The coronavirus pandemic took away so many things we love this year — which made us even more grateful for the TV shows that gave us exactly what we wanted.
Fan service — or a show’s move to meet its fervent viewers’ demands — often gets a bad rap, particularly when said service doesn’t make much sense given current characters and plot. But when a show serves up something you’ve been waiting for for a very long time, and does so with style and love? Yeah, that’s a good fan feeling.
And since 2020 has been short on good things overall, we thought we’d gather our favorite fan-service-y moments in one place. The assemblage includes returns of favorite faces (we still haven’t recovered from Grey’s Anatomy‘s McDreamy’s surprise), nostalgic callbacks with wry twists (aka 95 percent of Saved By the Bell‘s continuation series) and super satisfying scenes from series finales (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s flash-forward, anyone?).
And before you put on your “Well, actually…” hat, know this: We stretched the definition of fan service when it suited us, because celebrating when your favorite show does something you’ve wanted your favorite show to do is #selfcare.
So scroll through the list below to see our favorite fan-service moments from the year in TV, then hit the comments with any that you would’ve included.
Still ahead in our Year in Review: Most Heartbreaking Character Deaths, Quotes of the Year, Shocking Reality TV Moments and much more!
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THE 100 REUNITES CLARKE WITH ‘LEXA’
Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW Given how poorly the final season of this long-running CW drama was received by fans, it needed to pull out all the stops in its series finale — including finding a reason to bring back Alycia Debnam-Carey, albeit not in the familiar role fans would have preferred. (Season 7 Episode 16)
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S.H.I.E.L.D.'S OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD FINISH
Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW So many boxes were checked as ABC’s Marvel series wrapped its run. FitzSimmons had/have a beautiful daughter! May is now teaching at a S.H.I.E.L.D. academy, which is named after Coulson! Coulson himself was reunited with L.O.L.A.! And hopefully the most prescient of all, Daisy might — just might — be working for a beta version of S.W.O.R.D.! (Season 7, Episode 13)
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ARROW'S NEW GREEN DEAL
Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW Has John Diggle been enlisted to the Green Lantern Corps? DC bigwigs kept the Arrowverse series from coming out and saying as much, with one of its series finale’s closing vignettes. But we are holding out for Dig’s eventual, and deserved, glow-up. (Season 8, Episode 10)
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BETTER CALL SAUL CALLS HANK
Image Credit: Courtesy of AMC Much to our delight, a Breaking Bad fan favorite reported for duty in Season 5 of the AMC prequel, with Dean Norris reprising his role as DEA agent Hank Schrader. And it wasn’t just a cameo: We got to see Hank and his partner Gomez put the screws to Jimmy and his client Krazy-8 and zip around in SUVs on a drug bust. Just like old times. (Season 5, Episodes 3 and 4)
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BIG BROTHER: THE DOCTOR IS IN
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS It wouldn’t be a true All-Stars season of Big Brother without an appearance from Will Kirby, arguably the best to ever play the game. Frankly, we’d have preferred he actually competed on the season — he could have taught those houseguests a thing or two about real strategy — but we’ll settle for his handful of appearances as the Big Brother house’s nosy neighbor. (Season 22, Episode 24)
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THE BLACKLIST'S AGENTS OF CHANGE
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC The Blacklist‘s seemingly inevitable romance between Liz and Ressler had been the sssslowest of burns across seven seasons — but ‘shippers had their patience rewarded in the Season 8 premiere. As Liz prepared to go on the run after kidnapping her own grandfather (uh, long story), she and Ressler shared a wistful first kiss to the tune of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.” (And then Liz made her escape by pointing Ressler’s own gun at him, which… again, long story.) (Season 8, Episode 1)
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FARGO TAKES A MILLIGAN
Image Credit: Courtesy of FX We kind of had a hunch that Loy Cannon’s son Satchel would turn out to be special, and it was confirmed by a post-credits scene in the season finale that he grew up to be… Season 2 hitman Mike Milligan, played once again by Bokeem Woodbine. It’s all connected, dontcha know. (Season 4, Episode 11)
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A HOUSE FULL OF FAN NODS
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix The final half-season was peppered with callbacks to the original series (Honeybee costumes! Pink bunnies! The Newlywed Game!), but none more overt than Stephanie backing Joey’s vintage car into the Tanner/Fuller kitchen. Again. (Season 5, Episode 12)
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THE GOOD PLACE GETS JUSTIFIED
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC To sweet-talk the all-powerful Judge Gen into siding with Eleanor and the gang, Janet summoned the judge’s favorite TV star: a Stetson-clad Timothy Olyphant, in full Justified mode. We’re not saying he was playing Raylan Givens here, exactly… but it sure as heck was close enough for us. (Season 4, Episode 10)
