10 People Who Are Leaving TV—Ranked in Buckets of Tears

From Jon Stewart's shocking Daily Show exit to Glee's final sendoff, we're revealing which TV exits are bumming us out the most

By Tierney Bricker Feb 11, 2015 5:30 PMTags
Glee, The Daily Show, The Bachelorette, Two and a Half MenFox; Comedy Central, CBS, ABC

Let the TV therapy session begin!

Jon Stewart (whose middle name may or may not be "life-ruiner," sources say*) decided to kick off the apocalypse on Tuesday, announcing he was retiring from The Daily Show. Tears were shed. Enraged tweets were tweeted. Obscenities were yelled during emergency therapy sessions. And while Stewart's exit date has yet to be set (Comedy Central vaguely said "later this year"), we're already getting misty-eyed. But he's not the only person or show leaving the small screen soon. From longrunning series, like Parks and Rec and Glee, to actors leaving their shows (Bye, Steven R. McQueen and Archie Panjabi!), there are a lot of goodbyes in your immediate future. (We suggest stocking up on the ice cream and investing in Kleenex now.)

So, ranked in order from least devastating to most devastating, here are 10 upcoming TV exits that are causing us to cry buckets of tears:

(*Our sources may or may not be our bitter feelings.)

Two and a Half Men: 1 Bucket (possibly of joy?)
The time has more than come for Jon Cryer and Ashton Kutcher to go. And we're pretty sure we're going to be too shocked/horrified/stunned if Charlie Sheen puts in one final appearance to be too upset over the CBS sitcom's end on Feb. 19.

Greg Gayne/FOX

Damon Wayans Jr., New Girl: 2 Buckets
Sure, we're sad to see the always-funny Happy Endings alum leave New Girl, but he's left the loft once before (he was in the pilot, but had to drop out due to his contract with Happy Endings), and the gang survived. And they will again. (Fingers crossed he's leaving for Happy Endings season four! Hey, a TV reporter can have dreams, too.)

ABC/Adam Taylor

Professional dancers, Dancing With the Star: 3 Buckets
Each season, DWTS has pros leave the ballroom for other opportunities, most that don't involve being spray-tanned and dealing with a celeb's lack of coordination on a daily basis. But season 20's sit-outs are particularly brutal: Derek Hough, Cheryl Burke and Karina Smirnoff, all longtime vets, are not participating. At least we know Hough will definitely be back. Phew!

The CW

Steven R. McQueen, The Vampire Diaries: 4 Buckets
Elena's kid bro leaving the CW hit series in the Feb. 12 episode to go to art school would probably have more impact if he hadn't already left town and died about 47 times before.

FOX

Glee: 5 Buckets
If anything, we're crying more over the potential for what the series could've been, not what it's going out as. While this final season has been kind of spectacularly wacky, it's missing the heart and soul of earlier seasons. Still, we'll miss watching Lea Michele absolutely slay old and modern hits each and every episode. And how can we not mourn a show that gifted us with this:

Fox
CBS

Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife: 6 Buckets
No disrespect to Kalinda, but no exit on The Good Wife can or will ever come near the impact of Will Gardner's devastating death in season five. And, if we're being honest (we're all friends here, right?), we're OK with Kalinda leaving as it feels like she's been meandering a bit, always on the peripheral of a great storyline, but never at the center of it. But we may need an extra ½ bucket if we get a great goodbye scene between her and Alicia. 

ABC/Craig Sjodin

The Season 19 Contestants, The Bachelor: 7 Buckets
Oh man, does the casting department deserve a raise after this season, which has been the craziest most entertaining season ever. Not because of Chris Soules, who is nice but basically the human version of mashed potatoes, but thanks to the bats—t ladies they found, like Ashley I., the virgin Kardashian wannabe, and Kelsey, the "Black Widow," just to name a few.

Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS

David Letterman, The Late Show: 8 Buckets
It's. The. End. Of. An. Era. Helping ease the pain of the longtime host's final show on May 20? Knowing Stephen Colbert is taking over, a more-than-worthy replacement that requires extra buckets due to our happy tears. Home Depot run later? 

NBC

Parks and Recreation: 9 Buckets
Oh, how we will miss the crap out of Pawnee and its residents. Parks and Rec was simultaneously the funniest and most heartwarming show on TV, tugging on your heart strings and tickling your funny bone. We would cry even more, but we don't want to disappoint Ron Swanson. Knope we can't let go and don't want to on Feb. 24!

Comedy Central

Jon Stewart, The Daily Show: 10 Buckets
When the host of 17 years announced his retirement from the Comedy Central show, you would literally have thought everyone on Twitter's best friend had just died. Why?! How could he be so selfish?! How are we going to know how to feel about cultural events?! What will we do at night?! Excuse us while we go rock in a corner, thinking of ways to bribe Stewart into staying...and finding a way to make him immortal so we never have to feel like this again. 

Which upcoming TV exit are you crying the most over? Disagree with our ranking? Sound off in the comments!