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* ''Series/DexterNewBlood'': [[spoiler: [[Characters/DexterDexterMorgan Dexter Morgan]] is far away from being a hero at that point. but in the final episode, Dexter is finally put down [[ICannotSelfTerminate (upon his request)]] by Harrison after he is called out for all the crimes he has committed and how far he has strayed away from the code.]]
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* In ''Series/ACaseForTwo'', one of the attorney partner characters to the PrivateDetective Joseph Matula, Dr. Johannes Voss, ended up shot to death.
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* ''Series/{{Barry}}'' ends with its titular VillainProtagonist being shot dead by Gene [[HeelFaceDoorSlam immediately after deciding to turn himself in.]]
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* ''Series/{{Barry}}'' ends with its titular VillainProtagonist being shot dead by Gene [[HeelFaceDoorSlam immediately after deciding to turn himself in.]]]]
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'''''NOTE:''''' '''This is both a SpoileredRotten trope ''and'' a DeathTrope, meaning that EVERY SINGLE EXAMPLE on this list is a spoiler by default and will be unmarked.''' [[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned This is your last warning]], only proceed if you really believe you can handle this list. That being said, it's also possible that examples may involve subversions or multiple protagonists.
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'''''NOTE:''''' '''This is both a SpoileredRotten trope ''and'' a DeathTrope, {{Death Trope|s}}, meaning that EVERY SINGLE EXAMPLE on this list is a spoiler by default and will be unmarked.''' [[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned This is your last warning]], only proceed if you really believe you can handle this list. That being said, it's also possible that examples may involve subversions or multiple protagonists.
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Daenerys Targaryen may be one of the main characters, but she's hardly a "hero".
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*** Although to be fair, even though Daenerys was one of the main characters, it's hard to call her a "hero" when she's spent several seasons already burning people alive for not agreeing to her cause.
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* There is a lot of debate as to whether or not Tony Soprano died at the end of ''Series/TheSopranos''.
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* There is was a lot of debate as to whether or not Tony Soprano died at the end of ''Series/TheSopranos''.''Series/TheSopranos''. Assuming that one doesn't subscribe to the DeathOfTheAuthor theory, the answer is [[WordOfGod yes according]] to creator Creator/DavidChase in an [[https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a38145579/sopranos-ending-tony-fate-explained-david-chase-interview/ November 2021 interview]].
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* ''Series/{{Scarlet Heart}}''[='=]s protagonist Zhang Xiao/Ruo Xi dies from her terminal illness in the final episode.
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* ''Series/{{Scarlet Heart}}''[='=]s protagonist Zhang Xiao/Ruo Xi dies from her terminal illness in the final episode.episode.
* ''Series/{{Barry}}'' ends with its titular VillainProtagonist being shot dead by Gene [[HeelFaceDoorSlam immediately after deciding to turn himself in.]]
* ''Series/{{Barry}}'' ends with its titular VillainProtagonist being shot dead by Gene [[HeelFaceDoorSlam immediately after deciding to turn himself in.]]
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Copying warning from main page
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'''''NOTE:''''' '''This is both a SpoileredRotten trope ''and'' a DeathTrope, meaning that EVERY SINGLE EXAMPLE on this list is a spoiler by default and will be unmarked.''' [[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned This is your last warning]], only proceed if you really believe you can handle this list. That being said, it's also possible that examples may involve subversions or multiple protagonists.
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* ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'': Brittas is crushed to death saving Carole from a falling water tank in "The Last Day". Thankfully, it doesn't stick.
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* ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'': Brittas is crushed to death saving Carole from a falling water tank in "The Last Day". Thankfully, it doesn't stick.stick.
*''Series/{{Scarlet Heart}}''[='=]s protagonist Zhang Xiao/Ruo Xi dies from her terminal illness in the final episode.
*''Series/{{Scarlet Heart}}''[='=]s protagonist Zhang Xiao/Ruo Xi dies from her terminal illness in the final episode.
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** A minor example--in the AlternateUniverse episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E9TheWish The Wish]]", Cordelia Chase, the episode's central character and [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor the one who wished the universe into existence]], is killed halfway through. The rest of the main character (besides Oz and Giles) are later [[KillEmAll killed in quick succession]] before the original universe is restored.
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** A minor example--in the AlternateUniverse episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E9TheWish The Wish]]", Cordelia Chase, the episode's central character and [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor the one who wished the universe into existence]], is killed halfway through. The rest of the main character (besides Oz and Giles) are later [[KillEmAll killed in quick succession]] succession before the original universe is restored.
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** Vice, one of two protagonists in ''Series/KamenRiderRevice'', breaks his contract with Ikki in the GrandFinale by having he and Ikki transform one last time and rough house, all to get Ikki's memory of his family back. Breaking the contract means disappearing for good, and after the fight concludes, Vice is erased and Ikki no longer remembers him. This is notably the first time a protagonist has died permanently in their main series.
