12 TV Deaths From the 2025–2026 TV Season That Absolutely Killed Us

We know character deaths have to happen, but that doesn’t make them any easier to deal with.

In some cases, the deaths break our hearts because we’re so attached to the characters; in others, it’s about how the others on the show are feeling.

Deaths can be a beautiful end to a bigger story, or they can serve as a catalyst for something bigger in episodes to come.

And yes, there are other deaths that made us angry because they just shouldn’t have happened.

The TV Fanatic staff came together to put together the losses that absolutely killed us throughout the 2025–2026 season.

We’ve looked at broadcast, cable, premium cable, and streaming to collect all the moments that pulled hard at the heartstrings.

How many of them affected you, and how many of them did you scream at the TV for happening?

Fergus Fraser — Outlander

This was a death that wasn’t meant to happen, and while I know there were a lot of angry fans who felt Outlander had changed the book storyline again, I saw why Fergus had to be the one killed off.

He did affect more in the grand scheme of things, but that didn’t mean his loss wasn’t heartbreaking.

As a fire broke out at the printshop, Fergus rushed to the roof, where Germain and Henri-Christian had gone to see the stars. He just made sure that both of his sons had made it to the ground, and it was time for him to get to safety as well.

We screamed with Marsali, as she just watched the horrifying moment of him falling through the burning roof. As much as we wanted him to survive, it wasn’t possible, and so we were left with the haunting, silent screams from Marsali as she mourned in Brianna’s lap.

Leon Vance — NCIS

The position of Director of NCIS is probably one that nobody wants anymore. That chair seems to be cursed!

As NCIS reached its milestone 500th episode, we waited to see how Leon Vance was going to help save the doors from closing for good.

Only, we were shocked to find out that he didn’t survive the gunshot wound after all. In a chilling turn of events, the man questioning him was a young Ducky Mallard in disguise, offering some touching support in the afterlife.

Sure, the loss came with CID closing instead of NCIS, but that wasn’t on our minds as we watched him reach out to the woman calling to him from the light. He was finally getting to be with his wife.

Prince Baelor — A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms 

Those who had read the books knew Prince Baelor wouldn’t survive the Trial of Seven. Those who just know their Targaryen history also know that Prince Baelor would never be king.

However, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms added layers to Baelor that we didn’t quite expect.

We saw a man who could look past the face and the armor. He understood what a real knight was supposed to be, and he paid the price to help that knight win.

As Dunk asked to serve him, Baelor died in his arms, leading to an agonizing memory that Dunk will never be able to forget.

Baelor’s loss felt heavy on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 Episode 6. This did more than upset the Targaryen family, but it changed the future of Westeros forever.

Katie Rogers — Grey’s Anatomy

It’s been a long time since a patient’s death has affected us on Grey’s Anatomy in the way that Katie Roger’s did.

Over the course of the season, we saw her go from an independent and stubborn lawyer to a woman who simply wanted to survive. She didn’t just want to enjoy life, but she wanted to enjoy it with someone she was falling in love with.

This death became more gut-wrenching because it could have been avoided had one clinical trial not ended well before it should have. It was working, but that didn’t matter in keeping it going.

Bailey and Lucas tried to find her something, and in the end, all they could do was make her remaining days as peaceful as possible on Grey’s Anatomy Season 22 Episode 14.

To make matters worse, Lucas wasn’t even there to hold her as she died, meaning he (and we) didn’t really get a chance at closure.

Floyd Smernitch — DTF St. Louis

DTF St. Louis might have started with Floyd’s death, but that didn’t mean his loss was any less painful. 

Through the course of seven episodes, we uncovered who might have a motive to kill him, only to discover that the true pain came from within.

It’s the best kind of murder mystery: no one person is to blame, and the cause-and-effect of everyone’s actions culminates in the loss of a beautiful soul. 

Floyd had everything to live for, but crossed connections and miscommunication led him to believe he’d be better off dead. We can’t think of anything more heartbreaking than that.

Ed Baldwin — For All Mankind

If memory serves me, Ed Baldwin was one of the first characters we met in the series premiere of For All Mankind in 2019, if not THE first. 

Over seven IRL years, five seasons, and over four in-show decades, we have followed his adventures as an astronaut, father, revolutionary, and leader. 

