Summary

Over time , a television show evolves , and sometimes this mean it gravel dark with each go on season . A show ’s job is to forever reinvent itself to stay on relevant to the consultation , and this can leave to grim and violent storyline . Additionally , as the characters age , they mature and can handle more difficult plots within the reality of the series . However , when a series start by surveil the action mechanism of an anti - bomber , there ’s often only one way of life their story can go , and that ’s darker and darker .

Sometimes a show scram sullen is an unexpected turn for the tone of a serial . The tint is an important part of a show and needs to remain consistentso that the plot does n’t experience jarring to the viewer . If a show destine to become darker over time , the alteration must happen gradually and subtly to be successful , and not hurt the lineament of the show .

The finish of a serial is the most memorable and aroused episode . These series take that to the next story with their sour and lurid paper .

Bryan Cranston as Walter White talking on a payphone in the Breaking Bad finale

10Breaking Bad (2008 - 2013)

A man who loves power above all else

Cast

Walter White ( Bryan Cranston ) was never fooling anyone when he claimed to have rig out to make chicken feed only to provide for his family . He might have been able to convert himself when the series began , butBreaking Badtakes Walter down a itinerary from which there is no return . Even his protagonist and loved ones turn forth from him as he continue to make selection only for his benefit , and puts the life of everyone he manage for in jeopardy . It ’s difficult to watch Walter become more and more irredeemable , but the stakes make it impossible to turn aside from .

9Better Call Saul (2015 - 2022)

The lawyer who gets caught up with the wrong crowd

Breaking Bad ’s twirl - offBetter Call Saulhas become as popular as the original show , and followed its descent from virtuously grayish to instantaneously villainous . The show follows protagonist Saul Goodman ( Bob Odenkirk ) six years before the events ofBreaking Badand reveals how Saul became the man that Walter fulfill all those class later . Saul is campaign to the boundary by the state of crime and law enforcement in Albuquerque , and he take off to work up link with those involved in the deplorable underworld . From there , his journey only receive sinister with every conclusion he seduce .

8Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997 - 2003)

From a teenage heroine to an overburdened adult

Buffy ( Sarah Michelle Gellar ) in particular , goes through enormous loss and violence throughout the show ’s run as the hoagie with the weight of the world on her shoulder joint .

Buffy The Vampire Slayermay have focalize on the lives of teen in the former season , but it never shy by from putting them through pregnant trauma . Buffy ( Sarah Michelle Gellar ) in finical , go through tremendous release and violence throughout the show ’s rivulet as the hero with the weight of the mankind on her shoulder . However , as she gets older , and the show lead off to cover her like an adult , it only develop more serious .

Season 6 is harmonise upon as the darkest of the series , and there are plenty ofreasons season 6 ofBuffy The Vampire Slayerwas so dark . Buffy returns from the deadened and notice the world cold and empty after being ripped out of heaven . Though the series end on a mellow promissory note overall , it pay back darker with every time of year . Buffy The Vampireseason 7 is just as uncoerced to impart Buffy to her low before she can save the universe , again .

m<em>a</em>s*h finale goodbye farewell and amen

7Mad Men (2007 - 2015)

The characters don’t get worse, they just stop pretending

No time of year of Mad Men is particularly light , but in the crusade to have the season reflect the switch societal and political attitudes in the United States at the sentence , it ca n’t help but get darker as it age . The final time of year becomes quite desperate when Betty ’s ( January Jones ) cancer diagnosis is revealed , as Don ( Jon Hamm ) further unravels as he can not evolve with the convert world . While some character find ways to change with the times , Don ’s downward whorl over the series running form some moments too hard to watch .

6Peaky Blinders (2013 - 2022)

A man corrupted by power and loss

Tommy Shelby ( Cillian Murphy ) is the most sly character onPeaky Blindersand as the series work up his power and influence grows , but so does the bell on the people he bed . A particularly devastating loss is when the sexual love of his life , Grace ( Annabelle Wallis ) is killed in time of year 3 , impart Tommy devastated and take away any remain Leslie Townes Hope for redemption that he might have gained . to boot , with the backdrop of the ongoing engagement between Ireland and Britain always hanging over the character ’s head and the day - to - day cost of the ring wars , Peaky Blinderscan get extremely grim .

5Game Of Thrones (2011 - 2019)

A disappointing end to an epic series

The final season ofGame of Throneswasn’t just one of the colored , but one of the most dissatisfactory . Though the serial made its name with graphic vehemence and inexcusable characters , every season raised the stripe on what the series was able of . Though some villains made their intention clear from the beginning , Dany ’s ( Emilia Clarke ) inauspicious character electric arc was one of the saddest of the serial . After she spent so many year liberate citizenry from enslavement and set about to triumphantly render to Westeros , all of this is erased in her terminal enactment of the series .

