The People in Your TVLook, you watch enough of a show, you get to know the characters. Maybe you even care about them. Maybe you even love them. Or hate them. Or want to read tons of lists about them.
Updated April 13, 2023 55.8K votes 8.8K voters 342.3K views
Voting Rules
TV deaths that shocked you the most. Vote up the TV deaths that had you screaming, 'What?! Noooooo!' at the screen.
WARNING: SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS! If you are still catching up on some of your favorite current TV shows, stop scrolling now - you may want to avoid this list, since it includes some of TV's recent shocking deaths. Some other good TV lists you may want to check out are the best characters on TV, the best current TV shows, the saddest TV deaths, and lots of other lists about death.
Some of these shocking TV deaths you might have seen coming (after all, on Lost Desmond does warn Charlie he'll die about a thousand times), but they were no less shocking. Others came as a complete surprise, like Dan Conner or Lt. Col. Henry Blake. Some were written in after the deaths of actors like Cory Monteith, John Ritter, and John Spencer. Many characters were brutally murdered on screen (hello, Red Wedding) while other characters passed away off screen, as in the case of Edith Bunker.Â
But whose death was the most shocking? If you're all caught up on your favorite shows, check out and vote on this list of the most shocking TV deaths. They happened on some of the best television shows to some of the most beloved (and hated) characters. Deaths on this list cover suicide, murder, illness, and drowning... and all shocked television viewers.Â
The season three finale of M*A*S*H shocked and angered viewers. Lt. Col. Blake is headed home after being honorably discharged, then his helicopter gets shot down.
The episode caused a great deal of controversy, and producers received more than 1,000 letters from angry fans.
Sure, King Joffrey promises he would spare Eddard Stark's life if he confesses to treason, but Joffrey is the worst and can't be trusted.
Despite the confession, Joffrey orders Ser Ilyn Payne to go ahead with the beheading. Ned's demise set the tone for Game of Thrones, a show in which no character is safe.
While in production on the second season of 8 Simple Rules, actor John Ritter was taken to the hospital and ultimately perished of an undiagnosed aortic dissection.
Following his passing, the show went on hiatus, returning two months later. Ritter's death was written into the series - his character Paul Hennesey collapses, though no exact cause is given.
After the Conner family wins the lottery on Roseanne, it is revealed that Dan didn't actually survive his heart attack from a season earlier and perished at Darlene's wedding.
Roseanne reveals that the series (and those lottery winnings) was a rewriting of her life and that she created the false reality as a coping mechanism.
Dr. Mark Greene is the only original ER character to perish. Diagnosed with brain cancer, he undergoes multiple treatments and operations before deciding to accept his fate.
He takes a final trip to Hawaii with his daughter, Rachel. They are later joined by his wife, Elizabeth, before he ultimately passes.
One of many victims of the infamous Red Wedding, Robb, along with his mother Catelyn Stark, his pregnant wife Talisa Stark, and countless Stark bannermen are ruthlessly slain in Season 3 of Game of Thrones.
The massacre is orchestrated by Lord Walder Frey as revenge for Robb's failure to fulfill his marriage pact with House Frey.
