Cheers dominated the TV landscape in the 80s and landed in the top 10 shows in eight of its eleven seasons (it even took first place in the ninth season). The series produced stars including Ted Danson, Woody Harrelson, Shelley Long, Kirstie Alley and Kelsey Grammer (who still plays him). Cheers Character, Dr. Frasier Crane, to this day).

You’ve probably spent a lot of time making your way to the TV bar alongside Sam, Cliff, Norm and Diane. In fact, you were probably among the estimated 93 million viewers who tuned in to the show’s series finale on May 20, 1993. But do you actually remember how? Cheers finished?

NBC/Everett Collection

Cheers When it first aired on September 30, 1982, the series was barely a ratings behemoth and was on the verge of cancellation after just one season. However, the show quickly found its footing and recovered significantly. The key to CheerThe success lay in its relativity. Whether you’re a frequent pub-goer or have never set foot in a pub in your life, you can undoubtedly identify with one of the series’ expertly played characters, be it the confident ex-athlete Sam Malone (played with effortless Charm of Danson), the know-it-all Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger), the stressed single mother Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman) or the everyman Norm “Norm!” Peterson (George Wendt).

It was the place where “everyone knows your name” for almost 11 years Cheers became the ultimate gathering spot for the television audience on Thursday nights, where we could relax, blow off steam and maybe even enjoy a cold drink while watching the legendary bar’s regulars do the same.

Why Cheers Get canceled?

Paramount Television/courtesy Everett Collection

While Cheers Because there was a sizable, ever-changing cast of characters (some regulars stuck around from day one, while others dropped in and out over the years), the series’ glue has always been Danson’s Sam Malone – and not just because he was the one in question fictional bar, but because his charismatic yet fragile charm and friendliness provided a connection to the rest of the cast. He was, like the bar, a center of their world, and his departure would cripple the show.

When Danson decided it was time to move on CheersThere was never much doubt whether the show would go on. Legend has it that while other options were considered (including allowing Woody Harrelson’s “Woody Boyd” character to buy the bar and be the focus of the show, an offer he declined), the end result was inevitable. Instead of continuing to watch the show’s quality and ratings inevitably decline after Danson, it was time to end things on their terms.

What happened in the last episode of Cheers?

Paul Drinkwater/TV Guide/NBC/courtesy Everett Collection

Cheers The culmination was “One for the Road,” a massive 98-minute event (now split into three episodes) that aired in some 42 million homes, making it the second-highest rated series finale of all time (behind…). MASH). To put these numbers in perspective, NBC estimated that nearly 40% of the United States watched the finale during its original broadcast.

With enough time to plan a proper finale, Season 11’s closer, “One for the Road,” featured major turning points for many of the series’ main characters, as well as a major return: Diane Chambers (played by Shelley Long), whose ” wants “They/won’t they” helped improve the relationship with Sam Cheers a real hit.

After leaving Sam six years earlier for a six-month book tour (and never returning as promised), Diane was back in town to accept an award. As always, the fear sparked a rekindled tension between the two (even after both Sam and Diane initially tried to deceive each other with fake husbands/wives), leading to a snap decision to renew their relationship marry.

Paramount Television/courtesy Everett Collection.

While Sam and Diane’s reunion is clearly the main event of this episode, there are plenty of other things going on for the rest of the cast as well. With Frasier’s help, Woody (Woody Harrelson) accepted a position as a city councilman and, as one of his first acts, offered a job to down-on-his-luck patron Norm. Rebecca Howe (played by the late Kirstie Alley) finally gives up on her quest to marry rich by accepting a marriage proposal from her blue-collar boyfriend Don Santry (guest-starred by Tom Berenger). Cliff gets a promotion at the Postal Service after bribing his boss with gifts.

A delay on Sam and Diane’s flight proves to be the break they need to realize they’re just not meant for each other. Diane returns to Los Angeles while Sam returns home: cheers. After celebrating his return with the friends we’ve seen laughing, crying, and drinking together for years (and some really funny self-reflection), everyone except Norm heads home.

Finally, Norm tells Sam that he knew he would return to Boston for his “one true love.” Sam is confused when Norm smiles and says, “You’ll always come back to her.”

Looking around the bar where he had shared so many important memories and laughed, Sam finally understood Norm’s words and realized that he had already found the love he had been looking for all along.

“I’m the luckiest son of a bitch in the world,” he smiles before closing up shop for the night. For millions of viewers Cheers was now closed for good, but tomorrow was a new day for Sam and the crew.