‘IWTV,’ ‘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 most shocking TV exits of the year in a list that included Kevin Costner’s unexpected departure from Yellowstone, sad goodbyes from beloved longtime stars of shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Law & Order, 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 Taylor Sheridan series was more shocking than John Dutton’s death 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 took a turn for the tragic when it was revealed that Jake’s (Jordan Calloway) girlfriend and almost fiancée, Cara (Sabina Gadecki), 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. Adan Canto, who had been a series regular since The Cleaning Lady first began, died at the age of 42 in January 2024 after a private battle with cancer. The show seemingly intended for his Arman and Elodie Yung‘s Thony to eventually get together, but the character had to be killed off instead. He was given a dramatic and suspenseful final episode through the help of acting doubles and CGI.
Asher Wolke, The Good Doctor
Noah Galvin’s Dr. Asher Wolke was killed in an antisemitic hate crime in The Good Doctor‘s final season, just five episodes before the series finale. This death really divided fans, 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
Anna Sawai‘s Lady Mariko was the key to Lord Toranaga’s (Hiroyuki Sanada) success in the climatic penultimate episode of Shōgun‘s 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 (Cosmo Jarvis) and Fuji’s (Moeka Hoshi) 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 Big Bang Theory prequel, fans already knew that George Sr.’s death 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. (Lance Barber) 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, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.
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 moving end for the character and series.
Claudia & Madeleine, Interview With the Vampire
If you’ve read the Anne Rice novel or saw the 1994 film, you knew this fate was coming for Claudia (Delainey Hayles) and Madeleine (Roxane Duran) in Paris. But the AMC drama expanded on the source material by showing every second of the trial as Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Armand (Assad Zaman) 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 haunt the narrative in Season 3.
Sol, The Acolyte
This death had double meaning. When Osha (Amandla Stenberg) killed Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) in the Season 1 (and now series) finale, 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 (Jodie Turner-Smith). 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 (Manny Jacinto) on the dark side. Mae, meanwhile, did nothing to stop the murder.
Vic, The Penguin
The second Rhenzy Feliz‘s Vic called Oz (Colin Farrell) family in The Penguin finale, 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, Yellowstone killed off Colby Mayfield, one of the Dutton ranch’s cowboys played by Denim Richards. He died saving young Carter (Finn Little) 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 not well received by viewers.
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