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** Vice, one of two protagonists in ''Series/KamenRiderRevice'', breaks his contract with Ikki in the GrandFinale by having he and Ikki transform one last time and rough house, all to get Ikki's memory of his family back. Breaking the contract means disappearing for good, and after the fight concludes, Vice is erased and Ikki no longer remembers him. This is notably the first time in the franchise that a protagonist has died permanently in their main series.
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** Vice, one of two protagonists in ''Series/KamenRiderRevice'', breaks his contract with Ikki in the GrandFinale by having he and Ikki transform one last time and rough house, all to get Ikki's memory of his family back. Breaking the contract means disappearing for good, and after the fight concludes, Vice is erased and Ikki no longer remembers him.
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** Vice, one of two protagonists in ''Series/KamenRiderRevice'', breaks his contract with Ikki in the GrandFinale by having he and Ikki transform one last time and rough house, all to get Ikki's memory of his family back. Breaking the contract means disappearing for good, and after the fight concludes, Vice is erased and Ikki no longer remembers him. This is notably the first time a protagonist has died permanently in their main series.
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** Vice, one of two protagonists in ''Series/Kamen Rider Revice'', breaks his contract with Ikki in the GrandFinale by having he and Ikki transform one last time and rough house, all to get Ikki's memory of his family back. Breaking the contract means disappearing for good, and after the fight concludes, Vice is erased and Ikki no longer remembers him.
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** Vice, one of two protagonists in ''Series/Kamen Rider Revice'', ''Series/KamenRiderRevice'', breaks his contract with Ikki in the GrandFinale by having he and Ikki transform one last time and rough house, all to get Ikki's memory of his family back. Breaking the contract means disappearing for good, and after the fight concludes, Vice is erased and Ikki no longer remembers him.
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** Vice, one of two protagonists in ''Series/Kamen Rider Revice'', breaks his contract with Ikki in the GrandFinale by having he and Ikki transform one last time and rough house, all to get Ikki's memory of his family back. Breaking the contract means disappearing for good, and after the fight concludes, Vice is erased and Ikki no longer remembers him.
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** Robb Stark, son of Eddard Stark, meets his end in the third season. Unlike the source novels, where Robb is only a [[SupportingLeader significant secondary character]], the show gives him considerably more exposure and screentime, putting him in the top five central characters of a [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters wide ensemble series]], and making his death that much more unexpected and tragic.
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** Robb Stark, son of Eddard Stark, meets his end in the third season. Unlike the source novels, where Robb is only a [[SupportingLeader significant secondary character]], the show gives him considerably more exposure and screentime, putting him in the top five central characters of a [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters wide ensemble series]], series, and making his death that much more unexpected and tragic.
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** Similarly, the [[Series/Charmed2018 2018 reboot]] of the series saw the death of Macy Vaughn at the end of Season 3. She was also replaced by a new witch named Michaela Danso. Both cases were even done for the same reason: the actresses quit.
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* ''Series/{{Westworld}}'' Season 3 finale shows Dolores doing HeroicSacrifice to allow Caleb to shut down Rehoboam for good and free humanity from its control while all of her memories are deleted. Even though she has four copies of herself with different personalities, WordOfGod confirmed that the original Dolores is indeed dead.
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* ''Series/{{Westworld}}'' Season 3 finale shows Dolores doing HeroicSacrifice to allow Caleb to shut down Rehoboam for good and free humanity from its control while all of her memories are deleted. Even though she has four copies of herself with different personalities, WordOfGod confirmed that the original Dolores is indeed dead.dead.
* ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'': Brittas is crushed to death saving Carole from a falling water tank in "The Last Day". Thankfully, it doesn't stick.
* ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'': Brittas is crushed to death saving Carole from a falling water tank in "The Last Day". Thankfully, it doesn't stick.
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* Fox Mulder from ''Series/TheXFiles''. It'd take a page to list just how many times he's been killed and brought back to life.
* There's a [[RunningGag rather large amount]] of jokes associated with how many times Daniel Jackson form ''Series/StargateSG1'' has died, and later come back to life.
* Jack Shephard dies in the final scene of ''Series/{{Lost}}'', and we even get to see him moving on to the afterlife.
* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'': Xena, after "dying" several times throughout the series, dies for the [[KilledOffForReal final time]] in the series finale.
* ''Series/BreakingBad'':
** Walter White dies in the GrandFinale in the very last scene after killing the Aryan gang and taking a bullet protecting Jesse from his own M60 rig.
