10 TV Shows That Actually Stuck The Landing
9. The Shield
Even many great shows make slightly sentimental concessions in their final episode because the showrunners just can't resist, but you certainly couldn't accuse The Shield of doing that.
Shawn Ryan's legendary crime drama series grew from a thrillingly gritty cop show into a towering, almost Shakespearean tragedy over the course of its seven seasons, chronicling the downfall of Vic Mackey's (Michael Chiklis) corrupt Strike Team.
The series finale, "Family Meeting," refused to grant the morally bankrupt Mackey any last-minute reprieve, for though he didn't end the show on a morgue slab, the rest of the Strike Team was left either dead or in jail, his family were put in witness protection, and he was left confined to a desk for the rest of his career.
Even with the show's final moments hinting at Mackey heading back out into the streets of his own accord, The Shield ensured no clean getaways or happy endings for its most troubling characters.