DEADWOOD (2004-06)
Look, Deadwood, South Dakota isn’t a place nice people go to feel good about themselves. It’s a rising township deep in the brutal American frontier, where some of the Wild West’s most prominent legends made their name through violence, shady dealings, and ruthlessness. So season 3’s shocking finale, in which the main characters (of varying innocence) slice up an innocent woman to use as a body double, certainly upholds the show’s stance of redemption as an impossible luxury. A fourth season was obviously planned, but audiences will only have the abrupt downer ending to ride off into the sunset.