feels unlike ''Doctor Who'', with aspects like changing Time Lords from {{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s to {{Reality Warper}}s. Thankfully ''Doctor Who'' was revived fourth years later, and ''Death Comes to Time'' is now generally regarded as an AlternateContinuity, though some fans use it to [[FanonDiscontinuity de-canonize]] the TV movie and revived series.
** In a downplayed example that concerned an era rather than the entire show, the two-part Series 10 finale [[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E11WorldEnoughAndTime "World Enough and Time"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E12TheDoctorFalls "The Doctor Falls"]] was supposed to be the GrandFinale for the Twelfth Doctor. It wraps up his MythArc, gives definitive fates to both of his companions, his ArchEnemy Missy, ''and'' [[spoiler:her previous incarnation Harold Saxon]], and has a spectacular FinalBattle against several generations of Cybermen which results in the Doctor having to regenerate. However, when incoming showrunner Creator/ChrisChibnall informed outgoing Creator/StevenMoffat that he didn't want to use the annual ChristmasEpisode as the Thirteenth Doctor's debut story, and Moffat then learned that there would be no more Christmas episodes if a year was skipped, he rewrote the story to give a RayOfHopeEnding to the Twelfth Doctor that directly led into his ''actual'' final episode, [[Recap/DoctorWho2017CSTwiceUponATime "Twice Upon a Time"]], which wraps up a few more loose ends before he becomes Thirteen.
** When Chris Chibnall and Creator/JodieWhittaker stepped down from their roles as showrunner and Doctor respectively, there was no plan of succession in place at the time. Chibnall would write Jodie's exit, [[Recap/DoctorWho2022CENThePowerOfTheDoctor "The Power of the Doctor"]], knowing it could potentially be the last episode of the show before another extensive hiatus at the very least. The story ties up as much of 13's loose ends as possible and copiously references the Classic Series, bringing back many past companions and Doctors in significant roles and resolving many loose ends that fans had spent years clamouring for (such as [[spoiler: reconciling Tegan and Ace with the Fifth and Seventh Doctors, and giving one of the first companions dating back to the 60s, Ian Chesterton, a return cameo]]). Fortunately, Russel T. Davies returned to the programme and Jodie handed the keys to the TARDIS to [[spoiler:a returning David Tennant, who would keep the TARDIS warm for the start of Creator/NcutiGatwa's tenure in 2023]]
* ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' has one of these as its DVD-only 13th episode of the first season, jumping ahead a decade or so and showing that the technology showcased has, not unsurprisingly, been used for terrible purposes. The end result? Worldwide apocalypse! Shockingly, the show was not canceled, but the second (and now final) season moved in a direction that indicates that episode is the likely conclusion. This is a Creator/JossWhedon show, so [[SignatureStyle a happy ending was probably never likely anyway]].
* ''Series/DowntonAbbey'' Season 2 ended with Mary and Matthew getting engaged and Sybil [[BabiesEverAfter getting pregnant]].
** The TV series finale (Season 6) ends up serving as this due to the two feature films serving as a continuation of the series.
* ''Series/DueSouth'':
** The second part of "Victoria's Secret" was intended to be a series finale, since it wasn't known if the show would return after the first season. When it was renewed, "Letting Go" was filmed to give the storyline a happy ending.
** The second-season finale, "Flashback", is a clip show that was intended to be the final episode (finishing with a "journey continues" ending) after it was cancelled by Creator/{{CBS}}... then it was picked up by Creator/{{CTV}} Television and resumed in Canada.
** The third-season finale, "Mountie on the Bounty," ended with Fraser choosing to stay on with the Chicago Consulate and had a definite finality to it... and then the show was renewed again for a fourth and final season. Though whether [=MotB=] is a finale or not depends on your region--some areas air the third and fourth seasons as a single season.
* ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' had "Whatever Remains, However Improbable", the Season 6 finale, which was written to be the last episode of the series and had Sherlock and Joan transfer over from New York to London, the traditional Holmsian setting. But CBS ended up ordering [[PostscriptSeason a final, 13-episode season]], after having already increased the number of episodes in Season 6 from 13 to 21.
* ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' had "Philadelphia Story" which was supposed to be the finale but when Creator/{{NBC}} brought the show back, they had NBC reps kidnap Will and bring him back to Bel Air in the beginning of the next season.
* ''Series/FridayNightLights'': "State", the Season 1 finale, where the Panthers go to the state championship. The third season finale "Tomorrow Blues" also served as this in case the move to [=DirecTV=] didn't work.
* ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'': The Season 8 finale ended up being this after the series was renewed for a ninth season. It was originally written as a series finale as it was expected that the show would end after eight seasons and troubles in the CW led to a renewal being uncertain. To bring this point home, [[spoiler: the season ended with The Reverse-Flash finally being stripped of his JokerImmunity and being KilledOffForReal.]]
* The writers of ''Series/{{Glee}}'' weren't sure the show was going to be picked up for a full first season. The 13th episode (which was as many as they had confirmed at first) was specifically written to be decent enough series finale if they got cancelled. (Glee club won their competition and the major plots of the first 13 were adequately wrapped up) However, the show ended up being a hit and got picked up for at least three seasons before the first season was finished.
* As ''Series/{{Gotham}}'' is an origin story for the familiar Franchise/{{Batman}} mythos we all know and love, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Season 3 finale is the final episode of the series -- all the {{Canon Foreigner}}s are KilledOffForReal or revealed to have been a CanonCharacterAllAlong, Penguin not only retakes his spot as Gotham's top crime boss but also opens his famous Iceberg Lounge, Gordon is more determined than ever to be the cop Gotham needs (setting him up for his role as {{The Commissioner|Gordon}}), Selina is taking her first steps towards becoming Characters/{{Catwoman}}, and in the final scene, Bruce is on his first outing as a vigilante (complete with proto-Batsuit). However, the show had already been renewed for a fourth season by the time the episode aired.
* Strangely, the Volume 4 finale to ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' feels like one of these. Sylar is [[spoiler:seemingly defeated once and for all]], and all the Heroes come together to contemplate the future and start "a new beginning". There's just two little hitches in the plan...
* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'':
** The [[Front13Back9 first 13]] episodes ended with "Drumroll Please" in which Victoria would be the mother. When more episodes were ordered, Victoria was {{retcon}}ned into being just another of Ted's girlfriends. Similarly the last episode of Season 3 was created with the idea that Stella would be the mother if the show didn't get renewed.
** The Season 4 episode "The Leap" was also written as a possible send off for the characters which could easily function as a series finale.
* ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'' ends on a satisfactory note, but was so popular movies were made to follow it. Then there was "Farewell, Kamen Rider Den-O: The Final Countdown." That sounds like a done deal, right? Nope, then came The Onigashima Warship, and the Super Den-O Trilogy. The name "trilogy" makes the third of those films final-sounding... but then came "[[Series/KamenRiderOOO OOO]], Den-O, [[ReunionShow All Riders]]: Let's Go, Kamen Rider!" And so, the climax goes on.
* ''Series/{{Legends of Tomorrow}}'': [[spoiler: the penultimate episode of season 7 serves as one as the Legends agree to a truce with Evil Gideon where they all retire to live out the futures they were shown while Gideon, who has been resurrected into a human, becomes Captain of the Waverider with Gary accompanying her. This doesn’t last as Gwyn is killed when he tried to alter a fixed point, forcing the Legends to come together again and save him.]]
* The first two season finales of ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' were written to be possible series finales. "The Second David Job" (Season 1) ends with Nate getting Blackpoole ousted from IYS and the team splitting up. "The Maltese Falcon Job" (Season 2) ends with Nate [[spoiler:shot and about to be arrested while the team escapes]]. The show ended up running five seasons.
* ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' wraps up things at the end of Season 4. Mary comes to terms with her blindness and the entire citizenship of the now financially crippled town of Walnut Grove gather at the church one last time to say goodbye. The show was then picked up for a fifth season.
* Unlike previous seasons, the fourth season of ''Series/{{Lucifer|2016}}'' does not end with a {{Cliffhanger}} and features no SequelHook. Chloe finally accepts Lucifer for what he is and confesses her feelings, but has to part ways with him as he reluctantly retakes the mantle of the King of Hell to prevent more demons from invading Earth. Since the series started in the first place because Lucifer abandoned his post in Hell to essentially have fun, by returning back, it neatly closes the series' MythArc and shows Lucifer's CharacterDevelopment as he chooses to do what is needed instead of what he wants. Other plotlines resolved include Amenadiel's difficulty accepting the complexities of the human world, Dan's struggle to move on from Charlotte's death, Ella's CrisisOfFaith, and Maze's decision to carve a separate life of her own. If Netflix didn't choose to renew it for a fifth season, it could have been a definitive end for the series (albeit a ''very'' [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] one).
** The fifth season and its finale were produced with the intent of being the final season leading to major developments like Chloe and Lucifer finally hooking up, Dan [[InternalReveal learning]] about Lucifer's true nature, Maze and Eve getting back together, and a final arc which ends with Lucifer becoming the new {{God}}. Once again, Netflix decided to renew at the last minute. The producers dealt with this by cutting out the ten-minute epilogue that was supposed to follow Lucifer's ascension so they could expand the storylines into season 6.
* ''Series/MADtv'''s final episode on FOX was the Season 14 episode called "''[=MADtv=]'' Gives Back", which is really just a ClipShow of the show's best sketches framed around a pledge drive, featuring celebrity guests and the show's most memorable recurring characters taking calls. This was back in 2009. Seven years later, the show was revived for a limited-run 15th season on [[ChannelHop another network]].
* ''Series/MagnumPI'''s episode "Limbo" in which Magnum walked off into the sunset - [[spoiler: after having been shot and in a coma, visiting his friends one last time as a spirit]].
* The third-season finale of ''Series/TheMentalist'' would have been the big finish if they hadn't been renewed, given that it ended with Jane finally [[spoiler:killing Red John]]. Then season four happened after all, and the first episode hastily [[StatusQuoIsGod re-establishes the status quo]] by [[spoiler: revealing it wasn't him after all, and letting Jane off with the murder]].
* ''Series/MiamiVice'' features a very interesting example of this. The show, which premiered in 1985, faced dismal ratings when it aired and was in danger of being canceled. To that end, the producers {{Retool}}ed the series with a two-part episode that also served as a finale if the show was canned. The 2-parter, "Calderone's Return", killed off Crockett and Tubbs' commanding officer, resolved Crockett's relationship with his ex-wife Caroline and completed Tubbs' quest for vengeance against the man who killed his brother...then the series was renewed for a second season, and the show continued.
* ''Series/MurderSheWrote'': Season 5 ends with a two-parter in which Jessica meets an opposite number of sorts, who makes her question whether her workaholic approach to mystery writing is a good thing, and concludes with her instead deciding to take some time off with Doc Hazlett. While Creator/AngelaLansbury was seriously considering giving up the role due to the exhausting schedule required, they instead moved to the format where many episodes would feature Jessica's friends, or stories she was writing, with her just introducing the story.
* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'':
** Season 7 finale, the last on Comedy Central, where Mike and the Bots escape the SOL and AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence, and Dr. Forrester is transformed into a baby.
** Season 10 ended with Pearl accidentally sending the SOL crashing down to Earth, and Mike and the Bots living in an apartment. This was the ending for 15 years, before Joel Hodgson brought the show to ''Website/{{Kickstarter}}'', where it was successfully funded for a full new season.
** Season 11 ends with Jonah [[spoiler: eaten by Reptilicus Metallicus during his forced wedding to Kinga Forrester]], as there was no guarantee of Netflix greenlighting another season when it was shot. Season 12 was announced a few months later (during the Turkey Day marathon), and after it aired the show was canceled... only for Joel to announce in April 2021 via another Kickstarter campaign that he was planning to [[StartMyOwn start his own streaming platform]] so that he could bring the show back yet again.
* WordOfGod says that the episodes of ''Series/NewsRadio'' at the end of seasons two, three, and four were made with the expectation that they would be the finale. The ''actual'' finale was also made with enough wiggle room in case the show could continue.
