13 Comparisons Between the First and Last Episodes of Popular TV Shows

Films
3 years ago

When you watch a show for a long time, it’s sometimes difficult to notice the changes that the main characters go through because you’ve been looking at them on a television screen for years. Without a doubt, it’s shocking to compare their before and after pictures, but it allows us to see how different the actors look — like the cast of Friends, for example, who went through dramatic physical changes over the course of 10 years.

Bright Side wants to share some pictures of the first and last episodes of some of the most famous, longest-running series of all time.

1. The Big Bang Theory

The show was released on September 24, 2007, and ended on May 16, 2019. It was on the air for a total of 12 seasons. The decision to cancel the series was made after Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper) announced he didn’t want to work on the project anymore. To continue without him wouldn’t have made much sense. The comedy received 55 Emmy Award nominations. Sheldon didn’t age a bit!

2. Friends

One of the most beloved comedies of all time, Friends, first aired on September 22, 1994, and ended on May 6, 2004, after its tenth season. Joey, Phoebe, Monica, Chandler, Ross, and Rachel found a place in thousands of viewers’ hearts.

3. That ’70s Show

The TV comedy premiered on August 23, 1998, and was broadcast until May 18, 2006, airing a total of 8 seasons. It’s remembered for introducing us to actors who would later become great Hollywood stars, like Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis.

4. Grey’s Anatomy

The show began on March 27, 2005, and is still running. The sixteenth season recently premiered. As of today, the production has only 3 of the original main characters (who have worked on the show from day one), having lost the fourth one this last season.

Ellen Pompeo (Meredith Gray), Chandra Wilson (Miranda Bailey), and James Pickens Jr. (Richard Webber) are the characters that we’ve been able to follow throughout the series’ 16 seasons, while Justin Chambers (Alex Karev) announced that he won’t renew his contract, a decision that caused a lot of pain to many fans.

5. Criminal Minds

The series ended in February 2020, after a total of 15 seasons. The show had to replace one of its main actors, Thomas Gibson, who after portraying controversial behavior while filming 3 episodes, was fired by CBS and ABC Studios.

6. Gossip Girl

Blair, Chuck, Dan, and Serena marked the teenage years for many viewers with Gossip Girl. The series aired for 6 seasons, starting in 2007 and ending in December 2012. It received multiple nominations for different awards and won a 2018 Teen Choice Award. Fans are looking forward to the reboot which will be released in 2020 as a new season but will portray other characters.

7. Two and a Half Men

Two and a Half Men was on for 12 seasons after first airing in September 2003. The series’ biggest controversy arose when the production team replaced Charlie Sheen (Charlie Harper) — who “died” on screen — with Ashton Kutcher (Walden Schmidt). The most outstanding transformation of all the actors in the show has to be that of Angus T. Jones (Jake Harper). When the show started, he was only 9 years old, and although he later decided to quit the series, he made a special appearance in the last episode.

8. Bones

This iconic police drama ended after 12 seasons. It premiered in 2005 and finished in 2017.

9. Modern Family

This comedy first aired in September 2009 and is currently running its eleventh and final season as of 2020.

10. Supernatural

The fifteenth and final season of the dark fantasy series is still in development. Producers initially thought that the show would last 5 seasons, but following its enormous success after its premiere in September 2005, they decided to extend it. Sadly, it has already been announced that this will certainly be the last season.

11. How I Met Your Mother

Some people compare this comedy to Friends, although it would be a modern version. Instead of drinking coffee, the friends spend their free time at a bar and have newer communication devices. Production started in 2005 and ended in 2014 after a total of 9 seasons.

12. Will & Grace

The show first aired in 1998 and lasted until 2006. However, in 2018, producers started filming the ninth season. Here, 20 years after its first episode, you can see how the actors have changed! The show is still on and is in its third season since its return to the screen, making it the show’s eleventh since 1998.

13. Gilmore Girls

The show premiered on October 5, 2000, and lasted a total of 7 seasons, in which viewers watched Alexis Bledel (Rory Gilmore) grow up. The funny thing is that 9 years later, Netflix decided to produce a miniseries sequel, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. It included four episodes with the names of each season, each an hour and a half long. We won’t share any spoilers, but let’s just say that it had an open ending. Therefore, we wouldn’t be surprised if the Gilmore Girls reappeared on screen in a few years.

Is there a TV show that you’ve watched for years? Do you think that time passes in a not-so-obvious way, revealing changes in a show’s actors? Or have you been able to notice them? Tell us in the comment section!

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Now I just realize how many hours I spent watching TV series.... I watched almost all of the shows mentioned in the article every single episode and some of them even twice ??

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The greatest comparison of all... Carl In the very first walking dead episodes and just before leaving the show...

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I love before after compilations. Friends was one of my favorite shows... HUGE transformations!

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I actually like to watch modern family, it's the only thing on the tv when I have a dead moment at work.. so might as well watch it

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