16 Characters We Need To Return For Their Shows' Final Seasons

With all respect to Thomas Wolfe, you definitely can go home again — especially when you're a beloved character from a TV show that's swiftly approaching its series finale.

Now that NBC has confirmed America Ferrera's return for the one-hour swan song of Superstore (March 25, 8/7c), Team TVLine is taking stock of a few other characters we'd like to see back on TV before their shows permanently fade to black.

Our list ranges from obvious requests, like Shameless' Fiona Gallagher (Emmy Rossum) and Mom's Christy Plunkett (Anna Faris), to slightly longer shots, like Animal Kingdom's dearly departed Smurf (Ellen Barkin) and Last Man Standing's original Mandy (Molly Ephraim) and Kristin (Alexandra Krosney).

Scroll down to see which returns we're hoping for in the near future, then drop a comment with any of your own additions to the list.

Considering how miffed Ellen Barkin appeared to be about Mommie Dearest being killed off in Season 4 of the TNT drama, it seems highly unlikely that she'd reprise her role for new flashbacks in 2022's sixth and final season. Then again, if the show could transform Pope from someone we're scared of to someone we feel for — OK, we're still scared, too — maybe anything is possible?

Look, no one's asking Gina to lift a finger upon her return. She can sit around and play Kwazy Cupcakes for the entire episode if she wants. We just want to see Jake Peralta reunite with his childhood pal one last time.

With TNT's campy crime drama applying its final coat of polish, we'd love to see an encore appearance from one of its juiciest villains: Russian gangster Zlata (played by Franka Potente), who never met a girl-boss slogan she didn't love. What's that, you say? She died in the Season 2 finale? Pshhh... since when would that stop a show like Claws?

#TeamDaniel fans waited for an Insecure Season 4 return that never came. Now that Issa Rae's romantic comedy is coming to an end on HBO, it would feel good to have Y'lan Noel's character pop up at least once to close the book on any unfinished business between him and Issa. (They lived together at one point. That has to count for something!)

The Tim Allen comedy has given the original Roseanne a run for its money in terms of recasts. (Remember when Nick Jonas played Ryan?!) The ABC-turned-Fox comedy replaced two of the three actresses who played Mike and Vanessa's daughters during its nine-season run — and we could think of no better way to acknowledge the show's past than to have Molly Ephraim (OG Mandy) and Alexandra Krosney (Kristin No. 1) reprise their roles in the series finale, if only for a scene or two. Heck, maybe they can bring the Kristin and Ryan's M.I.A. son Boyd along with them!

Sure, we got a bit more of Tricia Helfer when she popped up in Season 5's noir episode as Chloe's, er, Detective Jack Monroe's missus. But with Dad (aka God) now checking up on the kids, it'd be heavenly to see how He and the ex currently get along.

We'd hate to see CBS' sober-living comedy end before Anna Faris' Christy returns to pay Bonnie a visit and establish that she still has a relationship with at least one of her kids. While we can almost accept that Violet wants nothing to do with Christy, it just wouldn't feel right if the show ended without establishing that Roscoe — who's been M.I.A. since Season 4! — still has a relationship with his mother.

Considering the Showtime series hasn't even given viewers a passing mention of where Fiona went or what she's been up to since leading lady Emmy Rossum exited two seasons ago, it just doesn't feel right to end the show without some sort of check-in on Fi. And if that means an in-person appearance, well, that's even better!

Something tells us that Cat Grant would have a lot to say about how much things have changed in National City during her multi-season absence. We at least deserve to experience Cat's snarky reaction to her former assistant being an evil plant all along!

No greater gift could be given to Dead-heads as 2022's Season 11 sticks a fork in (the brain of) the original series in AMC's franchise than a glimpse of its First Couple. It's a very real possibility, too, considering that Andrew Lincoln remains a part of the family (via Rick-centric movies) and Danai Gurira told TVLine that she's "not opposed to exploring Michonne's story further."

No, these two Breaking Bad icons haven't set foot on Saul yet, but with the spinoff entering its final episodes, we'd still love to see Jimmy cross paths with a pre-Heisenberg Walt, or "Gene" run into Jesse in a black-and-white flash-forward. (El Camino was OK, but it didn't fully scratch that itch, you know?)