* ''Series/NightCourt'': Season 8 is over. Dan quits his job and loses the Phil Foundation fortune. More importantly, Harry and Christine have professed their love to one another. OK, that's the end. What's that? [[UnCanceled We've been renewed?]] Oh, crap!
* ''Series/NorthernExposure'': "The Quest", where the show's main character finishes his work in Alaska.
* ''Series/OddSquad'': Much like the ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' example below, the show follows the idea of "writing every season finale as the series finale".
** The Season 1 finale, "O is Not For Over", revolves around [[RankUp Olive being promoted to the Management department from Investigation,]] and Otto having to deal with her being gone while also being an easy target for Odd Todd's latest evil scheme. By the end of the episode, Otto, having defeated Odd Todd for good, is also promoted to the department alongside his partner, and the two leave Precinct 13579 to co-run Orville's precinct. This episode would also mark the final time Dalila Bela and Filip Geljo would play the role in the show (they would go on to do voiceovers for their characters in ''WebVideo/{{OddTube}}'', and briefly reprise their roles in ''Film/OddSquadTheMovie''). However, the show was renewed for a second season months before "O is Not For Over" premiered, and both the episode and the Season 2 premiere, "First Day", had its same-day airdate changed from March 7, 2016 to June 20, 2016 so they could be tied together for the ''Odd Squad: Agents of Change'' event airing on Creator/PBSKids.
** The Season 2 finale also got this treatment. The event ''Odds and Ends'', which is comprised of "Who is Agent Otis?" and "Odds and Ends", aired in January of 2019, and revolves around Otis being discovered as a former villain, with him and Oprah getting kicked off Odd Squad and Ohlm taking over while revealing himself as the true BigBad of the season. [[RankUp It also has Oprah being promoted to the position of the Big O at the end of the episode.]] Like the previous season finale, this would mark the final appearance of an actor: Isaac Kragten as Otis, and it seemed to be the case for Anna Cathcart (Olympia), Olivia Presti (Oona) and Millie Davis (Oprah) as well before it was revealed that they would reprise their roles in some form or another. [[note]]Anna would make a voiceover cameo in the Season 2 premiere of ''WebVideo/{{OddTube}}'', Olivia would go on to have voiceover roles in the ''Odd Squadcast'' as Oona, and Millie would be part of the core cast of Season 3 as the Big O.[[/note]] However, two months after the finale aired, the show was picked up for a third season entitled ''Odd Squad Mobile Unit'', which can either serve as a third season of ''Odd Squad'' or as a SpinOff of the show depending on mileage.
** The Season 3 mid-season finale was a three-parter comprised of the episodes "16-and-a-Half Blocks", "Follow the Leader", and "End of the Road" that was compressed into one event titled ''Odd Squad: End of the Road''. It features the Mobile Unit attempting to expose the identity of [[EnfantTerrible The Shadow]] and stop her from causing oddness around the world with her [[VillainTeamUp Villain Network]], and also has Opal departing the group to help The Shadow (now going by Olizabeth), revealed to be her younger sister, repair the damage she caused in numerous countries. Three months before the finale aired in the United States, however, it was announced that an extension of the season was in production.
* While the seventh-season episode of ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', "Goodbye, Michael", is not technically an instance of this trope (as the show was always intended to continue past the departure of Steve Carrell's Michael Scott), it certainly ''feels'' like it could have brought a serviceable end to the series. Interestingly, for such a major change in the show's history, "Goodbye, Michael" wasn't even the ''season'' finale, there was still three more episodes left.
* ''Series/OnceUponATime'':
** "Going Home", where the entire plot of the series is wrapped up completely in a BittersweetEnding up until a very literal SequelHook shows up at the last minute. A strange case of this trope since it was only the ''midseason'' finale, with another eleven episodes already in production when it aired, so the makers of the show obviously already knew it wasn't going to be the end when making it.
** "The Final Battle" in Season 6 is a more straight example, as it once again wraps up the series' plot and gave sendoffs to most of the main cast, but the creators did ''not'' know for sure if there would be another season afterward. As it turns out, there was, and it would be that following season's finale that was the ending of the series.
* ''Series/OneTreeHill'' had many of these:
** First, with the gang graduating high school and then Lucas and Peyton driving away with their baby.
** Then at the end of season 7, the cast is shown playing on a snowy hill, and the parting shot was to have been all of them walking up the hill. When a renewal was assured, a cliffhanger scene was tacked on after that.
** The final scene in Season 8 recreates the first scene of the series, with Jamie replacing Lucas as he dribbles a basketball across the bridge.
* ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'': The December 1996 trilogy of ''Heroes and Villains'', ''Modern Men'', and ''Time On Our Hands'' were originally intended to be the GrandFinale for the show (the final episode pulling 24.1 million viewers), but another trilogy broadcast between 2001 and 2003 soon came.
* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': The Season Six finale "Final Appeal" was intended as the final episode as the series had been cancelled by Showtime but it was picked up for a seventh and final season by the Sci-Fi Channel.
* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'', [[http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/parks-and-recreation-co-creator-mike-schur-on-writing-the-perfect-finale-again-and-again-and-again according to co-creator Mike Schur]], has done this several times, due to the show's shaky ratings.
** The showrunners were worried that, since ''Parks'' was a midseason replacement in season 3, that it would be cancelled soon after. So they wrote the season 3 finale, "Lil Sebastian", as a possible series finale.
** The season 4 finale, "Win, Lose or Draw" was also written as a respectable finale [[spoiler:with Leslie winning the city council election]].
** The season 5 episode "Leslie and Ben" was also written as a series finale because it was the last episode of the [[{{Front 13 Back 9}} front 13]] produced.
** A unique case with the Season 6 episode "Moving Up" with [[spoiler:Leslie accepting a new job with the National Parks Department, the Unity Concert, and a 3-year time skip]]. The show had already been renewed but the storylines of Season 6 were well in place pre-renewal. So they just went with it and Season 7 was a PostScriptSeason.
* ''Series/PlanetAjay'''s finale episode, "Highlights Show", is set up to be like this, and likely would have been a straight example if the show went on any longer after its [[ShortRunners only 13-episode season]]. The episode is a ClipShow where Chips the robot is trying to remind Ajay, who is packing up to go on a 2,517-year-long trip around the universe, of all that his friends did for him on Planet Ajay, but he fails to persuade him not to take the trip. [[spoiler:Ajay decides against going on the trip at the last second, however, and he instead decides to throw a party for everyone on Planet Ajay... but he makes this decision right around the end of his 30-minute stay on Planet Ajay (Ajay travels to the planet via a magic ring whose magic wears out after 30 minutes), and he has to travel back to Earth.]]
%%* ''Series/PoliceCameraAction'' has had this trope ''four times''.
* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' has had a bunch of these; even if you don't consider the Franchise/SuperSentai formula was adopted after Season 6, making ''every'' season finale a series finale, because of the amount of times it has been UnCanceled:
** Due to a lack of understanding and faith in ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' for long-term survival by the various networks, when it was finally given its chance by Fox it was only meant to last for one season of 40 episodes total, only to be replaced by a more suitable long-term show once found. The show's intended series finale would have been the two-part episode "Doomsday" in which Rita Repulsa would have been permanently defeated in a similar manner as her counterpart in ''Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger''. Due to the show's unforeseen popularity however, the ending of "Doomsday" was changed at the last minute to leave open the possibility of future episodes. In addition, new suits and footage were quickly and specially commissioned from Toei by Saban to expand the first season to 60 episodes total, as Saban had only minimal usable footage of ''Zyuranger'' left after the first 40 episodes. At the same time Saban also secured the rights to use footage from subsequent ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' shows for future ''Power Rangers'' seasons.
** The finale of ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'', "Countdown to Destruction," was also made to end the series, with almost all the villains of the past and present launching a full-scale conquest of the universe, only for [[spoiler:Zordon's death being required for his power to spread through the universe, reducing the overwhelming majority of the villains to dust and purifying a small handful of fan-favorites into non-evil humans]].
** ''[[Series/PowerRangersWildForce Wild Force]]'' was also meant to serve as the last season for the series, as the plan was for Disney (who'd bought out the series) to end it and put it into syndication. The seasonal content reflected this; in addition to featuring a 10th anniversary special that had every Red Ranger ever return, the two-parter finale was tellingly named "The End of the Power Rangers." And then someone convinced Disney to move filming to New Zealand and cut costs by a third.
** The season finale of ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' was supposed to be the series finale until Saban picked up the rights to the franchise again. It is the finale for Disney's ownership of the show, for better or worse. Its predecessor, ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'', was also intended to be the last season, but Bandai, ''who made the toys'', begged them into one more season - ''RPM''.
%%* ''Series/PrisonBreak'': "Sona", the second season finale.
* The frequent uncertainty over the future of ''Series/RedDwarf'' since it was UnCanceled in 2009 means that each series finale has had to be written bearing in mind that it might be the last ever (excluding the eleventh series, as it was filmed back-to-back with the twelfth series). Including the original 1988-99 run, there are ''five'' different episodes that could have served as the last ever. The more recent ones have more consciously tried to serve as potential last ever episodes; "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonXTheBeginning The Beginning]]" provides a BookEnd to the very first episode, and "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonXIISkipper Skipper]]" is largely based around ContinuityPorn.
* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' has several:
** The last episode of season five hosted by Buck Henry with musical guests Andrew Gold, Andrae Crouch, and Voices of Unity. It even ended with the remnants of the original "Not Ready for Primetime" cast running out of the studio as the "ON AIR" light flashed off for (what seemed like it would be) the final time.
** ...Then along came NBC's decision to continue the show, which, at first with Jean Doumanian and ''her'' cast (save for Creator/EddieMurphy and Joe Piscopo), was a bad idea. The last Doumanian-produced episode hosted by Creator/BillMurray was also written as the last one...until Dick Ebersol stepped in as Doumanian's replacement.
** The last episode of season 11 (hosted by Creator/AnjelicaHuston and Billy Martin with musical guest Music/GeorgeClinton and Parliament-Funkadelic) was written as the series finale as well, due to the low ratings and terrible reviews the show had gotten during the season. The final scene had everyone in the cast (except for Creator/JonLovitz) locked in a room that Lorne had set on fire. When the show was given a second chance at life, the final scene (and everything about season 11) was written off as AllJustADream ("...a horrible, horrible dream").
** The last episode of season 20 (hosted by Creator/DavidDuchovny), much like season 11, was also a series fauxnale that had a large majority of cast members killed off (as seen in the "Beastman" cold opening and the last sketch where the popular male cast members all throw themselves in a polar bear cage exhibit at the zoo).
* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' was intended at least two years beforehand to end with its eighth season. It almost didn't get an eighth season due to the UsefulNotes/TVStrikes, but {{Channel Hop}}ped from NBC to ABC (who owned the show) and ended with a GrandFinale that both poked fun and emulated most series finales... before being picked up for its ninth season, with a mostly new cast.
* ''Series/SeaQuestDSV'':
** "An Ocean on Fire", [[spoiler:where the titular sub is destroyed]].
** Happened the following season: "Splashdown", [[spoiler:where the titular sub is abducted by aliens, brought to an alien planet to save one faction from the genocidal evil faction, realize they're actually working for the evil faction and try to stop the evil faction, have most of the main cast trapped in an underwater facility which they blow up (either being incinerated or drowned), the sub being sunk in combat with a huge hole punched through the ship, and only Lucas (a boy genius), Dagwood (a genetically engineered gentlegiant), and Darwin (a regular dolphin) having escaped. Episode ends with Lucas promising Dagwood they'd somehow find a way back to earth and make sure the seaQuest's fate wasn't forgotten... followed up with the caption "seaQuest DSV will return..."]]
* ''Series/SeventhHeaven'' is a weird case, as they weren't ''told'' to wrap it up because they were being canceled--they were intending to end the show after 10 seasons. Then Creator/TheCW [[ExecutiveMeddling told the writers that they wanted the show]] around to help with the transitional period after [[Creator/{{UPN}} the]] [[Creator/TheWB merger]], so make an eleventh season. It... wasn't as well-received as the previous seasons.