** Hank, if you consider him as the Hero to Walt's BigBad. He dies nearly arresting Walt and failing.
* Michael Scofield in ''Series/PrisonBreak''. In the flash-forward at the end of the final regular episode, Michael's friends, wife, and son go to visit his grave. He is revealed to have died via electrocution in the post-show movie, where his brain aneurysm is proven to have returned, meaning his death was a certainty anyway.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** Buffy died at the end of the Season 5 episode "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS5E22TheGift}} The Gift]]". The next season, they [[BackFromTheDead brought her back]]. She also died at the end of the first season, but only for a few minutes and was revived with CPR.
** A minor example--in the AlternateUniverse episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E9TheWish The Wish]]", Cordelia Chase, the episode's central character and [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor the one who wished the universe into existence]], is killed halfway through. The rest of the main character (besides Oz and Giles) are later [[KillEmAll killed in quick succession]] before the original universe is restored.
* When Flower died on ''Series/MeerkatManor'', the show was completely shattered. Next Generation with Rocket Dog just wasn't/isn't the same... She was their star and the pillar that held the show up.
* Victor "I don't believe it!" Meldrew was stuck down by a car in the finale of ''Series/OneFootInTheGrave''. Noticeably, the climax of the episode wasn't his death, but rather his wife's reaction to it.
* ''Film/TheOutlawMichaelHowe'': Howe is beaten to death by the British troops, and his head taken as a trophy.
* Nick Cutter is shot midway through the third season of ''Series/{{Primeval}}''.
* ''Series/RobinHood'' dies at the end of the third season, joining his wife Marian who had died at the end of the previous season. Despite attempts to set up for a fourth season, the show was inevitably cancelled.
** ''Series/RobinOfSherwood'' also died, and was replaced by a new Robin.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'''s John Crichton (one of the twinned two, anyway) died a hero's death at the end of Season 3's two-parter ''Infinite Possibilities''. Luckily, there was a backup "copy" on Moya.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E8FathersDay Father's Day]]", the Ninth Doctor is consumed by ClockRoaches after Rose creates a paradox saving her father. After her father fixes this error, the Doctor and every other victim of the ClockRoaches on Earth return.
** In the episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E11TurnLeft Turn Left]]", the Tenth Doctor is killed in the parallel universe created by Donna's mind after he floods an abandoned Torchwood base with him inside it, creating all sorts of chaos and havoc.
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E1TheImpossibleAstronaut The Impossible Astronaut]]", the Eleventh Doctor is shot and killed before he can regenerate, afterwards being mourned and cremated, only to show up a few minutes later, completely clueless as to why everyone is so upset. Their past, his future, cue plot arc. This is revealed to have been staged. The "Doctor" who was shot was the Teselecta, AKA the Justice Department Vehicle Number 6018. The Doctor was actually inside it at the time. It's not clear how the regeneration was simulated, though, but official related media says that the Doctor asked the Teselecta's operators for permission to incorporate a visual effect similar to a partial Time Lord regeneration to make his supposed death more convincing.
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E11HeavenSent Heaven Sent]]", the Twelfth Doctor is trying to escape a lonely castle without revealing what he knows about The Hybrid. The only way to to that involves punching his way through a harder-than-diamond wall, and he's being pursued by a monster with a TouchOfDeath. TheReveal is that he's figured out that the teleporter that brought him to the prison effectively has a copy of him in it, so he lets the creature mortally wound him, then uses his dying body to restart the teleporter and summon his younger self to make his way through the castle once more and keep punching at that wall until '''he''' is mortally wounded, whereupon '''he''' goes back to summon his younger self...The Hero Dies Billions of Times for Billions of Years, and he always remembers, as the endgame at the wall arrives, what he's been through up to that point. Why does he suffer so? Because he's been DrivenToMadness by grief, rage, and torture, and escaping in this way is his only hope to get the means to save his beloved companion Clara, '''who died in the previous episode'''.
** This could be said to happen to the Doctor [[TheNthDoctor every time a regeneration occurs]]. He more or less states outright in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime "The End of Time"]] that regeneration feels like the death of the current incarnation.
* In ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' story "[[RecapTheSarahJaneAdventuresS1E7E8WhateverHappenedToSarahJane Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane]]", the Trickster makes a deal with Sarah Jane's childhood friend who originally died after falling off a pier after Sarah was unable to save her. She accepts the deal to save her own life, switching places with 13-year-old Sarah Jane, making her fall to her death. She later relinquished her deal after learning the truth, causing time to return to normal so Sarah can save the earth from an impending threat.
* ''Series/EarthFinalConflict'' is a rare case where the hero died at the end of the first season, but the show still continued without him. He is eventually "revived" in season 5, only to be KilledOffScreen. His replacement appears to have been killed at the end of season 4, but is brought back in the GrandFinale and survives it.
* Captain Jack of ''Series/{{Torchwood}}''. [[BackFromTheDead Repeatedly]]. Firstly by Dalek extermination on ''Series/DoctorWho'', and over 1300 times (not all chronicled) since.
** Owen Harper is shot by the leader of The Pharm, Aaron Copley, is made undead, and presumably dies again after being trapped in a nuclear plant control room flooded by radiation.
** Toshiko Sato is shot by Jack's brother Gray.
** Ianto Jones dies from a virus inflicted by the 456.
** In ''Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay'', Esther Drummond is shot by the Three Families while temporarily immortal to stop Torchwood from making humanity mortal again. They refuse, and Esther succumbs to her wounds. Also, Rex is shot by TheMole and seemingly dies, only to comes back, angrily asking what Jack did to him.
** The team fall under the category of this trope because they are all heroes (at least by series 2), and get roughly the same amount of screen time.
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%% Rhys' temporary death in series 1 doesn't qualify, as he doesn't even know about Torchwood at that point, let alone being a hero of the story.
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* ''Franchise/KamenRider'':
** Shinji Kido, the titular Rider of ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki''. Notably, while other protagonist Riders have temporarily been killed, he is the only who is truly gone forever, as even though he is brought back to life via ResetButton in the finale, he has absolutely no memory of the events in the series and is thus essentially a different character from the Shinji of the original timeline.
** Also, his [[Series/KamenRiderDragonKnight American counterpart]], Kit Taylor. Unlike Shinji, he [[NeverSayDie didn't actually die]] -- he was just sent to the Advent Void. He also got better.
** Chihiro[=/=]Kamen Rider Amazon Neo from the second season of ''Series/KamenRiderAmazons'' is also notable for being killed off for real, but unlike ''Ryuki'', Amazons doesn't have a ResetButton, so he's gone for good.
* ''Series/TetsuwanTanteiRobotack'' has a particularly notable example, with the titular hero dying in the last episode pulling a HeroicSacrifice. Unlike most other examples, it acted as an unintentional commentary on the franchise's fate, since ''Robotack'' ended up being a FranchiseKiller for ''Series/MetalHeroes''. [[spoiler: Still, Robotack's demise was a DisneyDeath.]]
* Jonah Gabriel from ''Series/TheShadowLine'' was killed off in the final episode of the series.
* Bill Henrickson bites it in the last episode of ''Series/BigLove'' after getting shot by an angry neighbor.
* There is a lot of debate as to whether or not Tony Soprano died at the end of ''Series/TheSopranos''.
* ''{{Series/Merlin|2008}}'' has King Arthur die in the end. It's unavoidable though, given what happens to Arthur in the legends.
* ''Series/LastResort'' sends Captain Marcus Chaplin down with his ship in a HeroicSacrifice.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** [[SacrificialLion Lord Eddard Stark]], who is the central character for the bulk of the first season before being killed in the penultimate episode.
** Robb Stark, son of Eddard Stark, meets his end in the third season. Unlike the source novels, where Robb is only a [[SupportingLeader significant secondary character]], the show gives him considerably more exposure and screentime, putting him in the top five central characters of a [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters wide ensemble series]], and making his death that much more unexpected and tragic.
** By Season 5, Jon Snow is pretty much the BigGood of the series, and the closest thing to TheHero that it has. He is murdered at the end of the season by a few of his own Night's Watch Brothers (lead by his ArchEnemy Ser Alliser Thorne) in a mutiny, though ultimately his death is one of the very few in the series that does not stick, as he is revived by Melisandre in early Season 6.
** By season 6, done again with [[GuileHero Margaery Tyrell]], which served the last 4 seasons (especially seasons 5 and 6, after Sansa and Tyrion left the city) as TheProtagonist in the King's Landing storyline, against [[StupidEvil Cersei]] [[SmugSnake Lannister]], and the [[TheFundamentalist High Sparrow]]. The show spends 4 seasons building the feud between her and Cersei, and the entire season building up her secret plan to thrawt the High Sparrow, only for her to be [[DroppedABridgeOnHer killed abruptly]] by [[KillItWithFire wildfire]] in Cersei's final scheme (and because of the High Sparrow's [[BeliefMakesYouStupid stupidity]]), resulting in [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Cersei]] finally [[TheBadGuyWins winning]].
** Season 8 saw Theon Greyjoy, the SupportingProtagonist of the Greyjoy storyline, killed-off by the Night King midway through the season, while Daenerys Targaryen was killed off in the GrandFinale by Jon Snow in a ShootTheDog moment.
* ''Series/BlakesSeven'' removes from the general scheme of things (on a "missing, presumed dead" basis) the group's leader, whose name is in the title of the series, at the end of the second season... and the series goes on for two more seasons! At the very end of which they finally find him again - upon which he is shot by one of his own on the basis of a horrible misunderstanding and the ''rest'' of the main cast is subsequently killed off shortly thereafter!
