What makes a good television character is how they develop and change across the duration of a show, but some sitcoms see their biggest characters having disappointing endings. With the pressure of giving a character a solid send-off, it can be difficult for writers to appease audiences. However, sometimes the pressure leads to creators forgetting important details about characters and their storylines.
In some of the best sitcoms of all time, characters finish their journeys as completely different people compared to when they started. It’s important to note that, even though sitcoms tend to follow a story-of-the-week format, well-developed TV characters are essential to keep the plot moving forward. Without characters changing and growing, there are no new stories to tell — and when a character reverses all their growth, it’s incredibly disappointing.
10 Donna Pinciotti From That ’70s Show
Forgave Eric after she’d healed
After years of being neighbors, friends, an on-and-off relationship, and a failed wedding, That ’70s Show‘s Donna Pinciotti spent the final season preparing to leave Point Place. After Eric (Topher Grace) left for Africa, he broke up with her, and it looked like the independent young woman was finally getting over him. In That ’70s Show‘s finale, Eric returned from Africa to ring in the New Year with his family the day before Donna was due to depart. However, as soon as Donna’s eyes landed on him, they ended up kissing and seemingly reunited — Donna clearly forgetting that he’d abandoned her.
It was a shame to see such a sudden change in the previously strong-willed character, who had always been very vocal about wanting to pursue a career and travel the world. Considering Eric left Donna at the altar, it was heartbreaking for him to leave her once again, this time doing it thousands of miles away from her. That ’70s Show season 8 seemed to be Donna’s healing period. For her to take Eric back within seconds of him arriving in their driveway was just disappointing.
9 Malcolm Wilkerson From Malcolm In The Middle
Viewers didn’t see him break the cycle
Middle child Malcolm Wilkerson (Frankie Muniz) was the center of Malcolm in the Middle for its seven-season run in the early 2000s. Malcolm in the Middle followed the child genius and his working-class family, consistently plagued with several other children and financial issues. When Malcolm in the Middle ended with season 7, the show wrapped up with Malcolm graduating from high school and heading off to Harvard. In the final moments of the show, it was revealed that Malcolm had taken a job as a janitor at Harvard to support his studies.
After seven seasons of seeing the family constantly struggle to live paycheck to paycheck, it would have been nice to see Malcolm break the cycle, and the writers could have made this work. After all, just a few episodes prior in “Malcolm’s Money,” Malcolm received a grant for his education. Considering the level of Malcolm’s intellect, it seems unlikely that would be the only financial support he would be offered.
8 Troy Barnes From Community
Wasn’t even mentioned in the finale
Following the death of Pierce (Chevy Chase) in Community, season 5 also saw the exit of series regular Troy Barnes (Donald Glover). Troy found out that Pierce had left him all 14 million shares of Hawthorne Wipes under the condition that he’d travel the world in his boat. Despite feeling anxious about his journey, Troy departed Greendale in Pierce’s boat and was joined by Star Trek star Levar Burton.
The Community finale, “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television,” saw a cameo from original cast member Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) on-screen, who left shortly after Glover’s departure. However, Troy did not return. Considering the close relationship Troy had with Abed (Danny Pudi), it was unusual that Troy wasn’t even mentioned by any of the characters. However, it has been confirmed that 2024 will see the start of production for Community Movie, with Donald Glover returning, so perhaps audiences will see Troy and Abed finally reunite.
7 Charlie Harper From Two and a Half Men
Brought back just to be killed again
Following Charlie Sheen’s departure from Two and a Half Men, Ashton Kutcher took Sheen’s place on the billing and was cast as billionaire Walden Schmidt. Sheen’s departure came in the wake of his ongoing issues with drug rehabilitation, and the writers of Two and a Half Men killed Charlie off-screen. However, as the show aired its final season in 2015, it was revealed that Charlie was alive before he was killed on-screen within moments.
Seeing as quite a few storylines in the later seasons of Two and a Half Men referenced Charlie’s death — including the arrival of his previously unknown daughter Jenny (Amber Tamblyn) in season 11 — it was surprising to see Sheen return for the show’s finale. However, the explanation for the character’s absence felt a little forced and rushed, as Charlie had seemingly been held hostage by his stalker, Rose (Melanie Lynskey). Charlie managed to escape, but before he could be reunited with Alan (Jon Cryer), met his death as a helicopter dropped a piano on his head.
6 Haley Dunphy From Modern Family
Came full circle despite her growth
Haley Dunphy (Sarah Hyland) was a core member of the cast of Modern Family from 2009 to 2020, which saw the character start as a spoiled, phone-obsessed teenager. Across the show’s 11 seasons, Haley underwent an incredible change, blossoming from an unruly teenager who got kicked out of college into an independent woman who formed her own successful career based on hard work alone. She also gained a new outlook on the romantic relationships in her life, especially due to Andy (Adam DeVine), who taught her to know her own worth.