* Season 1 of ''Series/SledgeHammer'' ended with a very large bang, as Inspector Sledge [[CatchPhrase "Trust me, I know what I'm doing"]] Hammer attempted to disarm a nuke... and failed. When the show got picked up for a second season, the cliffhanger was handwaved away by setting the new episodes "five years earlier", while continuing all ongoing story elements and character development unchanged. More precisely, they explained that the Season 1 finale took place five years ''later''.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'' had ''four'' of these throughout its run: the finales of seasons 5, 6, 7 and 8:
** The first two came when the writers were almost sure the network would end the series, and both ended on cliffhangers that were intended to lead up to a follow-up [[TheMovie theatrical movie]], which in turn would set up the spinoff series ''Series/StargateAtlantis''; both times, the series got renewed for a new season after all.
** For season 7, the planned theatrical movie was reworked into a two-episode GrandFinale that would lead directly into ''Atlantis'' — but the series was renewed yet again, resulting in the finale's ending being rewritten so that ''Atlantis'' would be set in a different galaxy (to limit crossovers, as it was going to be contemporary with SG-1 rather than replacing it).
** Season 8 had a full-blown multi-part GrandFinale that ended with an epic battle, the defeat of every major antagonist in the series, and the resolution of 8 years worth of character threads and plotlines. In fact, it wrapped things up so completely that the next season necessitated a complete {{Retool}} of the show. Ironically, when the series was actually cancelled after season 10 the writers were expecting an extra year, so they weren't able to make a proper GrandFinale — instead, the series ended with most major storylines unresolved, and the planned arc for season 11 was reworked into a direct-to-DVD movie follow-up ''Film/StargateTheArkOfTruth''.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** The second season finale saw the Winchester brothers [[spoiler: finally defeat the enemy they'd been pursuing since the first episode]], as due to the series not quite yet being one of the iconic shows on the CW and renewal had yet to be confirmed, which is one reason that plotline was wrapped up so in case the show didn't return it at least would have an acceptable ending. Although there was a slight cliffhanger with [[spoiler:Dean selling his soul and only having a year to live]], it wasn't as in your face about it as most other cliffhangers, having more of a "[[AndTheAdventureContinues just business as usual]]" feeling rather than a big OhCrap moment like the others.
** The fifth season is a pretty good example, even with the SequelHook at the very end. The story that had been building for the past 5 seasons had finally been resolved, the BigBad was defeated, series creator Kripke stopped writing the show, and it could have all been over. Except it wasn't, it was only a third of the way through the series.
* When ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' suffered its lowest ratings with ''Series/ChikyuuSentaiFiveman'' to the point that it was facing cancellation, it was ultimately decided that ''Series/ChoujinSentaiJetman'' (inspired by ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'', which was one of the major influences for the franchise itself) would be the final season. ''Jetman'''s finale ended with a [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue taking place three years after the show in which [[spoiler: Gai (now a businessman) gets stabbed by a mugger after saving a woman who got mugged by him and spending his last dying moments sitting on a bench, but on a happier note, [[OfficialCouple Ryu and Kaori]] get married, Ako becomes an idol singer and Raita is now a farmer]]. The good response actually saved the show from being cancelled and the show has continued airing since then.
* ''Series/TodaysSpecial'': The fifth-season episode "Live on Stage" was intended to be a GrandFinale for the series, where Jeff was finally able to join his friends outside the store, but then the series got UnCanceled for another two seasons.
* ''Series/TorchwoodChildrenOfEarth'', the third series of ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' was written with the possibility of it being the final series in mind, as the BBC seemed very unlikely to renew it for a fourth series, despite higher than ever viewership. So to make it conclusive, [[spoiler:Ianto is KilledOffForReal, Torchwood as we know it is wiped from the records, and Jack leaves Earth forever, too plagued by the guilt of his grandson's murder to stay. Oh, and Gwen is pregnant.]] However, the series was picked up by Starz and BBC Worldwide, and a fourth series, ''Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay'' was aired two years later.
* Season 5 of ''Series/{{Veep}}'' ends with Selina leaving office without any chance of taking part in the new administration, while her staff all go their separate ways onto new things. However, by the time this episode aired, the series had already been renewed for a sixth season.
* ''Series/WheelOfFortune'': Happened twice in the summer of 1980, as Fred Silverman was desperately trying to retool his daytime schedule to get rid of all game shows. The first time, a mock-up schedule scrubbed ''Wheel'' in favor of a 90-minute (and, some claim two hour) daytime talkfest hosted by David Letterman. Although Silverman was prepared to give Chuck Woolery time to say goodbye for the June 20, 1980 program, ''Wheel'' ultimately was spared, but almost wasn't as lucky later in the summer when Silverman ordered an hour-long version of ''Series/AnotherWorld'' and a new soap opera called ''Texas.'' In this latter case, a finale ''was'' ordered for August 1, 1980, with host Chuck Woolery inviting then-wife Jo Ann Pflug onstage to thank the viewers for "5-1/2 wonderful years," and kissing both her and hostess Susan Stafford on the lips after Stafford said her farewells. The show was completed sometime in early July 1980 ... but then NBC decided instead to trim Letterman's struggling show to 60 minutes, meaning ''Wheel'' again was spared. That meant a hastily edited program airing on Friday, August 1, editing out Woolery's farewell speech (although an extended full-length closing credits was still shown); on the following Monday, Woolery [[ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated laughedly explains why they were back so soon]].
* The finales to seasons 1 and 3 of ''Series/TheWire'' were written as potential series finales, wrapping up all existing plot threads and concluding with a distinct air of finality, because in both instances the creators didn't know whether the series would be renewed for additional seasons.
* ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'' wrapped up nicely with an hour-long last episode in which Justin wins the Wizard Competition but decides to hand the baton to Alex. Then comes the second movie in 2013.
* ''Series/TheXFiles'':
** The first movie was meant to be the ending of the show, then Fox decided to hang onto their cash cow a while longer. The film's third act shows definite signs of being hastily rewritten to leave things open enough for the series to continue (Cigarette Smoking Man showing up in Antarctica and then leaving without actually doing anything being the most obvious).
** WordOfGod says that "[[Recap/TheXFilesS07E22Requiem Requiem]]", the last episode of season seven, was written to serve as a series finale if they didn't get picked up again. Some X-Philes actually use it that way.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'':
** ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' ends with the only known xenomorphs in the ''entire universe'' being turned into a cloud of vapor the size of Nebraska in a thermonuclear explosion. Yes, it was a good bet that other eggs existed ''somewhere'' out there, but the chances we'd run across them by accident was literally astronomical. Of course, the writers found another way...
** Creator/SigourneyWeaver came back for ''Film/Alien3'' only on the condition that Ripley be killed so that she wouldn't be asked to make any more ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' movies. A few years later, she changed her mind.
* ''Film/BeneathThePlanetOfTheApes'' was originally meant to be the final entry in ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'' franchise, [[spoiler: which is why it ends with Earth being blown up by a nuclear weapon]]. However, the producers wanted to squeeze more money out of what had become a CashCowFranchise, and decided to continue the series by [[spoiler:using TimeTravel to [[Film/EscapeFromThePlanetOfTheApes take the surviving protagonists back to the period in history just before the apes took over]]]].
* ''Film/TheBourneUltimatum'' ended with Jason Bourne helping blow the whistle on [[NoSuchAgency Treadstone and its successor agency Blackbriar]]. The franchise was subsequently followed by two more movies, ''Film/TheBourneLegacy'' (a spin-off that gave this film a HappyEndingOverride), and a direct sequel, ''Film/JasonBourne''.
* ''[[Film/FinalDestination4 The Final Destination]]'', the fourth film in the ''Film/FinalDestination'' series, was meant to close out the franchise for good (hence the '''''The''''' in the title) and offered a (controversial) reason for Death to allow the premonitions to happen. It promptly became the highest-grossing film in the series and was followed by ''Film/FinalDestination5''. [[spoiler:Subverted in a way, in that the twist ending reveals ''Final Destination 5'' is actually a prequel, thus leaving ''The Final Destination'' as the finale chronologically.]]
* ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' has no less than ''four'' films that was meant to be the final one:
** ''Film/FridayThe13thPartIII'' was originally meant to be the final installment, ending the series as a trilogy. This explains why Jason had an axe throw into his skull in the movies climax; he was meant to be KilledOffForReal here. But true to his MadeOfIron self, the next film (which was also meant to be the final one, as described below) reveals that he survived
** ''Film/FridayThe13thTheFinalChapter'' was indeed meant to be one, but... [[Film/FridayThe13thPartVANewBeginning wasn't]].
** Also [[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIIIJasonTakesManhattan the eighth movie]] [[spoiler:where Jason is turned back into a little boy]].
** Also, ''Film/JasonGoesToHellTheFinalFriday'', which was the ''ninth'' movie in the franchise. It was followed by [[Film/JasonX two]] [[Film/FreddyVsJason more]] Jason films, and [[Film/FridayThe13th2009 a remake]] of the original.
* ''Film/Furious7'' was built up to be the GrandFinale of ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' series, even going as far as to give a fitting sendoff to Creator/PaulWalker, who tragically died in a car accident prior to the movie's release. However, Creator/VinDiesel signed up for three more installments.
* ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'':
** ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters'' was going to be the last ''Godzilla'' film, as it takes place in the future, the Big Bad is killed, and they all live happily ever after. But it wasn't.
** It would be attempted again with ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah'', where everything comes full circle with the birth of a monster from the very thing that killed the original Godzilla to [[spoiler:the death of the then current Godzilla]]. After ''Film/Godzilla1998'', however, Toho decided to show everyone how it's done by making more Godzilla movies, coming to a head with ''Film/GodzillaFinalWars''.
** And even ''Godzilla: Final Wars'' wasn't the true end to the franchise! After the success of [[Film/Godzilla2014 the 2014 American remake]], Toho decided to bring the series out of retirement and released ''Film/ShinGodzilla'' two years later.
* ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'':
** ''Film/HalloweenII1981'' was originally supposed to conclude the [[Film/{{Halloween 1978}} the original film's]] story (which itself wasn't supposed to have a sequel), and [[Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch the third film]] had a brand new story. Instead, [[Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers the fourth film]] brought back Michael Myers for good.
** ''[[Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later]]'' was very clearly meant to be the definitive final film in the series. Then ''Film/HalloweenResurrection'' came along, retconning the ending of ''H20'' into a DownerEnding to set the stage for another sequel, which failed to revitalize the franchise anyway. The series then [[Film/{{Halloween 2007}} got rebooted]] to a new continuity with Music/RobZombie at the helm. And then another film, ''Film/Halloween2018'', retcons everything but the original.
* ''Film/JamesBond'': ''Film/{{Spectre}}'' ends in a way that it simultaneously wraps up Craig-Bond's story, while also having a note of AndTheAdventureContinues. Creator/DanielCraig was contracted to appear in one more film but struck a deal with the studios; of course [[WillReturnCaption "James Bond Will Return"]], but for a time it was touch-and-go on whether or not Craig would be back. He finally confirmed he would be reprising the role for one final outing, ''Film/NoTimeToDie''.
* When ''A Madea Family Funeral'' was released in 2019, Creator/TylerPerry said that it would be the last outing of the Madea character. However, a few years later, he worked out a deal with Netflix for a new film, ''A Madea Homecoming'', which furthermore was meant as [[PoorlyDisguisedPilot a backdoor pilot]] for a prequel TV series made with Showtime.
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** ''Film/IronMan3'' was made so that it could serve as a conclusion to the ComicBook/IronMan character just in case Creator/RobertDowneyJr did not want to reprise the role in future MCU films (as it was the final movie on his original contract with Marvel), which is presumably why it ended with Tony destroying all of his Iron Man suits and promising to devote himself to his girlfriend Pepper. While Downey would go on to play the character for another 6 years until ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', no other solo ''Iron Man'' movies were ever produced.
** ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' could’ve been the GrandFinale of the Marvel Cinematic Universe because it concludes a story arc that has been going for 10 years but is simply the end of the Infinity Saga and the story that began in ''Film/IronMan1'', not the total end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The point is driven home because it was one of the only MCU films not to have a [[TheStinger post-credits scene]]. ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'', which served as an epilogue to the Infinity Saga, teased more to come.
* ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' :
** ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'' was advertised in multiple media as ''The Final Chapter of the Epic Trilogy'' since it was supposed to be the end of the series. Despite that, there have been two more movies and one more coming in the way (although they follow a different story that is slightly connected to the first three).
** In a similar way ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMenTellNoTales'' was announced as ''The Final Adventure Begins'' which make fans wonder if this was supposed to be the final movie or just the beginning of the final adventure (which could be from 2 or 3 movies). The movie itself can work as a conclusion with [[spoiler:Will and Elizabeth finally ending up together and Jack Sparrow sailing in the Black Pearl to the horizon in a similar way to the first movie finale]] until we get to TheStinger where [[spoiler:it turns out Davy Jones has revived and tries to kill Will and Elizabeth]].
* ''Film/SawIII'' was clearly intended to finish the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' series since it wraps up everything pretty nicely. There was even a box set released of the "Saw Trilogy". A few {{Sequel Hook}}s were added (Jigsaw's brief flashback, as well as the wax-covered tape and Amanda's letter) so that the series could continue. And then ''Film/Saw3D'' aka ''Saw: the Final Chapter'' was meant to be the last before ''Film/{{Jigsaw}}'' was announced.
* ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'' was supposed to be the GrandFinale for ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' and the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise itself, since the TV spin-offs didn't exist at the time. A lot of this came down to the TroubledProduction and lukewarm reception to ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'', leaving Paramount with feelings that that the franchise was at an end, but wanting to recoup something of the bloated budget of ''[=TMP=]''. Further, it was known that Creator/LeonardNimoy had cooled to playing Spock any more [[note]][[CommonKnowledge contrary to popular belief]], this was NOT because he [[IAmNotSpock hated the character]], but because he wanted new challenges and desired to escape typecasting -- he was also not happy with how Paramount and Creator/GeneRoddenberry seemed indifferent to his likeness as Spock being used without his permission in advertising, including a Heineken beer ad that really got under his skin[[/note]], and with no Spock, there really was no ''Star Trek'' as he was the show's BreakoutCharacter. But a couple of funny things happened on the way to shutting the franchise down -- first, general audience reaction to test screenings was overwhelmingly positive, leading executives to think they could have a hit on their hands. Further, Creator/LeonardNimoy was having second thoughts about completely parting ways with ''Star Trek''.[[note]]Nimoy recounts a humorous exchange with then-Paramount head Michael Eisner in his book ''I Am Spock'' over this point. When he asked about directing the upcoming ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'', Eisner expressed doubts because he had heard Nimoy had it written into his contract for ''Khan'' that he wouldn't return ever again to the character or ''Trek''. Nimoy challenged Eisner to go down to the records department of the very building the two were in (where his contract was) to see that there was no such clause.[[/note]] Because of this, and fan despondency surrounding the scene of Spock's death, which was much more final in the original test cut, [[SequelHook a scene was shot with Spock putting his katra into McCoy's mind]] in case Nimoy wanted to return for any sequels.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'': ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' was intended to be the last movie made, while chronologically ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' was meant to be the GrandFinale. However, in 2012, Creator/{{Disney}} brought the rights to Creator/{{Lucasfilm}} and decided to develop the Sequel Trilogy, with ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' being the true finale of the saga (though Disney will still be making movies after the release of Episode IX, no future movies will officially be part of the Skywalker Saga).
* ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'':
** The original alternate ending of ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' showed the now aged Sarah and the grown up John playing with his child at the park.
** VERY averted with ''[[Film/TerminatorSalvation Salvation]]'', ''Geny''.. ''Gine''... [[Film/TerminatorGenisys the fifth one]], '''and''' ''[[Film/TerminatorDarkFate Dark Fate]]'', each of which was supposed to be the beginning of a second trilogy. However, none of them made quite enough money at the box office for those trilogies to materialize.
* ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' was going to be the last ''[[Film/TransformersFilmSeries Transformers]]'' movie, as it ended with [[spoiler:Cybertron being destroyed and all of the Decepticons killed off]]. The film was obviously a box-office hit, so the series was {{Retool}}ed with ''[[Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction Age of Extinction]]''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Done deliberately in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' with the [[spoiler:"Return to Shiganshina"]] arc, which gathers all the heroes and villains in the place WhereItAllBegan. A massive battle ensues, tons of characters die and it all ends with [[spoiler:Eren and co. reaching the long-rumored basement and learning the truth about the Titans and supposedly solving the OntologicalMystery that drove the series]]. The anime goes even further by also making it a giant throwback to Season 1 with an OP that directly referenced Season 1's intros, brought back tons of songs during the episodes not heard since then, and even used the Season 1 animation style of thicker black lines and shading during the episode when the basement was finally opened. But alas, the manga would pick up where the story left off [[spoiler:after a TimeSkip]], and the anime would follow suit with ''The Final Season''.
* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'':
** The Jinyo arc was likely written as a potential end for the series, taking up most of the third volume (when short-lived ''Shonen Jump'' manga tend to end). It leads to Shirogane's HeelFaceTurn, Matsuri restored to male form, and him realizing he's in love with Suzu, resolving a good part of the manga's major conflict... but for the important details that Matsuri goes back to being female after a few hours, and Shirogane no longer has the power to change him back. Shirogane even interrupts Suzu and Matsuri's hug to declare "You're still a far cry from a happy ending!"
** The end of the tenth volume, right before the series changed magazine, is a two-chapter story where Suzu is given the chance to reverse Matsuri's gender transformation [[TheStoryThatNeverWas by altering history so it never happened in the first place]]. Suzu ends up deciding against it because, even if they still want Matsuri to be a boy again, his transformation [[CursedWithAwesome led to his life significantly improving]] in ways they didn't want to lose.
* A strange example in the ''Manga/BlackCat'' anime, which reaches the end of the manga with Train defeating Creed and foiling his plans. Then suddenly, with only a single minor scene of {{Foreshadowing}} (and an entire story arc revolving around Eve's creator and her origins being strangely absent), [[AssPull several members of the Numbers are revealed to be]] TheMole for a whole other organization, and the series ends in a four-episode anime-only story arc instead that changes Eve's origins entirely. It can't even be explained away as a GeckoEnding, since the anime started a whole year after the manga ended.
* Creator/NanakoTsujimura believed that ''Literature/TheCaseFilesOfJewelerRichard'' would end after four volumes, and so introduced a sort of wrap up. Fortunately, sales were good enough that book after book kept coming.
* ''Manga/Cyborg009'':
** At first, fans assumed that the Mythos Cyborg arc might have also been intended as a finale. The arc ends very abruptly, with an explosion destroying everything and the narrator noting that there were no traces of any of the cyborgs left behind (leaving viewers to assume they'd died). However, the reality is that Ishinomori had trouble with the editorial department in Weekly Shonen King, who decided to drop the series as they felt the Mythos arc was too confusing and complicated for children to understand. Thus when given the final chapter, he ended things off in a rushed and ambiguous manner.
** The ''actual'' original ending was the Underground Empire arc in 1967; however, fans did ''not'' take very well to the bittersweet (yet now considered iconic) finale in which [[spoiler:Cyborgs 002 and 009 fall to Earth, dying upon re-entry and becoming a "shooting star" seen by two children. The brother wishes for a toy gun, but the sister wishes for peace]]. Fan outcry convinced Shotaro Ishinomori to resume the series soon enough, and he threw in a retcon for that ending. Although, as far as the Sega CD game in the '90s goes, this moment is where the series ends, and although the 2001 anime also loosely adapted the prologue of "Conclusion: God's War" as a post-series OVA, this moment was also intended to end the series.
* It is pretty apparent that ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'' was supposed to end at Chapter 106, the last chapter of Volume 6. In it, Doraemon returns to the future and bids goodbye to Nobita, who promises to become a good kid even in his absence. However, the popularity of the series and editorial demands led series creators Creator/FujikoFujio to revert this with the very next chapter, which provides a DeusExMachina for Doraemon to be able to travel back again.
* ''Franchise/DragonBall'' had [[http://www.kanzenshuu.com/intended-end/ multiple instances]] where the series might have ended, but didn't. Here are some of the better known cases:
** The ''Manga/DragonBall'' manga initially was not very popular. While Creator/AkiraToriyama did take steps to address common criticisms of it as soon as the first arc concluded, the third arc in which The Red Ribbon Army is the central antagonist, was written in such a way that the story could have a satisfying ending if it was indeed canceled. The arc was a hit, however, and so Toriyama decided to continue. The manga becomes turbulent from here on, as Toriyama keeps writing what he thinks will be a good way to end things only to decide to continue instead.
** The 23rd Budokai, where Goku defeated Piccolo. For the anime, this was the conclusion of the original series with the story continuing as ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' after a TimeSkip. While time skips are routine in ''Dragon Ball'', there usually being one between each StoryArc, this was the longest one yet (and would remain so until the one after the Cell Saga), which is a large part of why the anime adaptation treated this as the end of ''Dragon Ball'' and what came after as the SequelSeries ''Dragon Ball Z''. In the manga, Master Roshi broke the fourth wall to confirm that the story will in fact be continuing.
** The end of the Cell Saga very much ''does'' feel like a finale, with Goku dying in one last HeroicSacrifice while PassingTheTorch to his son Gohan, who finally unlocks the great potential that's been hinted at ever since his introduction years earlier and defeats the BigBad who Goku couldn't. It actually ''was'' the finale of the ReCut ''Anime/DragonBallZKai'' before it was UnCanceled.
** Ironically, ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' was considered this for a long while for the ''Dragon Ball'' series. Then, 20 years later, after the warm reception to the ''Anime/YoSonGokuAndHisFriendsReturn'' special short, the folks over at Toei decided to try their luck again with ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods'', ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'', and ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', both retconning ''GT'' and fulfilling this trope at once.
* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'' ended in 2010 but was surprisingly renewed for another season in 2014. It helped that the first season only adapted the first 3 books of the series, and that it ended with a few [[SequelHook lingering plot threads]] to be potentially explored in future episodes.
* The Southern Cross story arc of ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' (the first ten chapters of the manga and the first 22 episodes of the anime) was written so that it could stand on its own in case the manga wasn't picked up. Shin's status as Kenshiro's TokenMotivationalNemesis (being the guy who engraved Ken's seven scars and stole his girlfriend) is cemented afterward when the manga continued beyond his death.
* ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'' gives us an epic battle between Nakago and the Suzaku Seishi (and Seiryuu and Suzaku themselves!) [[TheTokyoFireball in Tokyo]] before fast-forwarding to three and a half months later to symbolically wrap things up with CherryBlossoms. This was supposed to be the GrandFinale for both the anime and the manga, but... y'know.
