A season finale (
British English
British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...
: series finale;
Australian English
Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language. While Australia has no of ...
: season final) is the final episode of a
season of a
television program
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...
. This is often the final episode to be produced for a few months or longer, and, as such, will attempt to attract viewers to continue watching when the series begins again.
A season finale may contain a
cliffhanger ending to be resolved in the next season. Alternatively, a season finale could bring storylines to a close, "going out on a high" and similarly maintaining interest in the series' eventual return.
Mid-season finale
In the 2000s, the terms "mid-season finale", "fall finale" or "winter finale" began being used by television broadcasters in the United States to denote the last episode before a mid-season
hiatus, often for the
holiday season. As with a season finale, a mid-season finale can include a major plot development, or a cliffhanger ending that will be resolved when the series returns. Winter/Fall finales are often used by networks to draw attention and encourage viewership of such episodes as
event television, especially if they fall during the November
sweeps period. The practice has faced criticism for affecting the structure and narrative of broadcast television programs, as writers may be coerced by broadcasters into placing cliffhangers and plot developments in midseason episodes, rather than allow a plot to build up to a traditional season finale.
Series finale
The ''final'' episode of a television series often concludes the entire premise of the show, wrapping up any loose ends and storylines. On occasion, the season finale has become the series finale due to
cancellation of the series, sometimes unexpectedly so,
leaving plot points unresolved.
In sports
In
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...
, the term has evolved to describe the final event of a
sporting season, e.g. in
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
or
motocross,
Crash.net, "Strijbos wins season finale, Ramon crowned"
Retrieved September 26, 2007 perhaps partly because of the popularity of these with television viewers.
See also
* Season premiere
* Series premiere
* Series finale
References
Television terminology
Last events
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