10 TV Time Jumps That Actually Worked Out Well

A TV time jump has always been a risky move because, if done wrong, it can mess with the entire dynamic of a series, although when the show manages to pull it off, it can be extraordinarily effective. While there are plenty of examples of TV shows going downhill after a time skip, such as One Tree Hill's frustrating decision to skip the college years, other shows had far more satisfying time jumps. The greatest time jumps were not only well-received by viewers but also felt essential to the show’s narrative and served an important purpose within the series as a whole.

Many of the best shows of all time have included time jumps, although some were definitely better executed than others. A truly effective fast-forward can happen at any point in the show’s run, although they are commonly utilized at the beginning or end of a season to reset the show’s narrative or provide an epilogue to the characters’ stories. While time jumps have been seen across comedy, drama, and even classic kids’ TV shows, only a select few actually worked out well.

10 The Cold War’s Coming To An End

The Americans (2013 - 2018)

The Americans was an FX series that was intrinsically linked to the time and place it was set, as it starred two Soviet spies posing as United States citizens at the height of the Cold War. As an era of incredible distrust between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, The Americans told the story of Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two KGB intelligence officers whose life and marriage showcased the conflicts and perspectives of Cold War tensions.

As a series that began in the aftermath of President Ronald Reagan's inauguration, the time skip at the beginning of the sixth and final season served not only to age the characters by three years but also to highlight the changing political landscape of the United States. With the Cold War ending and the fall of the Berlin Wall looming, Jennings’ belief in the Soviet Union felt less certain, although their daughter Paige was now in training to become a KGB agent. This jump was essential to placing The Americans in the political context necessary for its conclusion.

9 Seven Years Since The Sudden Departure

The Leftovers (2014 - 2017)

The HBO modern classic The Leftovers was a series that was never afraid to reinvent itself, as each of its three seasons had a unique identity and setting. While the series already began three years after the global event known as the Sudden Departure, which caused 2% of the world’s population to inexplicably disappear, season three pushed even further to seven years after this world-transforming event.

This major time jump was an effective way of showcasing how the world had adapted to the aftermath of the Sudden Departure and highlighted Kevin Garvey's and Nora Durst's differing perspectives on the correct way of moving. The time jump highlighted the psychological effects of the Sudden Departure, as a quest for answers brought an older Nora to Australia. The Leftovers' time jump reshaped character dynamics and ultimately reinforced the show's core theme: that everyone copes with grief in their own way.

8 A Mid-Season Skip

Fargo (2014 - Present)

The first season of the FX crime drama Fargo had a lot riding on it, as it would inevitably be compared to the Coen brothers’ classic film that had inspired it. By maintaining the movie’s unique sense of style, the quirky speech inflections of its midwestern characters, and a thoughtful exploration of the world of crime and law enforcement, Fargo managed to live up to the legacy of the original. One major risk Fargo took in its first season was its one-year time skip, which occurred not as an epilogue to the season but right in the midst of episode eight.

This unusual decision to thrust viewers into a major time skip that they weren’t expecting paid off, as it shifted all the characters’ lives into radically different places and powerfully set up the season’s finale. The one-year ellipsis saw Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) transform from a meek life insurance salesman to a morally corrupt man who had embraced his darker instincts. While time skips can sometimes feel like writers had run out of ideas or written themselves into a corner, in Fargo’s case, it deepened the show’s themes of transformation, morality, and the corruptible nature of the human heart.

7 Five Years Later

Desperate Housewives (2004 - 2012)

While Desperate Housewives alreadybegan with the residents of Wisteria Lane dealing with the impact of the sudden suicide of their neighbor, in the season 5 premiere, the show once again left viewers picking up the pieces with an unexpected five-year time skip. This was an ingenious way for series creator Marc Cherry to effectively reset the show, as so many overlapping plot points had built on top of one another. Melodrama had taken over Wisteria Lane, and the season 5 premiere acted as an opportunity to slow things down and allow the show to reconnect with its origins.

Gabby looking concerned in Desperate Housewives

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The gamble paid off, and viewers excitedly tuned in to see that Bree was now running her own catering company, Edie returned with a new husband, and many of the children of Wisteria Lane had grown into teenagers. Desperate Housewives shook up all its characters' lives in a way that felt natural and kept the series interesting. With talk looming about the potential for Desperate Housewives to be revived, the fact a major time jump has already happened means that returning to older versions of these characters wouldn’t be unheard of.

6 Walt’s Empire

Breaking Bad (2008 - 2013)

It’s shocking to think that within the in-universe timeline of Breaking Bad, Walter White’s entire journey from mild-mannered chemistry teacher to one of the most notorious drug kingpins ever lived all took place over two years. While this didn’t leave much opportunity for time skips, a major one occurred in the season 5A finale, “Gliding Over All,” which skipped ahead five months. This time jump saw Walt’s drug empire running smoothly and was the period when he acquired so much money that his wife, Skyler, could no longer accurately predict how much he even had.