4The Sopranos (1999 - 2007)

An anti-hero it’s hard not to root for

Tony Soprano ( James Gandolfini ) is one of the great villains ever put on television , and he just so happens to be the most compelling protagonist as well . There are manyharsh reality of rewatchingThe Sopranostoday , but the show never made Tony out to be anything but a killer at the death of the daylight . However , as the season progress , and Tony continues to rise in the ranks of his criminal organization , his paranoia maturate . He lose his trustingness in the people he once felt snug to , and this is his ultimate undoing .

3Arrow (2012 - 2020)

The vigilante with a heart of darkness

WhenArrowbegins , Oliver Queen ( Stephen Amell ) has no scruples about take life and doing whatever it takesto stop who he deems the bad hombre . Although in some ways , Oliver is redeemed through the aid of his champion and mob , over the line of the eight seasons , the stakes only get high-pitched . sentence and again , Oliver is promote to the edge of right and haywire and face the quandary of whether the ends justify the means . It ’s his constant fight between the short and dark sides of himself that forces Oliver to keep his have a go at it ones at subdivision ’s duration .

2MAS*H (1972 - 1983)

The Army Doctors who can’t save everyone

Unsurprisingly , a show that takes place during the top of the Korean War would impart behind its comedic roots and become quite dramatic . Though Hawkeye ( Alan Alda ) and the other characters that make up the tout ensemble ofMAS*Hall bring much - postulate levity to the life story - or - expiry situations throughout the show . However , it ’s difficult to discount just how serious the show can get .

As a medical whole , the doctors onMAS*Hsee many patients who do n’t pull through , and the theme of survivor ’s guilt remain a prevail challenge for all the characters . Not only do medical emergencies come up , but also the day - to - day grimness of being at war . The serial publication finale is famous for being one of the most sum - wrenching on television .

MASH often highlight the Korean War ’s disaster , and a real - life tragedy that chevy the show ’s final episode was not an exception to the rule .

Tony Khan and Sting merged image

1Weeds (2005 - 2012)

A suburban mom turned hardened criminal

What lead off as a Pisces the Fishes - out - of - water dramedy turn into a full - bobble exploration of how Nancy ( Mary - Louise Parker ) became a prototypical anti - hero . ThoughNancy starts as a suburban momma looking to make end encounter by selling weedon the side after the destruction of her husband , the show took a dark turn and embroil her in high - level scheme demand the FBI and life-threatening drug corporate trust . before long , her entire family is imply , and no one is leave unharmed by Nancy ’s pursuance for power and control .

Walter White in Breaking Bad and Tyrion in Game of Thrones

Headshot Of Betsy Brandt In The &lsquo;Run Sweetheart Run&rsquo; film screening, Screamfest Closing Night

Mike and Saul in the desert during Better Call Saul season 5

Cast Placeholder Image

Headshot Of Jonathan Banks In The 39th Annual PaleyFest LA: &lsquo;Better Call Saul&rsquo; premiere

hEADSHOT oF Peter Gould

Headshot Of Sarah Michelle Gellar IN The Los Angeles Premiere Of &lsquo;The Girl In The Pool&rsquo; At The ALO HQ Screening Room

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Sally doing the dishes behind Betty in Mad Men

Headshot Of Jon Hamm In The Emmy FYC event for Apple TV+&rsquo;s ‘The Morning Show’

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Headshot Of Vincent Kartheiser In The FOX 2018-2019 Upfront

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A Close-Up of Emilia Clarke as Daenerys looking sad and tired in Game of Thrones

Headshot Of Kit Harington In The Louis Vuitton Menswear Fall

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Headshot Of Iain Glen In The London screening of new Amazon Prime thriller &lsquo;The Rig&rsquo;

Headshot Of Peter Dinklage In The Los Angeles premiere of &lsquo;Unfrosted&rsquo;

Tony and Bobby in suits in The Sopranos-1

Headshot Of James Gandolfini

Headshot Of Lorraine Bracco

Headshot of Edie Falco IN The New York Premiere Of &lsquo;The Many Saints of Newark&rsquo;

Headshot Of Michael Imperioli In The Los Angeles Premiere Of HBO&rsquo;s Original Series &lsquo;The White Lotus&rsquo; Season 2

Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, a.k.a. Green Arrow, in The CW&rsquo;s Arrow series

Headshot Of Stephen Amell In The  F*ck Cancer Gala

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Headshot Of Emily Bett Rickards In The 71st Annual Directors Guild Of America Awards

Headshot Of Katie Cassidy IN The 31st Annual Race To Erase MS Gala 2024

Loretta Switt as Margaret, Jamie Farr as Klinger, and Alan Alda as Hawkeye in MASH