* ''Anime/GaoGaiGar'' has a similar example to that of ''Anime/PrettyCure'''s, with BigBad Pasder being defeated for good in episode 30. Then the Primevals happened. This one's entirely a case of YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle. It had only filled out [[SpoiledByTheFormat half the episodes]] of any ''Anime/BraveSeries'' and made it known by revealing King J-der's lovingly animated design and StockFootage.
* Happened multiple times with ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'':
** Episode 201 abruptly ended with Kagura breaking the fourth wall and saying "Happy Merry Last Episode!" followed by the usual credits sequence being replaced with a montage of moments from throughout the show's history. Despite the strong implication that this was meant to be the end, the show returned for another season the following year.
** Following another 64 episodes, the anime seemingly ended for good with the 2013 release of a BigDamnMovie that acted as a GrandFinale. However, the success of the movie led to the show being revived ''[[UnCanceled again]]'' in 2015. The season premier even poked fun at the whole affair by having Gintoki give a press conference where he apologized for the show having returned again despite the seeming finality of the film.
** Meanwhile, the manga seemingly reached its conclusion with ''Silver Soul'', an epic arc that [[BackForTheFinale brought back nearly every character who'd ever appeared in the series]] for a huge SaveTheWorld plot. Then, at the last moment, it was revealed that the series would continue online with an epilogue arc that ran for another 36 chapters before ''finally'' ending once and for all.
** Then, in 2018, the anime began its adaptation of ''Silver Soul'', with this season promised as the last one for real this time. Despite this, the season once again finished with the characters breaking the fourth wall to apologize for the lack of a proper ending, followed by an announcement that ''another'' movie would be released in 2021 to finish the story. As if to lampshade the whole thing, said movie is titled ''Gintama: The '''Very''' Final''.
* The second season of ''Anime/HellGirl'' ultimately became this due to a third season coming along. In the second season finale, Ai becomes mortal and sacrifices herself to save a young girl, resulting in Hell Correspondence dissolving and each member going their separate ways. Come the third season, however, and Ai gets revived and forced to reunite the group to continue making deals with mortals.
* ''Young Kindaichi's Trip of Death Preparedness'' was the final case of ''Manga/TheKindaichiCaseFiles'', and it shows. [[BigBad Kindaichi's archnemesis]] declares the case their final battle, and Kindaichi faces the most direct and dramatic threats to himself, successfully exposes and redeems the culprit despite them having the [[BuriedAlive most horrifying]] FreudianExcuse in the series, and captures said archenemy, who [[GracefulLoser gracefully admits total defeat]] as he's brough off to jail. The archenemy then sends Kindaichi a letter containing a list of places he'd scouted as likely to be the sites of future cases, so Kindaichi collects donations from [[BackForTheFinale everyone who'd ever been a recurring character in the entire expanded universe up to that point]], [[spoiler: has his FirstKiss with Miyuki]], and [[ButNowIMustGo sets off on a bike trip across Japan]] to visit all the listed places, leaving his friends and family behind... then the series was revived three years later. The firse ''New'' case could have functioned as an epilogue, as Kindaichi coincidentally runs into Miyuki when she visits one of the areas on the list and the two of them solve a final case when she winds up framed for murder, but after it was confirmed that ''The New Kindaichi Case Files'' would be an ongoing serialization, Kindaichi returned to high school, his archenemy broke out of prison ([[CardboardPrison admittedly not for the first time]]) and started planning new cases, and everything went back to normal.
* ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' was the very first TV anime of Seven Arcs and was TheAnimeOfTheGame to boot, so it ends in a rather final way with the BigBad dead, the {{MacGuffin}}s safely secured, Fate having a tearful farewell with Nanoha, the last scenes showing everything going back to the way they were, and... whoops, looks like Seven Arcs' first attempt at a series was successful enough to kickstart a franchise! Contrast the finales of the subsequent seasons, whose [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue "Where Are They Now?" Epilogues]] are unambiguous in its intent of setting things up for the next season.
* ''Anime/MagicalPrincessMinkyMomo'' had an infamous one in which after the show was ScrewedByTheMerchandise, out of spite Creator/TakeshiShudo made an episode with Momo losing her powers and then followed it up with her being ''[[TheHeroDies hit by a truck]]''. However, they were contractually obligated to continue the series and picked up where they left off with her being [[ReincarnationFriendship reincarnated as her foster parents' real child]].
* The Pain arc from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' which ended with Naruto returning to the village as a beloved hero, considering his beginnings as a lonely outcast, it feels conclusive to his character as a whole and the series could've ended there perfectly ([[SeasonalRot for some fans they wish that was the case]]), if it wasn't for the dangling threads of a still missing Sasuke, Tsunade being put in a coma and [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Danzo taking control of Konoha]], and [[BigBad Tobi]]'s evil plot. But barring that, there's the [[WarArc Fourth Shinobi World War]] which serves as a very definite Final Battle for all involved and the FinalBattle ends with [[spoiler:Naruto and Sasuke finally reconciling]], aside from a few loose ends being left unwrapped, like [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse the fates of Orochimaru and Team Taka]], there was the DistantFinale which felt like the definitive conclusion and finally answered which were the {{Official Couple}}s. This of course was just the platform for [[Franchise/{{Naruto}} the franchise's]] New Era Project consisting of ''Manga/NarutoGaiden'', ''Anime/BorutoNarutoTheMovie'' and ''[[Manga/{{Boruto}} Boruto: Naruto Next Generation]]''.
* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'':
** The second film of the franchise, ''[[Anime/Pokemon2000 The Power of One'']] could be taken as an early conclusion for Ash's journey, as he not only saves the entire planet and fulfills a prophecy that he serves a key role in, he successfully cooperates with three of the legendary Pokemon birds, Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres. In addition to that, the film resolves the Ash and Misty relationship with Misty vowing to stay at Ash's side so he'll never be alone.
** The end of the ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearl Diamond and Pearl]]'' series is significant in that it's the first series that didn't contain any kind of obvious SequelHook for the next generation, with Ash simply returning home to Pallet Town after his journey in Sinnoh. It's also notable as the official sendoff for Brock, who had been a mainstay since Episode 5 of [[Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries the original series]]; he explicitly tells Ash that he's changing his goal and can no longer continue traveling with him, thus putting their partnership to an end after 13 long years. It's not too hard to see this episode as something of a GrandFinale for the "classic era" of the anime, especially as the next series served as a SoftReboot that reset Ash and overhauled many other aspects. Every series since has similarly {{retool}}ed the show to fit a certain direction, each one more different than the last.
** The end of the ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesXY XY]]'' series also gives off a feeling of finality, as for the first time a series ended with a WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue sequence (featuring Ash's rivals no less) and {{montage}}s of the highlight moments of the (human) party members, with Ash's being a full-fledged CreditsMontage. The episode even ends with "And to each [their] own way" rather than the usual "Next Time - A New Beginning!" However, this was not because this was the end of the anime,[[note]]they were [[MerchandiseDriven more than aware]] [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon that it wasn't]][[/note]] but because much of the staff who had been on the anime for years were leaving at once. [[note]]Though the case could also be made that this was also ''{{intended|AudienceReaction}}'' to give those who stuck with the series for however long a proper {{jumping|OnPoint}} ''[[InvertedTrope off]]'' point, allowing the FleetingDemographicRule [[EnforcedTrope to actually take effect]].[[/note]]
* ''Anime/PrettyCure'':
** The 26th episode of ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure'' appears to have been written under the assumption that it would probably be the last. The BigBad is unambiguously killed off by a climactic ThemeMusicPowerUp, the last of the QuirkyMinibossSquad is eliminated, [[SaveBothWorlds the Garden of Light is restored]], [[LargeAndInCharge the Queen]] gives Nagisa and Honoka a heartfelt thank you, and there's even a happy reunion between the main characters and the {{Mon}}s in the final scenes. This was the series that kicked off ''Anime/PrettyCure''-- PostScriptSeason doesn't really cover it. Amusingly, everyone in the series spends the next few episodes [[LampshadeHanging confused and not exactly sure where things were going now]]
** It happened again in ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'' with Episode 23, defeating all four members of the QuirkyMinibossSquad and gaining a brand new form to beat Pierrot with... then the next episode starts out with everything back to square one: they still have their new powers, but the bad guys are still alive and they're back to collecting [[MacGuffin MacGuffins]] again. In ''Smile''[='s=] case it wasn't actually intended as a finale in the first place, but more likely as a homage to the original ''Pretty Cure''.
* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' ended with Madoka becoming a goddess, and rewriting the laws of the universe so that magical girls wouldn't become witches. Thanks to runaway popularity, ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion'' appeared, introducing [[spoiler:new conflict between Madoka and Homura]], and ending on a SequelHook. Several years on, though, it seems likely that the sequel movie itself was an inversion, since nothing more than [[DevelopmentHell vague implications that a followup might eventually come out]] have been produced.
* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' (both the [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]] and [[Anime/SailorMoon original anime]]) was supposed to have ended with original BigBad Queen Metalia's defeat, but the manga persisted for another 46 chapters and the TV show for another four seasons. This was especially noticeable in the anime, as the first season finale was very clearly intended to be the end of the story, complete with the Sailor Senshi all losing their powers and memories after Metalia's defeat. Because of this, the first two episodes of the second season had to hastily reassemble the girls and give them their powers back to fight a new threat.
* The sports fest arc of ''Manga/SchoolRumble'' ends with Harima and Eri dancing together and it even says "THE END" (well, not really).
* ''Manga/SgtFrog'' sort of does this in Episode 51. In this episode, the Keroro ([[{{Woolseyism}} "A.R.M.]][[GagDub P.I.T."]]) Platoon[[note]]they are simply the "Keroro Platoon" in the original Japanese version[[/note]] receives a message from headquarters ordering them to return to Keron... or they will die. There are even scenes that show them packing everything up, and erasing everyone's memories (including the Hinatas'). It turns out though, that [[spoiler: they only had to return for a regular medical checkup]], and as a result [[spoiler:they never really had to leave "Pekopon" after all]].
* Parodied in the first episode of ''Anime/SpaceDandy'', which ends with almost the entire main cast dying when Dandy's ship explodes and takes out an entire nearby planet, complete with "The End". Then the next episode preview happens, with QT asking "Didn't we all just die?", and the second episode [[NegativeContinuity continues on as if it didn't happen]]. [[spoiler:This actually becomes plot important in the actual finale, as it foreshadowed Dandy's timeline-hopping nature long before it was revealed.]]
* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' had this with its ''Alicization'' arc. ''SAO'' was originally a web novel written from 2001-2008 with ''Alicization'' being the final major story arc completed before the series became an officially published light novel in 2009. It has many hallmarks of a series finale, with the Underworld project being the culmination of the Seed technology developed by Akihiko Kayaba, Kirito's worst and oldest enemy, [[spoiler: the leader of Laughing Coffin a.k.a. the "Prince of Hell"]] [[TheBusCameBack finally returning]] for one last showdown after being missing for much of the series, another one of Kirito's worst enemies [[spoiler: Nobuyuki Sugou]] also playing a major role as a background antagonist, and almost all of the friends and allies he and Asuna have made throughout the franchise [[spoiler: such as the original Aincrad crew, Sinon, General Eugene, Sakuya & Alicia, the Sleeping Knights, and even the digital ghost of Kayaba]] [[BackForTheFinale all returning]] in his darkest hour. For 10 years, ''Alicization'' was indeed the ending of the franchise... but in 2018, Reki Kawahara began publishing the beginning of the ''Unital Ring'' arc, which continues the story beyond ''Alicization''[='s=] end.
* Episode 52 of ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' (which is where the original source material of ''Anime/GoLion'', which they dubbed over to make Voltron ran out) has the Voltron Force successfully attack Planet Doom, defeating Zarkon and Lotor, destroying their armies, and freeing all the slaves. Then the American studio that did the dubbing commissioned [[PostScriptSeason twenty more episodes]], which had Planet Doom suddenly become a threat again, featured very bad writing, and ended on an episode that didn't really resolve anything.
[[/folder]]