With no antagonist to face off against and enough money that Skyler said they couldn't spend in “ten lifetimes” and couldn’t launder with “100 car cashes,” this time skip was necessary for Walter to decide to shed his Heisenberg persona. However, in the end it was Walt’s ego that got him, as he carelessly left his copy of Leaves of Grass in their bathroom to be discovered by his DEA brother-in-law Hank Schrader. This foolish act was the nail in the coffin for Heisenberg’s empire and only occurred after he let his guard down following an extended period of peacefulness.

5 Governor Leslie Knope

Parks And Recreation (2009 - 2015)

The seventh and final season of Parks and Recreation utilized several time jumps in order to effectively wrap up the stories of its incredible ensemble cast of talented comedians. The season premiere “2017” already skipped ahead three years and saw Leslie Knope promoted to Midwest Regional Parks Director and Ron Swanson forging his own path by starting his own construction company. Yet this was just the beginning, as the two-part finale took viewers on a journey through the future and checked in on the characters in various years up to 2043.

The Parks and Recreation finale time jump powerfully gave closure to all the major character arcs and especially provided an empowering conclusion to Leslie's story. The knowledge that Leslie had already served two consecutive terms as governor by 2035 was a hopeful message about how genuinely compassionate and enthusiastic politicians could prosper in the United States political system. The final sequences in the year 2043 also gave audiences a glimpse of Leslie surrounded by Secret Service agents, a hint that she may have even eventually climbed the ladder to become President of the United States of America.

4 “All Growed Up”

Rugrats (1991 - 2004)

Rugrats was a show that gave hilarious insight into the untold adventures of a group of highly imaginative babies whose lives were far more eventful than their parents could ever realize. While Rugrats mostly focused on the day-to-day lives of these preschoolers at the home of their diaper-wearing leader Tommy Pickles, one episode gave viewers a glimpse ten years into the future, with a time skip so successful it led to its own spin-off TV show titled All Grown Up.

“All Growed Up” was a special episode made to commemorate Rugrats’ tenth anniversary that checked on the gang as teenagers. This time jump worked so extraordinarily well because it hung onto the core characteristics of the babies while also giving the older versions of their characters believable personalities. With Angelica as bombastic as ever, Chuckie still frightened for his life, and Tommy always taking the lead, “All Growed Up” added depth to the series characters.

3 Straight To Saul

Better Call Saul (2015 - 2022)

While Breaking Bad viewers knew from the beginning that Jimmy McGill was destined to fully embrace his morally corrupt alter ego Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul, when this moment finally came in the season 6 episode “Fun and Games,” it was truly soul-destroying. Saul was originally an enjoyable piece of comic relief, although as his backstory was gradually revealed, it was impossible not to view his shady personality as anything but tragic. Although viewers had eagerly awaited this moment, when it finally came in the form of the heartbreaking time skip, it was almost too much to take.

While it’s not explicitly stated how long the time jump was in Better Call Saul, it’s clear that enough time has passed for Saul to acquire a large mansion and attempt to fill the void left by Kim Wexler's departure with prostitutes, prescription drugs, and an excess of consumerist indulgences. Sadly, Jimmy became Saul only after the love of his life walked out on him, with the weight of guilt surrounding the deaths of his brother Chuck and former rival Howard hanging over his head. While this time skip was effective, it made for difficult viewing.

2 “I’ll See You In 25 Years”

Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)

While time jumps are a common writing technique on television, there are not a lot of examples of TV shows that actually waited for the time to pass before filming their next season. However, this was the case for Twin Peaks: The Return, the long-awaited third season of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s iconic 1990s series. Twin Peaks concluded in 1991 with Laura Palmer uttering the famous line to Agent Cooper, “I'll see you again in 25 years,” and the show actually lived up to this all-time great cliffhanger.

While Twin Peaks was a transformative TV show at the time of its release, in the subsequent quarter of a century, the show’s influence had undeniably spread through television as a whole, and its cryptic mysteries and surreal storytelling style informed everything from Lost to The Sopranos. With a sufficiently long time jump, Lynch fans eagerly tuned in to revisit Agent Cooper, who had been trapped in Black Lodge all this time, and finally witness the conclusion of one of the best TV shows of all time.

1 "Everyone's Waiting"

Six Feet Under (2001 - 2005)

Six Feet Under was HBO’s incredibly rich drama about the lives of the Fisher family running a funeral in Los Angeles. While each episode usually began with a death, this was a series that showed the complexity of life as it traversed the complex relationship, infidelities, mental anguish, and personal growth of its troubled family. With each character constantly being confronted with the realities of mortality, it made sense that the astounding series finale “Everybody’s Waiting” provided an audience a glimpse into the full spectrum of its main cast’s lives.

The final episode of Six Feet Under was one of the most acclaimed TV finales of all time, as it flash-forwarded to the end of each character's life, and viewers got to witness how some died violently, others from heart attacks, and a few eventually succumbed to old age. In a show that had death built into its very title, it felt appropriate that audiences came to the very end of their journey. With a tasteful and well-earned finale, Six Feet Under represented a time jump done right.

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