TV shows we said goodbye to in 2019

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As we prepare to close the books on yet another year in must-watch TV, all eyes are on exciting projects that are coming in 2020. However, with such a historic and trend-setting year behind us, it's worth looking back and waving one final farewell to some of the shows we said goodbye to in 2019.

In a year that saw characters go through battles, Nobel Peace Prize acquisitions and a cavalcade of plot-driven time jumps, audiences were asked to suspend their disbelief more than ever. Fortunately, you don't have to be done talking about your favorites just because there gone. Instead, you can give the top six TV shows that ended in 2019 a much-needed eulogy, complete with some spoilers, below:

“Game of Thrones”

This image released by HBO shows Kit Harington in a scene from "Game of Thrones." On Tuesday, July 16, 2019, Harington was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. (HBO via AP)

Sorry “Walking Dead” fans, but when history looks back at the show that captivated audiences more than any other this past decade, the accolade simply has to go to HBO’s breakout fantasy drama.

After premiering in 2011, the series ended its run with the shortened Season 8, which sparked controversy among fans. Whether it was the climactic battle between the living and the dead being too dark to see or certain characters making an abrupt turn in the penultimate episode, there was a lot to unpack and discuss about “Thrones” after it took its final bow in May.

As promised, the "Game" had an ultimate winner in Brandon Stark but the final season left a lot of losers behind as well. Although writing a satisfying ending to a show as popular as "Game of Thrones" seems impossible no matter what, several people saw their favorite characters meet either a grim or an unsatisfying ending.

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However, regardless of debates around the finale, that rampant conversation and speculation is what makes the loss of “Thrones” such a big one in 2019.

“Orange Is the New Black”

Inmate Pennsatucky appears in the final season of 'Orange is the New Black.' (Netflix)

After bursting onto the scene and helping establish what we now know as “binge-watch culture” in 2013, Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black” was tasked with wrapping up its many characters' stories in 2019 at the end of Season 7.

The finale saw the protagonist of the series, Piper, choose the best path for her life to follow in the wake of her release from Litchfield Prison. However, fans will know that the show stopped being specifically about the Piper character long ago and instead focused on the many diverse women who made up the inmate list at the fictional prison. The finale was no different.

Although the cast hopes the audience’s main takeaway from the show is the importance of diversity, the finale seemed obsessed with making sure each character, living and dead, received a proper sendoff worthy of their time on-screen. In addition, it helped usher in the very real Poussey Washington Fund, which takes its name from the role Samira Wiley played on the show. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the charity focuses on a range of issues surrounding criminal justice reform.

“Big Bang Theory”

The gang poses in one of the final shots of 'The Big Bang Theory.' (Michael Yarish/CBS via AP)

After 12 seasons and 279 episodes, the intrepid group of nerds and their significant others said goodbye to TV after years of ratings dominance. With its finale, the show entered the top tier of sitcoms that left a lasting impression on its fans, proven by the fact that roughly 18 million people tuned in to say goodbye to Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, Raj, Amy, Penny and Bernadette.

The show ended on a happy note with everyone finding success both in their careers (hello Nobel Peace Prize) as well as their personal lives (Leonard and Penny are going to have an off-screen baby!).

Overall, for a show built off the basic premise of nerds falling in love with their attractive female neighbor, it solidified its place in the heart of America TV history and taught viewers both the power of friendship as well as a lot of useless trivia about “Star Wars.”

“Ballers”

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson ended his run on 'Ballers' after five seasons. (HBO)

Although it might not have received anywhere near the same acclaim as fellow HBO shows like “Game of Thrones,” there’s no doubt that “Ballers” ending in 2019 was unwelcome news to its small, but vocal contingent of its fans, including 2020 Democratic Presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren.

For five long seasons, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson earned his title as the hardest working man in Hollywood by juggling a massively successful movie career, a very tightly regimented workout schedule and starring in “Ballers” as well.

As EW notes, HBO’s 30-minute comedy didn’t break any new ground in its series finale. Like any good Dwayne Johnson story, the good guys by and large won in the end with success coming in some way shape or form to all the main characters. Still, given its massive, albeit quiet, following, it’s safe to say that “Ballers” ranks high among the list of shows people were sad to say goodbye to in 2019.

“Veep”

'Veep' ended after seven seasons in 2019. (HBO)

After seven seasons of whip-smart political satire, everyone’s favorite peek into the lives of the staff of the Vice President of the United States came to a shocking and grim end.

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Although the show was never really about principled people doing what’s best for anyone but themselves, seeing Selina Meyer, played by a breast-cancer recovered Julia-Louis-Dreyfus, abandon all her morals for the sake of rising to the position of POTUS was tough for viewers of the normally laugh-out-loud comedy. However, it was a time jump that saw just how poorly history and the news cycle remembered the deceased former Vice President that really pulled at the heartstrings. The gut-wrenching finale did a lot to close the series, letting “Veep” go out with an appropriate, albeit cutting, whimper.

“Transparent”

'Transparent' ended its run with a musical finale in 2019. (Amazon/Facebook)

Perhaps no show had a more difficult and puzzling end in 2019 than “Transparent.” Once heralded as an award-winning glimpse into the lives of households with transgender parents in America, the set was marred by controversy going into its final season.

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When Jeffrey Tambor, who played Maura Pfefferman (the titular “trans parent” in “Transparent”), was let go from the show following sexual harassment allegations against him, it was unclear what would happen to the show.

Fortunately for fans, creator Jill Soloway forged ahead with a 100-minute musical finale. While it may sound like an odd idea, without the show’s main star there was simply no way that the tone of “Transparent” was ever going to be the same. So, why not go for broke and completely change genres at the eleventh hour?

Not only did the finale wrap up the remaining character’s storylines, it provided a celebratory tone to close one of TV history’s most iconic and puzzling chapters.