* The horror anthology show ''Series/MastersOfHorror'' was fond of this one:
** "Dreams in the Witch-House": Walter ends up in an insane asylum after being framed for the baby's murder by the Witch's rat familiar. The familiar then tracks him down and burrows into his chest.
** "Jenifer": Jenifer manipulates the hero into getting himself killed by attacking the cannibalistic woman in broad daylight and getting shot for his trouble by a man who thinks he's just a crazed psycho. [[HereWeGoAgain The cycle starts anew]] with Jenifer latching on to another hapless puppet who tries to care for her.
** "Cigarette Burns": Kirby ends up killing himself under the cursed film's influence.
** "The Screwfly Solution": Anne's escape to the frozen north to escape the murderous men ends up being for nought and she freezes to death.
* ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'' has Spartacus killed during the FinalBattle in ''War of the Damned''.
* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'' ends with Nucky being murdered on the Atlantic City boardwalk by Tommy Darmody.
* Series/SonsOfAnarchy ends with Jax crashing his motorcycle into an incoming truck and killing himself while being pursued by the police.
* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', Sam and Dean have died and come back to life a number of times. Sam was initially intended to be KilledOffForReal in "Swan Song", but he ended up coming back for the PostScriptSeason. In the shows true GrandFinale "Carry On" Dean dies on what should have been a routine hunt [[DiedInYourArmsTonight in Sam's arms]] after getting his brother to promise not to bring him back this time and to live his life. After living a full life, getting married, and having a child, Sam dies peacefully of old age and [[TogetherInDeath reunites with Dean in Heaven]].
* Series "Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons": At the end of EVERY EPISODE. But he Always Gets Better.
* The wrap-up film to ''Series/TheFamousJettJackson'' has Jett tire of [[ShowWithinAShow his role]] as the superspy Silverstone and decide to end the show. The show's creator decide to kill off Silverstone, while saving his friends. When Jett finds out, he uses the [[TrappedInTVLand gate]] once again and saves Silverstone from the BigBad. After getting back, he destroys the gate and announces to the crowd that he's going to continue playing Silverstone for as long as people want him to.
* John Reese in the GrandFinale of ''Series/PersonOfInterest'', by HeroicSacrifice.
* Although left ambiguous on screen, according to WordOfGod Nick does dies at the hands of [=LaCroix=] in the finale of ''Series/ForeverKnight'' at his own request as he wanted to reunite with Natalie.
* ''Series/{{MANTIS}}'' ends with the title character, Miles Hawkins, and his love interest, PCPD Lt. Leora Maxwell, dying to stop an invisible dinosaur.
* ''Series/PeopleOfEarth'': Main character Ozzie dies in the first episode of season 2. The first season established that dead characters ''can'' be brought back, but Ozzie does not get revived for the rest of season 2, and the series was subsequently canceled.
* The Season 3 finale of ''Series/Charmed1998'' saw the death of Prue Halliwell, the original lead witch of the show. She was replaced by Paige Matthews, the witches' long-lost half-sister.
* Male lead Finn Hudson suffers a BusCrash between Seasons 4 and 5 of ''Series/{{Glee}}'' due to [[Creator/CoryMonteith his actor]]'s [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim real-life death]].
* Quentin Coldwater of ''Series/{{The Magicians|2016}}'' dies in a HeroicSacrifice at the end of the show's fourth season. The show continued for one more season without him.
* ''Film/TrilogyOfTerror'': Millicent is killed by the voodoo doll intended to kill her evil sister, due to said sister being a split personality.
* The ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'' crossover special ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019'' features several;
** Two of the lead trio from ''Series/BirdsOfPrey2002'' are obliterated in the opening of the third episode.
** The eponymous protagonist of ''Series/TheFlash1990'' performs a HeroicSacrifice in the middle of the special, giving his own series a FullyAbsorbedFinale.
** ''Series/{{Arrow}}''[='=]s titular protagonist Oliver Queen is KilledOffForReal in the special's penultimate episode, two episodes before his own show's finale.
* ''Series/ForeverKnight'' ends with the titular Nicolas Knight asking his sire, [=LaCroix=], to stake him after crossing the DespairEventHorizon.
* ''Series/{{Westworld}}'' Season 3 finale shows Dolores doing HeroicSacrifice to allow Caleb to shut down Rehoboam for good and free humanity from its control while all of her memories are deleted. Even though she has four copies of herself with different personalities, WordOfGod confirmed that the original Dolores is indeed dead.
* There's a [[RunningGag rather large amount]] of jokes associated with how many times Daniel Jackson form ''Series/StargateSG1'' has died, and later come back to life.
* Jack Shephard dies in the final scene of ''Series/{{Lost}}'', and we even get to see him moving on to the afterlife.
* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'': Xena, after "dying" several times throughout the series, dies for the [[KilledOffForReal final time]] in the series finale.
