Television is a popular pastime, to say the least, and there are more options than ever in the 2025 TV schedule thanks to traditional network offerings, premium cable shows, and a seemingly constant resupply of series on streaming platforms. While there are some projects that won over a lot of fans during their time releasing new episodes, others have fans who wish that they’d jumped ship a lot sooner than they did. As a TV completionist who often sticks with shows to the bitter end, I have to say: I relate with some of the most popular picks and have.
TV moments that made viewers want to instantly quit became a popular topic of conversation on Reddit recently, and I was quite unsurprised by some of the shows that were mentioned over and over and over again. Some were a little bit more surprising, but lots of valid points are named.
The Walking Dead seemed to be the most popular answer, with many citing Glenn’s brutal murder, Glenn’s fake-out death shortly before he was murdered, Beth’s nonsensical end, Carl getting bit by a zombie, and Negan never dying as the reasons why they quit. I can relate – Beth was the first strike for me back in the day, followed by Glenn diving under a dumpster, and I probably should have quit before I got to Glenn meeting Negan (and Lucille).
Many people brought up Bobby’s death on 9-1-1, which was one of the most recent moments to have people rage-quitting and then ranting about it on Reddit. Killing off Peter Krause’s leading man was definitely a shocking choice from the show back in the spring. Others channeled their rage from Bones, starring Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz from 2005 – 2017. The handling of their relationship in the final seasons had some detractors, while others brought up that tragic twist for Sweets, played by John Francis Daley.
I related hard to people who mentioned Downton Abbey, because I vividly remember seeing Matthew’s death in a Christmas special and then not wanting to watch ever again. Not even for Dame Maggie Smith’s one-liners! The 100 got more mentions than I expected for a show that aired on The CW, with commenters citing Lexa’s demise. If I’d quit when that happened, I could have spared myself from seeing Bellamy’s ridiculous ending.
Orange is the New Black was mentioned for how Poussey was heartbreakingly killed, as were many of the wildest Grey’s Anatomy twists from the past two decades. (Special shout out from me to how the medical drama wrote out Alex Karev.) Arrow was chosen for that time that Felicity very suddenly regained the ability to walk and then immediately walked out on Oliver.
Game of Thrones viewers had no shortage of moments from the final couple of seasons to choose from. Personally, I was already much too far in to quit by those last couple of seasons, but the closest I ever came to giving up on Game of Thrones was when Sansa was married to and then brutally assaulted by Ramsay in Season 5. A lot of people mentioned The Last of Us Season 2 for killing Joel, which was surely a massive surprise for anybody who hadn’t played the video games or been thoroughly spoiled on his death like I was.
Other shows that got special attention include Prison Break, Dexter, Sons of Anarchy, The League, and For All Mankind. On the plus side, reading about all the terrible twists that turned viewers off of certain shows gives me a new appreciation for some of the shows that I stuck with and definitely don’t regret. (That’s doesn’t mean I’ll ever rewatch The Walking Dead past Season 4, though.)
Even some of the series that were most frequently mentioned by commenters were excellent up to a certain point, and many can be found on various streaming services for anybody who wants to give them another chance… or just rewatch your favorite episodes while pretending that certain moments never happen.