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GREY'S ANATOMY EXHUMES MCDREAMY
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC Let’s call a spade a spade: Patrick Dempsey’s late, beloved Derek frolicking in the surf with his very much still alive soul mate Meredith was a stretch, narratively speaking. But when it comes to satisfying reunions like this, we will happily kick common sense to the curb. (Season 17, Episode 2)
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HAWAII FIVE-0'S ROMANTIC ALOHA
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS In what was as inevitable as it was anticipated by some fans, the CBS drama’s very final scene let us know that although Steve was temporarily parting ways with best bud Danny, his other, occasional partner, Catherine, would join him on his next journey. (Season 10, Episode 22)
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HARLEY QUINN PLANTS ONE ON IVY
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max What happens in Themyscira stays in Themyscira…? Ivy’s bachelorette party, held in one of the most sapphic locations possible, set the stage for her first, awaited and alcohol-infused assignation with BFF Harley. It was touch and go for an episode or so after, but the season finale showed us that the coupling could be a keeper! (Season 2, Episode 9)
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MURDER BRINGS BACK 'WES'
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC How to Get Away With Murder fans had long theorized — in the TVLine Comments section, at least — that Alfred Enoch’s Wes wasn’t really dead, and would ultimately resurface before the ABC drama concluded. And in the show’s sixth and final season, fans got a version of their wish granted: Enoch did return, though he was seen in flash-forwards playing Christopher, the adult son of Wes and Laurel. (Season 6, Episode 15)
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THE DETECTIVE FINALLY DANCES WITH THE DEVIL
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix It took a full 73 episodes to get there, but Lucifer‘s titular devil and partner Chloe Decker at long last found themselves on the exact same wavelength… and then found themselves rolling around and writhing in 666-thread count sheets. (Season 5, Episode 6)
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THE MANDALORIAN BRINGS A ’TOON TO LIFE
Image Credit: Courtesy of Disney+ It was the very best — and truly satisfying — kind of fan service when Disney+’s flagship series brought Clone Wars Jedi Ahsoka Tano to life, in the form of a perfectly cast Rosario Dawson. When the only knock from persnickety fans is that your lekku are too short, you know you’ve done a favorite hero right.
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OUTLANDER REVIVES MURTAGH
Image Credit: Courtesy of Starz In an hour chronicling Claire’s brutal attack, we were desperate for anything that would brighten the darkness. Enter (the deceased) Murtagh, appearing in a fantasy about a family holiday and clad in the most mod of 1970s fashion. Aye, that’ll do. (Season 5, Episode 12)
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A PITCH WE'D GLADLY SWING AT
Image Credit: Courtesy of Hulu No, Fox’s one-season baseball drama isn’t getting a revival, no matter how much we’ve been wearing our rally caps to make that dream a reality. But a promo for the series’ arrival on Hulu in June gave us a brief glimpse of Kylie Bunbury’s Ginny and Mark Paul-Gosselaar’s Lawson back in action, offering fans a Cracker Jack-sweet moment of banter, if nothing else.
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THE PSYCH SEQUEL — THE WHOLE DAMN THING
Image Credit: Courtesy of Peacock Considering that this summer’s anticipated follow-up to 2017’s Psych: The Movie was so jam-packed with satisfying comebacks (yes, Lassie, we are looking at you) and fun cameos and inside jokes and fourth-wall-shattering winky winks, you seriously didn’t expect us to pick just one, right?
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FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
Image Credit: Courtesy of Peacock Having Elizabeth Berkley Lauren and Mario Lopez back was great and all, but we were truly living for the nods to Screech and Tori, Lisa’s cameo, the Zack Attack reunion, the Malibu Sands Beach Club bits and (who could forget?) Jessie’s ridiculous caffeinated meltdown. The well-received reboot sprinkled nostalgic Easter eggs throughout its entire 10-episode run, ensuring that when this new Bell rang, fans of all ages would rush back to Bayside. (Season 1, Episodes 1, 8 and 10)
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PICARD VISITS SOME OLD FRIENDS
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS All Access Exactly when Jean-Luc (and fans) needed it, the Next Generation follow-up delivered perhaps its best blast from the past in the form of Will Riker and Deanna Troi. Safe haven, good friends and some homemade pizza? What more could a captain want?
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SUPERNATURAL'S DECLARATION OF LOVE
Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW “Destiel” ‘shippers finally got their wish when, in a moment of true happiness, Cas told Dean that he loves him. But unfortunately for those same fans, the declaration was immediately followed up by the angel’s death. (Season 15, Episode 18)
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YOUNG SHELDON'S 'SHAMY' MOMENT
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS Big Bang Theory fans were treated to a surprise ‘Shamy’ reunion and a future reveal when narrators Sheldon and Amy (unannounced guest star Mayim Bialik) confirmed that they one day have a son and name him after their good friend, Leonard Hofstadter. (Season 4, Episode 1)