* ''Series/BreakingBad'':
** Walter White dies in the GrandFinale in the very last scene after killing the Aryan gang and taking a bullet protecting Jesse from his own M60 rig.
** Hank, if you consider him as the Hero to Walt's BigBad. He dies nearly arresting Walt and failing.
* Michael Scofield in ''Series/PrisonBreak''. In the flash-forward at the end of the final regular episode, Michael's friends, wife, and son go to visit his grave. He is revealed to have died via electrocution in the post-show movie, where his brain aneurysm is proven to have returned, meaning his death was a certainty anyway.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** Buffy died at the end of the Season 5 episode "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS5E22TheGift}} The Gift]]". The next season, they [[BackFromTheDead brought her back]]. She also died at the end of the first season, but only for a few minutes and was revived with CPR.
** A minor example--in the AlternateUniverse episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E9TheWish The Wish]]", Cordelia Chase, the episode's central character and [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor the one who wished the universe into existence]], is killed halfway through. The rest of the main character (besides Oz and Giles) are later [[KillEmAll killed in quick succession]] before the original universe is restored.
* When Flower died on ''Series/MeerkatManor'', the show was completely shattered. Next Generation with Rocket Dog just wasn't/isn't the same... She was their star and the pillar that held the show up.
* Victor "I don't believe it!" Meldrew was stuck down by a car in the finale of ''Series/OneFootInTheGrave''. Noticeably, the climax of the episode wasn't his death, but rather his wife's reaction to it.
* ''Film/TheOutlawMichaelHowe'': Howe is beaten to death by the British troops, and his head taken as a trophy.
* Nick Cutter is shot midway through the third season of ''Series/{{Primeval}}''.
* ''Series/RobinHood'' dies at the end of the third season, joining his wife Marian who had died at the end of the previous season. Despite attempts to set up for a fourth season, the show was inevitably cancelled.
** ''Series/RobinOfSherwood'' also died, and was replaced by a new Robin.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'''s John Crichton (one of the twinned two, anyway) died a hero's death at the end of Season 3's two-parter ''Infinite Possibilities''. Luckily, there was a backup "copy" on Moya.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E8FathersDay Father's Day]]", the Ninth Doctor is consumed by ClockRoaches after Rose creates a paradox saving her father. After her father fixes this error, the Doctor and every other victim of the ClockRoaches on Earth return.
** In the episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E11TurnLeft Turn Left]]", the Tenth Doctor is killed in the parallel universe created by Donna's mind after he floods an abandoned Torchwood base with him inside it, creating all sorts of chaos and havoc.
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E1TheImpossibleAstronaut The Impossible Astronaut]]", the Eleventh Doctor is shot and killed before he can regenerate, afterwards being mourned and cremated, only to show up a few minutes later, completely clueless as to why everyone is so upset. Their past, his future, cue plot arc. This is revealed to have been staged. The "Doctor" who was shot was the Teselecta, AKA the Justice Department Vehicle Number 6018. The Doctor was actually inside it at the time. It's not clear how the regeneration was simulated, though, but official related media says that the Doctor asked the Teselecta's operators for permission to incorporate a visual effect similar to a partial Time Lord regeneration to make his supposed death more convincing.
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E11HeavenSent Heaven Sent]]", the Twelfth Doctor is trying to escape a lonely castle without revealing what he knows about The Hybrid. The only way to to that involves punching his way through a harder-than-diamond wall, and he's being pursued by a monster with a TouchOfDeath. TheReveal is that he's figured out that the teleporter that brought him to the prison effectively has a copy of him in it, so he lets the creature mortally wound him, then uses his dying body to restart the teleporter and summon his younger self to make his way through the castle once more and keep punching at that wall until '''he''' is mortally wounded, whereupon '''he''' goes back to summon his younger self...The Hero Dies Billions of Times for Billions of Years, and he always remembers, as the endgame at the wall arrives, what he's been through up to that point. Why does he suffer so? Because he's been DrivenToMadness by grief, rage, and torture, and escaping in this way is his only hope to get the means to save his beloved companion Clara, '''who died in the previous episode'''.
** This could be said to happen to the Doctor [[TheNthDoctor every time a regeneration occurs]]. He more or less states outright in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime "The End of Time"]] that regeneration feels like the death of the current incarnation.
* In ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' story "[[RecapTheSarahJaneAdventuresS1E7E8WhateverHappenedToSarahJane Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane]]", the Trickster makes a deal with Sarah Jane's childhood friend who originally died after falling off a pier after Sarah was unable to save her. She accepts the deal to save her own life, switching places with 13-year-old Sarah Jane, making her fall to her death. She later relinquished her deal after learning the truth, causing time to return to normal so Sarah can save the earth from an impending threat.
