Great TV has to meet a few requirements: a great cast, an intriguing storyline, and a perfect first and last episode.
By accomplishing the latter, they bring everything full-circle. Loose ends get tied up at the end and we get to see the extent of character development.
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without further adieu, here are 10+ TV shows with perfect first and last episodes.
1. *The Office*
While the first season of The Office was very different from the second season, it was still hilarious.
There, we were introduced to the hilarious boss Michael Scott and all his employees who would rather not be there (except Dwight).
While the finale was super emotional, it wrapped things up perfectly.
The characters all sat down to chat about the documentary and then celebrated Dwight’s wedding to Angela.
Finally, it ended with Pam taking her painting of the office off the wall and leaving there one final time.
2. *The Hills*
After Laguna Beach , The Hills centered around Lauren Conrad and her new life in Los Angeles.
Soon, Lauren encountered Heidi, Spencer, and Audrina. From there, came a lot of drama and tears with each passing episode.
By the finale, Kristin had taken over after Lauren left the show.
It was bittersweet to see the show end, as Kristen rode off into the sunset into her new life.
But then, in a major twist, the show revealed what we probably should have known all along: that everything was scripted.
3. *Nathan For You*
If you haven’t seen this show yet, you NEED to. It’s absolutely hilarious.
It centers around Nathan Fielder “helping” struggling businesses with ideas. Each episode is more hilarious than the last.
For the last episode, “Finding Frances,” Nathan centers it around one of the wacky characters that had been on his show before.
What follows is an hour and a half long episode of Nathan helping his friend find his long lost love.
4. *Gossip Girl*
The cast went through a lot of character development from start to finish. At the start, they were young and partied a lot.
But by the end, so many of them had matured into different people.
Blair and Chuck, for instance, had finally ended up together.
And the show ended with Serena and Dan getting married.
By this point, she knew that Dan was Gossip Girl, but she didn’t care.
5. *All Good Things*
The final episode of this older show has been called the perfect ending to any TV series.
It used the first episode as the entire plot of the final episode. It also brought back familiar faces as part of the last hurrah.
6. *The Vampire Diaries*
Nothing says full-circle by having the same words spoken in both the first and last episodes.
The Vampire Diaries accomplished this with Stephan saying “Damon” and Damon saying, “Hello, brother.”
7. *How to Get Away With Murder*
This was another show with a full-circle moment, as Christopher has become a professor by the finale.
He starts his lecture the same way Annalise did by calling the class a clever name. He also referenced her as his mentor.
8. *Breaking Bad*
The first episode of Breaking Bad was pure perfection.
It started out with a bang, with Walter driving an RV in nothing but a gas mask and his underwear in the middle of the desert.
From that moment on, you were intrigued.
What followed after this was a perfect episode after perfect episode, leading all the way to the finale.
Walter died in the end, but he went out with a bang by going on a killing spree against the Aryan Brotherhood gang, saving Jesse’s life, and securing money for his family.
9. *Schitt’s Creek*
There is a reason the show swept the Emmys this year. It had had so much heart and humor from start to finish.
The people who began started the first episode were not the same people who ended the show, as they had all undergone so much character development.
10. *Friends*
Everything about this show was perfect: the beginning, ending, and everything in between.
It began with the friends hanging out at Central Perk and Rachel bursting in wearing her wedding dress.
By the last episode, they had all grown up so much sine then.
Monica had married Chandler and they had two new babies and were moving out of the city; Joey was a soap opera star; Pheobe had married Mike; and Ross and Rachel had finally ended up together.
11. *Gilmore Girls*
It was only right that this show began and ended with coffee.
In the pilot, Lorelai is begging Luke for more coffee while she waits for Rory to get back from school.
The finale ended with Rory finishing college — her mother’s dream for her — and landing her first job.
In the first episode, Luke was impatient with Lorelai.
But at the end, he tells her to take all the time that she needs. Aww.