!!Examples:

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': After it was cancelled in 2013, the show's truncated sixth season was released on Netflix, culminating in [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS6E13Sacrifice "Sacrifice"]], an episode focusing on Yoda that brought the show to a philosophical resolution but largely disconnected from the actual war. It was then {{Uncanceled}} with a seventh and final season on Creator/DisneyPlus, providing an affirmative conclusion with [[SimultaneousArcs intermingling events]] with ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', the official conclusion to the war.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': After it was cancelled in 2013, the show's truncated sixth season was released on Netflix, culminating in [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS6E13Sacrifice "Sacrifice"]], an episode focusing on Yoda that brought the show to something of a conclusion. At the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con, it was [[{{Uncanceled}} announced]] that a seventh and final season was coming to Creator/DisneyPlus, eventually premiering in February 2020.

* ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'' presents itself as the finale of the 2D ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' games. The game features many game mechanics previously exclusive to certain earlier games, such as a modified Helper system from ''[[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar Super Star]]'', AbilityMixing from ''[[VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards Kirby 64]]'' (albeit in the form of [[SpellBlade elemental weapon imbuement]] more resembling ''[[VideoGame/KirbySqueakSquad Squeak Squad]]''), and [[CoOpMultiplayer four-player co-op]] from ''[[VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand Return to Dream Land]]''. Additionally, the game features a multitude of playable characters in addition to Kirby and the regular Helpers in the Dream Friends, comprised of the other three playable characters from ''Return to Dream Land'' in addition to many returning characters such as Rick, Kine, Coo, Gooey, Marx, Daroach, Magolor, and Susie who likewise represent other individual games. While it wasn't the end of ''Kirby'' as a whole, due to the game's direct mainline successor, ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheForgottenLand'', being the series's VideoGame3DLeap, ''Star Allies'' can still be viewed as the ultimate culmination of the series to that point.

