Nearly a decade ago, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, an epic crime tale about Prohibition-era gangsters in Atlantic City, ended abruptly with an abbreviated fifth season.
The network decided that the show’s good-but-not-great ratings couldn’t justify its budget, so the showrunners were forced to skip ahead seven years between the events of Seasons 4 and 5 in an effort to rush to the story’s conclusion.
This doomed the otherwise masterful series to a predictable and deeply unsatisfying finale.
What makes this finale so remarkable is how strongly it contrasts in quality with the rest of the show, which was filled with insightful writing, gorgeous costumes, stirring performances, and heart-pounding action sequences.
As we revisit Season 5 of Boardwalk Empire, we’ll see why the series deserves the both honorable and dishonorable distinction of being the best TV show with the worst conclusion.
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