SPOILER ALERT: Both the gallery and the story are packed with spoilers.
In the world of TV character deaths, 2015 was a big year. Showrunners stayed busy plotting twists and turns to tug at our heartstrings, get us talking, and send us screaming from the room. We counted A LOT of key characters biting the dust this year–116 to be exact, and that’s just major and recurring characters. Most of the deaths were violent with a sprinkling coming from disease and old age.
When all was said and done, the most TV character deaths came from The Following (7), Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (7), and Grimm (6). Game of Thrones, Person of Interest, and The Vampire Diaries each had 5.
Browse through our gallery of TV character deaths to see who we said goodbye to during 2015.
[Story continues below the gallery]
Some of the deaths this year were not unexpected (we’ll miss you Zeek Braverman). Some were shocking (McDreamy, oh my!), and others were just plain cruel (say it ain’t so, Jon Snow, we know you’re not really gone). At least one was a red herring (we weren’t ready either, Glen Rhee) that luckily, didn’t make the gallery). There were even some TV character deaths we were happy to see (we’re talking about you Katrina Crane).
Poor Rick Cosnett got to die twice. First in The Flash as Eddie Thawne and then in Quantico as Elias Harper. One big surprise was the second death of Charlie Sheen’s character, Charlie Harper from Two and a Half Men. Charlie’s fate was put to rest with an exclamation point as any speculation about his possible return was answered with the drop of a piano.
Despite the number of deaths, there weren’t many funerals. The most memorable memorials were held for Nashville‘s Beverly O’Conner and Sheriff Liz Forbes on The Vampire Diaries. Both were Kleenex-worthy tributes to beloved characters.
Parks and Recreation offered two funerals in its penultimate episode. The deceased were not regulars, but they were laid to rest with the shows usual clever, witty humor. Brooklyn Nine-Nine also used the funeral of a little-known character (Bill Hader as Officer Dozerman) as the backdrop for its unique humor. Other than that, funerals and memorial services were not a popular plot point this year.
Did we miss any TV Character Deaths or funeral episodes? Let us know in the comments so that we can add them to the list.