** Season 7's "[[Recap/FuturamaS7E26Meanwhile Meanwhile]]" was a ''fourth'' series finale in which [[spoiler: Fry and Leela get stuck in frozen time together due to a time-reversing button being broken. Stuck in that instant, they make the most of it, get married, and grow old together. Once an unstuck Professor fixes the time button and sets it to make time go back to before the button was conceived, the events of this episode are undone, Fry and Leela content with living their lives over again.]] To add to the feeling of finality, Comedy Central followed up the premiere of this episode with [[Recap/FuturamaS1E1SpacePilot3000 the pilot episode]]. From it's airing in September 2013 to the February 2022 announcement of 20 more episodes from Hulu set to air sometime in 2023, it was the longest-lasting of the show's finales.

** The Season 4 finale "Witch Way Now" has an Angel of Destiny outright spelling out that the Charmed Ones have achieved their shared destiny of defeating the Source of All Evil, and are offered the chance to give up their magic to lead normal lives; making it almost feel like an epilogue to a series-long arc. It similarly ends with the sisters opting to keep their magic, and Piper discovering she's pregnant, but leaves a couple of loose ends open in case there was a fifth season. Funnily enough, the ending shot from that finale would be re-used for the actual series four years laterl.

* Unlike previous seasons, the fourth season of ''Series/{{Lucifer|2016}}'' does not end with a {{Cliffhanger}} and features no SequelHook. Chloe finally accepts Lucifer for what he is and confesses her feelings, but has to part ways with him as he reluctantly retakes the mantle of the King of Hell to prevent more demons from invading Earth. Since the series started in the first place because Lucifer abandoned his post in Hell to essentially have fun, by returning back, it neatly closes the series' MythArc and shows Lucifer's CharacterDevelopment as he chooses to do what is needed instead of what he wants. Other plotlines resolved include Amenadiel's difficulty to accept the complexities of the human world, Dan's struggle to move on from Charlotte's death, Ella's CrisisOfFaith, and Maze's decision to carve a separate life of her own. If Netflix didn't choose to renew it for a fifth season, it could have been a definitive end for the series (albeit a ''very'' [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] one).