As Season 5 opened, we knew his time was nearly up, but Ed was never one to go gentle into the good night. His last act before dying is to pilot a friend to freedom, despite suffering from his illness and the hopper’s low air pressure.

His final moments are a beautiful testament to his life. Dreaming himself young and hopeful again, surrounded by a loving wife, living child, and friends long gone ahead into the great unknown, about to embark on his first space mission. It’s a fantastic full-circle moment.

Amanda Wagner — Will Trent

Amanda Wagner has been the glue that held the GBI and APD together on Will Trent since it began. While she was closest to Will and Faith, everyone cared for and respected her.

Her death still hurts and seems senseless. Adelaide killed her because she mattered to Will, and Adelaide wanted Will to suffer.

The cast put forth their best work as Will kissed Amanda goodbye, and the APD and GBI all carried her corpse while reciting “The Lord is My Shepherd.” They looked like grieving pallbearers.

It was a contrast to the memorial, where they shared stories about Amanda, with Evelyn and Faith leading off by talking about how fierce she was.

If the series wanted to reset the show without Amanda, they could have had her retire instead.

Michelle — Brilliant Minds

Michelle’s death hit like a gut punch. While we didn’t know her that long, we knew and adored Van.

He deserved his second chance at happiness, and it seemed cruel to rip her away so soon after they reunited.

I’ll admit Brilliant Minds did a wonderful representation of brain death, but it hurt.

There were some beautiful scenes, like when Van envisioned she woke up in an alternate universe, and when he accepted that he finally had to let her go. It was one of the best scenes the interns shared on Brilliant Minds Season 2.

It felt like a beautiful full-circle moment when they created a memory wall for Michelle. She’d always be remembered.

Monica Stevens — The Rookie

Monica’s death is a tough one precisely because, after so much time spent as one of The Rookie‘s most persistent villains, at some point, some viewers felt it was long overdue. 

And yet, when she finally does get murdered on The Rookie Season 8 Episode 17, it was a devastating ordeal. She spent her last hours playing all the cards she had before finding Wesley in a heartwarming attempt to make amends.

Her moments with him were Monica’s most vulnerable yet. We saw a woman who recognized the wrong turns she had made in life, how she had gotten herself into over her head, and wondered if she was still a good person.

This brilliant, morally questionable, fashionable, and wily villainess realized her time was up even in her final moments, and had the most Monica-line when the only request of her assassin was not to be shot in the face.

Suddenly, seeing a woman so full of life without hers hit like a sledgehammer. 

John Stirling — Bridgerton

Anyone who knows anything about the Bridgerton series knows that Francesca and John’s love story was short-lived.

But that didn’t make it any easier when this gentle, sweet man who completely matched Francesca’s energy and truly understood her, settled down for a nap and never woke up.

It was devastating.

Seeing Francesca navigate the loss, the grieving process, and societal norms around it that didn’t make sense to her was especially difficult to watch.

Garrett Garvey — Marshals

So much of Marshals has been about second chances and carving out new paths, and that was applicable to Garrett Garvey, aka Double G, Kayce’s fellow Navy SEAL.

He’s always been the most troubled out of the squad, especially after the loss of their brother in a mission that went wrong.

So when he showed up at the ranch, it was nice to see a troubled man find peace by caring for the horses and even find companionship with Andrea.

But then he sacrificed himself to save the horses. And it seemed like maybe he’d come out of it okay despite the severe burns. 

However, on Marshals Season 1 Episode 11, we learned he quietly died offscreen, and it’s a devastating ordeal that a haunted man who finally seemed to be finding peace died before he could settle into it.

Louie Cloverfield — The Pitt 

Louie Cloverfield’s death is easily one of the most devastating television events of the season. It is certainly the most influential plot point in The Pitt Season 2.

A frequent flyer, Louie was filled to the brim with light and positivity, which influenced and inspired so many of the characters.

Through Louie, we saw the humanity in many of the characters, and in death, we saw the same. 

Louie’s farewell gave us the humanizing experience of cleaning up the dead; Robby’s eulogy of sorts was a somber affair that also illuminated Louie’s story and further humanized him.

And the impact of his death on characters like Perlah, Langdon, and others was powerful. 

There are so many TV deaths, and we can’t always cover them, so we want to hear from you!

Which ones from the 2025–2026 season do you think we missed? Which ones affected you the most? It’s okay to grieve fictional characters, and the best way to do that is together!