Haley married Dylan by the end of Modern Family, and she became a mother to twins. Despite their sweet relationship, it was disappointing to see Haley come full circle in her life, only to end up with the first guy she dated. Haley initially didn’t see her own potential, and the changes the character saw in later seasons of Modern Family set her up to do whatever she desired with her life. For that reason, her ending felt flat.
5 Tracy McConnell From How I Met Your Mother
Died soon after being introduced
Tracy McConnell (Cristin Milioti) was a highly anticipated character throughout How I Met Your Mother, but she didn’t appear on-screen until the season 8 finale, “Something New.” After years of Ted (Josh Radnor) spinning his children the tale of how he met their mother, audiences were ready to finally put a face to the name. How I Met Your Mother season 9 primarily focused on the wedding of Robin (Colbie Smulders) and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and the events that resulted in each member of the gang crossing paths with Tracy.
How I Met Your Mother‘s controversial ending saw Tracy getting killed off, which confirmed that Ted had been raising his children alone. Considering the show had spent hundreds of episodes and several years building anticipation for the reveal of the Mother’s identity, it was disappointing that Ted’s search for “the one” ended relatively soon after he found her. However, How I Met Your Mother did release an alternate ending in which Tracy lives, somewhat making up for what it did to the character.
4 Kelly Kapoor From The Office
All the growing up she did was scrapped
Bubbly and ditzy Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling) was a regular cast member of The Office until season 8, briefly appearing in the season 9 opener, “New Guys,” to reveal the character had gotten engaged to her boyfriend, Ravi (Sendhil Ramamurthy), and was moving away. Throughout the show, Kelly had been in an on-again, off-again relationship with Ryan Howard (BJ Novak), who also departed from the show at the same time. Both Kelly and Ryan were absent for The Office season 9, until they returned for the show’s finale.
Kelly and Ryan’s relationship in The Officeoften caused Kelly a lot of drama, which she claimed to love — though she eventually realized that they had no future together. This was a huge moment for Kelly’s character development, with her finally breaking away from the manipulation Ryan had subjected her to for years. In the finale, Kelly and Ryan reunited and immediately ran away into the sunset together. Although comical, it was upsetting to see that all the growing up Kelly did was instantly scrapped.
3 Michael Cordero From Jane the Virgin
Returned in an anticlimactic way
The death of Michael (Brett Dier) greatly shook up the storyline of Jane the Virgin, and saw Jane becoming a widow while still trying to raise her young child, Mateo. Despite her heartbreak, Jane moved on from her husband and eventually started a relationship with Mateo’s father, Rafael (Justin Baldoni). However, Jane the Virgin season 4 revealed that Michael was, in fact, alive; he’d just lost his memories. Their reunion ended up rather anti-climatic, and despite Michael getting his memories back, he married somebody else. His past with Jane became seemingly irrelevant.
2 Penny Hofstadter From The Big Bang Theory
Changed her perspective on kids suddenly
The Big Bang Theory‘s Penny (Kaley Cuoco) grew massively during the show’s 12-season run. She started as a young and inexperienced actress trying to keep herself afloat as a waitress, and she ended the series as a successful pharmaceutical sales rep. She also wound up marrying Leonard following their on-off relationship in the earlier seasons. One thing Penny had always been clear about was that she had no desire to have children, much to the dismay of her father and Leonard (Johnny Galecki).
However, The Big Bang Theory finale saw Penny and Leonard telling their friends that they were expecting a child together. Despite Penny still being a very different character to the one introduced in the pilot, she seemingly gave in to the idea of having kids with Leonard. Since Penny was clear about her viewpoint, it felt that she went along with it purely because she’d gotten pregnant rather than because she’d changed her mind.
1 Rachel Green From Friends
Rachel Green (Jennifer Anniston) was another sitcom character who started off as something of a spoiled princess, moving in with Monica (Courtney Cox) and refusing to take any more of her father’s money. Rachel was one of the most developed sitcom characters to date, and by Friends season 10, had become an incredibly successful name in fashion. She’d also tackled being a single mother to Emma, who she raised with Ross (David Schwimmer).
The Friends finale saw Rachel offered her dream job in Paris — and despite moving away from everything she knew, she was excited about her future. That was the case until the last minute, when Rachel decided to stay in New York because of her feelings for Ross. It was disheartening to see the character develop into an independent woman, only to give up on her dream to stay with a man who had caused her nothing but grief over the last decade.