* ''Music/{{Eminem}}'' intended ''Encore'' to be his final album thanks to a mix of burnout and drug addiction, featuring lyrics about settling scores, apologizing for his past bad behavior, and passing the torch to his protégés. The next year, he furthered this intention with ''Curtain Call: The Hits'', a GreatestHitsAlbum whose new material took a TorchTheFranchiseAndRun approach. However, after surviving a near-fatal overdose, he cleaned up, which allowed him to return to making music.

** The last episode of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E4Survival "Survival"]] at the end of Season 26 was thought likely to be the last episode ever, so a closing epilogue was added:

** When the decision was made by Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker to step down from their roles as showrunner and Doctor respectively, there was no plan of succession in place at the time, Chibnall would write Jodie's exit, the BBC Centennial special, [[Recap/DoctorWho2022CENThePowerOfTheDoctor ''The Power of the Doctor'']] knowing it could potentially be the last episode of the show before cancellation or at the very least an extensive hiatus. The story ties up as much of 13's loose ends as possible, but also connects the modern show again to the classics, bringing back many past companions and Doctors in significant roles, resolving many loose ends that fans had clamoured years for (such as [[spoiler: reconciling Tegan and Ace with the Fifth and Seventh Doctors, and giving one of the first companions dating back to the 60s, Ian Chesterton, a return cameo]]). Fortunately, the series would find renewal with Russel T. Davies returning to the programme and Jodie handed the keys to the TARDIS to [[spoiler: returning David Tennant, who would keep the TARDIS warm for Ncuti Gatwa's succession of him in 2023]]

* ''Music/{{Eminem}}'' intended ''Encore'' to be his final album, with lyrical content based around settling scores, apologising for his past bad behaviour, and passing the torch to his protégés. He followed it up with a GreatestHits compilation, (and TorchTheFranchiseAndRun BottomOfTheBarrelJoke humour), and those close to him made statements saying he'd achieved all he felt he wanted to in rap, intending to focus on production and running his label. However, in reality, he was in fact suffering from a severe drug addiction that was muting his ability and drive. After suffering an overdose that almost killed him, he got clean and rediscovered his love of rap, resulting in a CareerResurrection and a second imperial phase for him as an inspirational pop artist.

* Creator/NanakoTsujimura believed ''LightNovel/TheCaseFilesOfJewelerRichard'' would end after four volumes, and so introduced a sort of wrap up. Fortunately, sales were good enough that book after book kept coming.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': When The WB refused to renew ''Buffy'' for a sixth season, Joss Whedon assumed that this meant the end of the show, so he ended it in the most spectacular and final way possible: by killing Buffy. This left him with a very difficult hole to dig out of, so to speak, when UPN picked the show up for another two seasons.
** Graduating high school at the end of season 3 also would have been a perfect series finale.

** The seventh season ended with the gals forsaking magic and assuming new identities, due to the possibility that the show might not be renewed.

* ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'':

** When the decision was made by Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker to step down from their roles as showrunner and Doctor respectively, there was no plan of succession in place at the time, Chibnall would write Jodie's exit, the BBC Centennial special, [[Recap/DoctorWho2022CENThePowerOfTheDoctor ''The Power of the Doctor'']] knowing it could potentially be the last episode of the show before cancellation or at the very least an extensive hiatus. The story ties up as much of 13's loose ends as possible, but also connects the modern show again to the classics, bringing back many past companions and Doctors in significant roles, resolving many loose ends that fans had clamoured years for (such as [[apoiler: reconciling Tegan and Ace with the Fifth and Seventh Doctors, and giving one of the first companions dating back to the 60s, Ian Chesterton, a return cameo]]). Fortunately, the series would find renewal with Russel T. Davies returning to the programme and Jodie handed the keys to the TARDIS to [[spoiler: returning David Tennant, who would keep the TARDIS warm for Ncuti Gatwa's succession of him in 2023]]

** When the decision was made by Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker to step down from their roles as showrunner and Doctor respectively, there was no plan of succession in place at the time, Chibnall would write Jodie's exit, the BBC Centennial special, [[Recap/DoctorWho2022CENThePowerOfTheDoctor ''The Power of the Doctor'']] knowing it could potentially be the last episode of the show before cancellation or at the very least an extensive hiatus. The story ties up as much of 13's loose ends as possible, but also connects the modern show again to the classics, bringing back many past companions and Doctors in significant roles, resolving many loose ends that fans had clamoured years for (such as reconciling Tegan and Ace with the Fifth and Seventh Doctors, and giving one of the first companions dating back to the 60s, Ian Chesterton, a return cameo). Fortunately, the series however, would find renewal with Russel T. Davies returning to the programme and Jodie handed the keys to the TARDIS to a returning David Tennant, who would keep the TARDIS warm for Ncuti Gatwa's succession of him in 2023

** When the decision was made by Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker to step down from their roles as showrunner and Doctor respectively, there was no plan of succession in place at the time, Chibnall would write Jodie's exit, the BBC Centennial special, [Recap/DoctorWho2022CENThePowerOfTheDoctor ''The Power of the Doctor'']] knowing it could potentially be the last episode of the show before cancellation or at the very least an extensive hiatus. The story ties up as much of 13's loose ends as possible, but also connects the modern show again to the classics, bringing back many past companions and Doctors in significant roles, resolving many loose ends that fans had clamoured years for (such as reconciling Tegan and Ace with the Fifth and Seventh Doctors, and giving one of the first companions dating back to the 60s, Ian Chesterton, a return cameo). Fortunately, the series however, would find renewal with Russel T. Davies returning to the programme and Jodie handed the keys to the TARDIS to a returning David Tennant, who would keep the TARDIS warm for Ncuti Gatwa's succession of him in 2023