* ''Series/EarthFinalConflict'' is a rare case where the hero died at the end of the first season, but the show still continued without him. He is eventually "revived" in season 5, only to be KilledOffScreen. His replacement appears to have been killed at the end of season 4, but is brought back in the GrandFinale and survives it.
* Captain Jack of ''Series/{{Torchwood}}''. [[BackFromTheDead Repeatedly]]. Firstly by Dalek extermination on ''Series/DoctorWho'', and over 1300 times (not all chronicled) since.
** Owen Harper is shot by the leader of The Pharm, Aaron Copley, is made undead, and presumably dies again after being trapped in a nuclear plant control room flooded by radiation.
** Toshiko Sato is shot by Jack's brother Gray.
** Ianto Jones dies from a virus inflicted by the 456.
** In ''Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay'', Esther Drummond is shot by the Three Families while temporarily immortal to stop Torchwood from making humanity mortal again. They refuse, and Esther succumbs to her wounds. Also, Rex is shot by TheMole and seemingly dies, only to comes back, angrily asking what Jack did to him.
** The team fall under the category of this trope because they are all heroes (at least by series 2), and get roughly the same amount of screen time.
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%% Rhys' temporary death in series 1 doesn't qualify, as he doesn't even know about Torchwood at that point, let alone being a hero of the story.
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* ''Franchise/KamenRider'':
** Shinji Kido, the titular Rider of ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki''. Notably, while other protagonist Riders have temporarily been killed, he is the only who is truly gone forever, as even though he is brought back to life via ResetButton in the finale, he has absolutely no memory of the events in the series and is thus essentially a different character from the Shinji of the original timeline.
** Also, his [[Series/KamenRiderDragonKnight American counterpart]], Kit Taylor. Unlike Shinji, he [[NeverSayDie didn't actually die]] -- he was just sent to the Advent Void. He also got better.
** Chihiro[=/=]Kamen Rider Amazon Neo from the second season of ''Series/KamenRiderAmazons'' is also notable for being killed off for real, but unlike ''Ryuki'', Amazons doesn't have a ResetButton, so he's gone for good.
* ''Series/TetsuwanTanteiRobotack'' has a particularly notable example, with the titular hero dying in the last episode pulling a HeroicSacrifice. Unlike most other examples, it acted as an unintentional commentary on the franchise's fate, since ''Robotack'' ended up being a FranchiseKiller for ''Series/MetalHeroes''. [[spoiler: Still, Robotack's demise was a DisneyDeath.]]
* Jonah Gabriel from ''Series/TheShadowLine'' was killed off in the final episode of the series.
* Bill Henrickson bites it in the last episode of ''Series/BigLove'' after getting shot by an angry neighbor.
* There is a lot of debate as to whether or not Tony Soprano died at the end of ''Series/TheSopranos''.
* ''{{Series/Merlin|2008}}'' has King Arthur die in the end. It's unavoidable though, given what happens to Arthur in the legends.
* ''Series/LastResort'' sends Captain Marcus Chaplin down with his ship in a HeroicSacrifice.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** [[SacrificialLion Lord Eddard Stark]], who is the central character for the bulk of the first season before being killed in the penultimate episode.
** Robb Stark, son of Eddard Stark, meets his end in the third season. Unlike the source novels, where Robb is only a [[SupportingLeader significant secondary character]], the show gives him considerably more exposure and screentime, putting him in the top five central characters of a [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters wide ensemble series]], and making his death that much more unexpected and tragic.
** By Season 5, Jon Snow is pretty much the BigGood of the series, and the closest thing to TheHero that it has. He is murdered at the end of the season by a few of his own Night's Watch Brothers (lead by his ArchEnemy Ser Alliser Thorne) in a mutiny, though ultimately his death is one of the very few in the series that does not stick, as he is revived by Melisandre in early Season 6.
** By season 6, done again with [[GuileHero Margaery Tyrell]], which served the last 4 seasons (especially seasons 5 and 6, after Sansa and Tyrion left the city) as TheProtagonist in the King's Landing storyline, against [[StupidEvil Cersei]] [[SmugSnake Lannister]], and the [[TheFundamentalist High Sparrow]]. The show spends 4 seasons building the feud between her and Cersei, and the entire season building up her secret plan to thrawt the High Sparrow, only for her to be [[DroppedABridgeOnHer killed abruptly]] by [[KillItWithFire wildfire]] in Cersei's final scheme (and because of the High Sparrow's [[BeliefMakesYouStupid stupidity]]), resulting in [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Cersei]] finally [[TheBadGuyWins winning]].
** Season 8 saw Theon Greyjoy, the SupportingProtagonist of the Greyjoy storyline, killed-off by the Night King midway through the season, while Daenerys Targaryen was killed off in the GrandFinale by Jon Snow in a ShootTheDog moment.
