A chart showing the most highly and poorly rated television series finales, according to IMDB.com, is making the rounds online. IMDB uses a 1-10 star system where thousands of viewers dish out a rating.
The chart shows ratings of television series finales relative to their average episode rating. So, shows that were highly rated throughout their run and also scored highly rated finales, like Band of Brothers , saw a less drastic shift between average and finale (and can therefore not be considered “surprising”). On the other hand, shows that were rated poorly throughout their run, then came out of nowhere with a superbly rated finale, saw the most drastic shifts (these are the “most surprising”).
Let’s break down the results.
The Most Surprisingly Good Finales: