#Gasp! 8 TV Characters Who Died in a Season Premiere

Sex and the City sequel series And Just Like That… on HBO Max ended an epic love story with the demise of a major character in the show’s initial episode, and it’s far from the first time the Grim Reaper has made an appearance in a season premiere.

Sometimes a TV show will kill off a presumably major character in its series premiere for shock value—think Oz, Watchmen, Big Sky, and Mayor of Kingstown—but we’re focusing on long-established characters who met their maker in a season opener. (Oddly enough, they’re all men!)

Here are those unlucky characters’ demises, starting with the most recent. (If you haven’t watched already-aired episodes of And Just Like That…, The Rookie, Blindspot, Chicago Fire, The Walking Dead, Grey’s Anatomy, and Alias, consider this your official spoiler warning.)