* ''Series/BlakesSeven'' removes from the general scheme of things (on a "missing, presumed dead" basis) the group's leader, whose name is in the title of the series, at the end of the second season... and the series goes on for two more seasons! At the very end of which they finally find him again - upon which he is shot by one of his own on the basis of a horrible misunderstanding and the ''rest'' of the main cast is subsequently killed off shortly thereafter!
* The horror anthology show ''Series/MastersOfHorror'' was fond of this one:
** "Dreams in the Witch-House": Walter ends up in an insane asylum after being framed for the baby's murder by the Witch's rat familiar. The familiar then tracks him down and burrows into his chest.
** "Jenifer": Jenifer manipulates the hero into getting himself killed by attacking the cannibalistic woman in broad daylight and getting shot for his trouble by a man who thinks he's just a crazed psycho. [[HereWeGoAgain The cycle starts anew]] with Jenifer latching on to another hapless puppet who tries to care for her.
** "Cigarette Burns": Kirby ends up killing himself under the cursed film's influence.
** "The Screwfly Solution": Anne's escape to the frozen north to escape the murderous men ends up being for nought and she freezes to death.
* ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'' has Spartacus killed during the FinalBattle in ''War of the Damned''.
* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'' ends with Nucky being murdered on the Atlantic City boardwalk by Tommy Darmody.
* Series/SonsOfAnarchy ends with Jax crashing his motorcycle into an incoming truck and killing himself while being pursued by the police.
* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', Sam and Dean have died and come back to life a number of times. Sam was initially intended to be KilledOffForReal in "Swan Song", but he ended up coming back for the PostScriptSeason. In the shows true GrandFinale "Carry On" Dean dies on what should have been a routine hunt [[DiedInYourArmsTonight in Sam's arms]] after getting his brother to promise not to bring him back this time and to live his life. After living a full life, getting married, and having a child, Sam dies peacefully of old age and [[TogetherInDeath reunites with Dean in Heaven]].
* Series "Captain Scarlet & The Mysterons": At the end of EVERY EPISODE. But he Always Gets Better.
* The wrap-up film to ''Series/TheFamousJettJackson'' has Jett tire of [[ShowWithinAShow his role]] as the superspy Silverstone and decide to end the show. The show's creator decide to kill off Silverstone, while saving his friends. When Jett finds out, he uses the [[TrappedInTVLand gate]] once again and saves Silverstone from the BigBad. After getting back, he destroys the gate and announces to the crowd that he's going to continue playing Silverstone for as long as people want him to.
* John Reese in the GrandFinale of ''Series/PersonOfInterest'', by HeroicSacrifice.
* Although left ambiguous on screen, according to WordOfGod Nick does dies at the hands of [=LaCroix=] in the finale of ''Series/ForeverKnight'' at his own request as he wanted to reunite with Natalie.
* ''Series/{{MANTIS}}'' ends with the title character, Miles Hawkins, and his love interest, PCPD Lt. Leora Maxwell, dying to stop an invisible dinosaur.
* ''Series/PeopleOfEarth'': Main character Ozzie dies in the first episode of season 2. The first season established that dead characters ''can'' be brought back, but Ozzie does not get revived for the rest of season 2, and the series was subsequently canceled.
* The Season 3 finale of ''Series/Charmed1998'' saw the death of Prue Halliwell, the original lead witch of the show. She was replaced by Paige Matthews, the witches' long-lost half-sister.
* Male lead Finn Hudson suffers a BusCrash between Seasons 4 and 5 of ''Series/{{Glee}}'' due to [[Creator/CoryMonteith his actor]]'s [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim real-life death]].
* Quentin Coldwater of ''Series/{{The Magicians|2016}}'' dies in a HeroicSacrifice at the end of the show's fourth season. The show continued for one more season without him.
* ''Film/TrilogyOfTerror'': Millicent is killed by the voodoo doll intended to kill her evil sister, due to said sister being a split personality.
* The ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'' crossover special ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019'' features several;
** Two of the lead trio from ''Series/BirdsOfPrey2002'' are obliterated in the opening of the third episode.
** The eponymous protagonist of ''Series/TheFlash1990'' performs a HeroicSacrifice in the middle of the special, giving his own series a FullyAbsorbedFinale.
** ''Series/{{Arrow}}''[='=]s titular protagonist Oliver Queen is KilledOffForReal in the special's penultimate episode, two episodes before his own show's finale.
* ''Series/ForeverKnight'' ends with the titular Nicolas Knight asking his sire, [=LaCroix=], to stake him after crossing the DespairEventHorizon.
* ''Series/{{Westworld}}'' Season 3 finale shows Dolores doing HeroicSacrifice to allow Caleb to shut down Rehoboam for good and free humanity from its control while all of her memories are deleted. Even though she has four copies of herself with different personalities, WordOfGod confirmed that the original Dolores is indeed dead.
