Young Sheldon’ & More of the Saddest TV Deaths That Hurt the Most in 2024
It’s never easy to watch a TV character you love die. It’s even worse when the deaths are unexpected, but even the ones that we know are coming can still pack a heavy punch. This year in TV delivered some memorable series departures, some that were not well received by fans and others that were a long time coming if you know the shows’ backstories.
We previously broke down the … in a list that included from sad goodbyes from beloved longtime stars of shows like and more. Here, we break down the saddest TV character deaths from this year.
While our previous list does include character deaths such as Costner’s, we argue that Costner’s exit from the series was more shocking than was sad (although it was a brutal way to go). The shocking exits list also includes storylines where the characters were written off but not killed off. The list below, however, is entirely comprised of heartbreaking character deaths, in order of when they aired.
Given the nature of this list, there are obviously major spoilers ahead.
Cara, Fire Country
This episode started out with some funny moments but quickly when it was revealed that Jake’s girlfriend and almost fiancée, Cara , was dying from injuries sustained in an ambulance crash in the previous one. What’s worse: He had to listen to her die and say his goodbyes over the radio. “I was a different person before we fell in love,” he told her. “I was going to tell you thank you for loving me. I love you. I will always love you.”
Arman, The Cleaning Lady
This character death was brought about by the tragic death of the actor who plays him. who had been a series regular since first began, after a private battle with cancer. The show seemingly intended for his Arman and .. Thony to eventually get together, but the character had to be killed off instead. He was given a dramatic and suspenseful through the help of acting doubles and CGI.
Asher Wolke, The Good Doctor
Noah Galvin’s Dr. Asher Wolke was in The Good Doctor‘s final season, just five episodes before the series finale. as it was out of the blue and a tragic end for a queer character who was on the cusp of getting married.
Lady Mariko, Shōgun
Lady Mariko was the key to Lord Toranaga’s success in the first season, but helping him win also meant sacrificing her own life as she and her allies tried to escape the forces against Toranaga. It was a powerful and tragic hero’s death, and Blackthorne and Fuji’s funeral for Mariko in the finale was deeply moving. The killing of Fuji’s husband and baby at the beginning of the season were also gut-wrenching.
George Sr., Young Sheldon
This being a prequel, fans already knew that was coming. But that didn’t make it any less impactful when the moment finally came in the show’s seventh and final season. It was a realistic depiction of the sudden and shocking nature of deaths in the family. The Coopers were planning a fresh start for their family with plans to move. While they were waiting for George Sr. to come home to take a family photo, his coworkers instead arrived to their front door to deliver the news that he had died of a heart attack. Everyone was shellshocked, and the death has reverberated into the new spinoff
Aaron Glassman, The Good Doctor
As revealed in the penultimate episode of the ABC medical drama, Richard Schiff‘s Dr. Aaron Glassman’s cancer came back and worse than before. He decided to make the most of the time he had left rather than spend the last months of his life in discomfort during treatments that weren’t guaranteed to work. It was a sad but ultimately
Claudia & Madeleine, Interview With the Vampire
If you’ve read the novel or saw the 1994 film, you knew this fate was coming for Claudia and Madeleine in Paris. But the AMC drama expanded on the source material by showing as Louis and Armand remembered it. The gleeful cruelty on the faces of the Théâtres des Vampires coven members as these vampire lovers were unjustly sentenced to burn alive in the sunlight made their murders all the more horrific. We hope Hayles returns as Claudia to
Sol, The Acolyte
This death had double meaning. When Osha killed Jedi Master Sol in the her lightsaber’s interior turned red to signify her evolution into a Sith. Osha killed Sol in front of twin sister Mae (also played by Stenberg) after he admitted to killing their mother, Aniseya ( He said that he did it to protect Osha, but that mattered little. Sol cried, “Osha, it’s OK” as she strangled him to death with the force and joined Sith Qimir on the dark side. Mae, meanwhile, did nothing to stop the murder.
Vic, The Penguin
The second Vic called Oz family in an ominous feeling set in. Oz loved the teen and let him see too much of his personal life, leading to the Penguin killing his innocent right-hand man. It was a tragic end that solidified Oz’s place as the irredeemable villain Batman fans know him to be, fulfilling the main purpose of this HBO limited series.
Colby, Yellowstone
Not long after they killed off John Dutton, , one of the Dutton ranch’s cowboys played by.. He died saving young Carter when a frightened horse started bucking out of control, but the death was just plain sad because of how unnecessary it was. Being the third major death in just four episodes, this plot was