On New Year’s Eve we sing “Should old acquaintances be forgotten?” But we will never forget last year’s worst television disaster.
Ned Stark (Sean Bean) lost his head on Game of Thrones in 2011. It still hurts. Derek McDreamy Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) left Grey’s Anatomy following a 2015 car accident that remains under investigation. The brutal death of Yellowstone mainstay John Dutton (Kevin Costner), which took place in 2024, dragged on for too long in the second half of Season 5, almost spilling over into 2025.
However, in 2025, a traumatic toll occurred that was televised. Here are the most significant TV-related deaths of the past year.
And again in 2025! Spoilers ahead for 2025 shows you haven’t seen yet..
7. Marge is still alive, but church organist Alice Glick plays her final notes on “The Simpsons.”
Despite rumors on the internet, Marge Simpson did not die on “The Simpsons” in 2025. But Alice Glick, a longtime church organist who started performing in Season 2 in 1991 (when the first George Bush was president), screamed.
The November 16th episode of Season 37 began with Mrs. Glick suddenly collapsing in church during Pastor Lovejoy’s sermon. Executive producer Tim Long briefly acknowledged the death of the character, once voiced by the late Oscar-winning actress Cloris Leachman, saying Mrs. Glick was “dead as a nail.”
6. Why did Tom Pelphrey’s character Robbie have to die in “The Tusk” episode 6?
Soulful Tom Pelphrey played the troubled Ben Davis in Netflix’s crime drama Ozark, breaking 2020’s hearts with a TV murder (on his sister’s orders!). Pelfrey reprized his role as single father Robbie Prendergrast on HBO’s “Tusk.” He is a kind-hearted sanitation worker who robs drug dens and criminals.
Robbie’s death was inevitable as he was cornered and his life was targeted. However, the fatal stabbing by Dark Hearts thug Jason (Sam Keeley) was even more tragic as members of the motorcycle gang had already killed Robbie’s younger brother Billy (Jack Keeley). The death that hit viewers in the sixth episode of the seven-episode HBO series was especially tough. We thought we would have more time with Robbie.
Pelfrey, you’re on TV death probation until 2028.
5. Vann’s “Yellowjacket” death was the cruelest cut of Season 3
Season 3 of Yellowjackets was full of bloodshed. But no death was more painful than that of plane crash survivor Van (Lauren Ambrose). Even if he has terminal cancer and is spending his free time. Van makes the moral choice not to stab fellow survivor Melissa (Hilary Swank) in order to cure his cancer with supernatural powers, but Melissa thrusts a knife into Van’s heart, fatally wounding him. Cue the needle drop of Radiohead’s tear-jerking “Exit Music (for a Film),” which shows a flashback to Van’s teenage self (Liv Hewson), followed by a conversation between the two of them on the fatal plane. After everything Van and his rekindled girlfriend Taissa (Tawney Cypress) have been through, we were hoping for an endgame for these two.
4. British socialite Alexandra brings Dutton the ultimate death in “1923.”
Much of Season 2 of 1923 follows brave, pregnant Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer) as she journeys across oceans and continents to reunite with her hunky American husband, Spencer Dutton (Brandon Skenner). After losing his life aboard a ship, a train, and finally a car, Alex escapes from a snow-bound car, leaving behind a frozen and stiff fellow traveler. After battling death himself and suffering from frostbite, Alex reunites with Spencer on a snow-covered railroad track in the final episode of the two-hour series in April (shot in the Texas summer). Doctors wanted to amputate her blackened limbs to save her. However, Alex refused to guarantee the birth of a premature son named John Dutton (who may be the grandfather of John Dutton, played by Kevin Costner). With the drama dial stuck at 11 o’clock, Alex passed away with her heartbroken husband lying next to her.
3. ‘White Lotus’ star couple’s death was harder to swallow than a poisoned pina colada
A heated debate surrounding HBO’s “White Lotus” Season 3 (well, one of them) was which of the characters at the luxury resort would die in Thailand and how. Tortured Rick Hatchet (Walton Goggins), like Inigo Montoya in a flower-print shirt, ranks high on the hit list with his reckless quest to avenge his father’s death. Similarly, Rick’s bubbly younger girlfriend Chelsea (Amy Lou Wood) was a distinct possibility. But Chelsea dying in the crossfire during the finals shootout, followed by a heartbroken Rick – fully aware of the damage he had caused – was as hard to swallow as a poisoned piña colada.
2. Calling 9-1-1 about Bobby Nash’s death
As the 118’s steady fire chief, Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) was not only the central leader of “9-1-1” for eight seasons, he was the show’s conscience. Nash escaped pirates, snipers, and killer bees before heroically dying from a deadly virus on the April 17 episode of ABC. Nash steps in like a hero, saving his fellow firefighter Chimney (Kenneth Choi) and ensuring the safety of the crew. He has a final conversation with his wife, Athena (Angela Bassett), and they cry as they touch each other through a glass partition.
1. Joel’s death in ‘The Last of Us’ was a national shocker.
Millions of people who played “The Last of Us” video game knew about Joel Miller’s death. But the majority of the world’s unsuspecting television audience never imagined that the killing machine with a heart (Pedro Pascal) would die, much less in episode 2 of season 2 of the hit HBO series. It was a brutal act in which he was beaten to death with a golf club.
After Joel saves Abby and her group’s lives, the vengeful Abby Anderson (Kaitlyn Deaver) challenges Joel to avenge her late father in a torturous and soul-destroying scene. The assault ended with the final execution in front of the surrogate’s daughter Ellie (Bella Ramsey). “The Last of Us” is forever changed as Ellie seeks revenge. Contributors: Claire Mulroy, Patrick Ryan, Brendan Morrow.
