By: Nawfal Faizullah
Wondering what you’ll spend the summer chatting about? Well, most television execs would love for you to fritter away your time on the beach chatting about the various cliffhangers they cooked up in hope you’ll come running back in the fall. Can anything top CASTLE’s jaw-dropper of a finale (which we won’t spoil here… but seriously, catch it if you haven’t!)? Well, here’s four finale’s we can’t wait to discuss!
If THE GOOD WIFE’s first season was better than expected — and it was — it’s second could be described as downright phenomenal. What started as a cross between a “ripped from the headlines” procedural and a messy melodrama has morphed into a complex, surprising, and densely-plotted tale of betrayal and politics. Now that Peter and Kalinda’s shocking past has been exposed, expect fireworks as this storyline comes to a head. This being THE GOOD WIFE, it’s probably best not to try and guess what the writers will pull out of their bag of tricks, but we suspect the finale will provide Julianna Margulies with even more material to add to her Emmy reel. Airs Tuesday May 17th at 10PM on CBS (Global TV in Canada)
Michael Scott may be gone, but the folks at NBC desperately want to make sure viewers keep showing up at THE OFFICE. With that in mind, they’re staffing Dunder-Mifflin Sabre with a roster of guest stars including Will Arnett, Ray Romano, James Spader, Catherine Tate and Jim Carrey. Oh, and did we mention that Ricky Gervais returns as David Brent? Sure, that many celebs shuffling through is often the very definition of desperation (see also: WILL & GRACE), but there’s also a big question waiting to be answered: Who will wind up taking over THE OFFICE… and how will viewers react? Airs Thursday May 19th at 9PM on NBC (Global TV in Canada)
George being hit by a bus. A shooter taking aim at Seattle Grace’s surgeons. Yup, the show’s head honcho, Shonda Rhimes, has constructed a few jawdroppers over the years. Rumor has it this year’s finale will focus less on the melo and more on the dramatic, a fitting end to a season which saw the characters grow and change in reaction to last year’s terrifying finale. As fans of cliffhangers know well, sometimes, bigger is better… and sometimes, simple can be extremely complex. It’s a lot easier to get people talking by firing a gun than by undermining a relationship, but Rhimes has proven a master at both. Airs Thursday May 19th at 9PM on ABC (CTV in Canada at 7PM)
Let’s face it: With mastermind Eric Kripke gone and even loyal fans sceptically asking “How do you top the apocalypse?”, a lot of folks entered this season with a bit of trepidation. Yet what emerged was a fantastic season that saw the show taking the kind of chances few would dare. One could almost hear the folks behind the cameras playing the ultimate game of “what if?”. (“Hey, what if we did a western?”) As a result, what many expected to be the show’s final season proved one of its best and earned the Winchester boys a renewal. In other words: Tear down that wall in Sam’s head, bring on the battling angels and let’s get this cliffhanger started! After all, we need something to chat about this summer! Airs Friday May 20th at 8PM on the CW (2 Hours) 
Nawfal Faizullah is a contributing writer to The TV Addict. He lives in London, has a passion for American television, and dreams about one day crash landing on the Island from Lost. Contact Nawfal at nawfalf@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter (@mightynaf).
