“Cheers” ending explained: Do Sam and Diane end up together?

After 11 seasons, 273 episodes, and 117 Emmy nominations, Cheers closed its doors on May 20, 1993.

The NBC sitcom about a Boston bar and its motley crew of bartenders, servers, and stool-sippers was a phenomenon, receiving countless accolades and eye-popping salaries for its cast.

The finale — dubbed by the network as “The Television Event of a Lifetime” — attempted a seismic exit, airing a plus-sized 98-minute episode titled “One For the Road” ahead of a special edition of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno broadcast live from the Boston tavern that inspired the show. This was to the chagrin of creators Glen Charles, Les Charles, and James Burrows, who told Entertainment Weekly in 2001 that they wanted to “go out with a regular episode.”

”It was just too much,” said Charles. ”I remember thinking, ‘This has disaster written all over it.’ I didn’t enjoy [it] because we were so self-conscious…. It was a really bad plan, but how many times do you end a show?”

Overhyped or not, the finale nevertheless drew a whopping 80.4 million viewers, all of whom were keen to see Shelley Long’s Diane Chambers return to Cheers after famously departing at the height of its popularity.

As we mourn George Wendt, who died on May 20 after playing beloved barfly Norm across all 11 seasons, let’s revisit the Cheers ending, which aired 32 years ago this month.

Is Shelley Long’s Diane in the Cheers finale?

Yes, after a six-year absence, Long’s Diane returned for Cheers’ final episode, briefly rekindling her fiery romance with ex-fiance Sam Malone (Ted Danson) before realizing that they’re simply not cut out for the long haul.

The finale begins with the Cheers gang gathered around the bar’s TV to watch the Cable Ace Awards, where they see football legend Mike Ditka and supermodel Kim Alexis present Diane with an award for a TV movie she penned called The Heart Held Hostage. Her speech is vintage Diane, pinballing between pompous talk of Greek gods, environmentalist concerns, her parents’ ingrained misogyny, and Sylvia Plath. “Your tragic story will be my next project,” she declares.

This prompts Sam to send her a congratulatory telegram. She calls to thank him and promises to come visit. He lies about being married with kids, thinking she’s not serious about visiting. He’s plenty surprised, then, when she actually does walk through the Cheers doors — her husband in tow.

Do Sam and Diane end up together?

No, though the sight of each other fires up their libidos, resulting in a tryst and an engagement. Sam is even ready to move out to Los Angeles, but the pair both realize it’s a mistake as the plane idles on the runway.

Still, their reunion is a highlight of the episode. When Diane arrives with her husband, Reed (Mark Harelik), Sam recruits a hysterical Rebecca (Kirstie Alley), whose relationship woes we’ll discuss shortly, to play his wife. After Sam’s ruse is exposed during lunch with Diane and Reed, Diane’s is as well. Like Rebecca, Reed was recruited to play her husband, and his boyfriend, Kevin (Anthony Heald), is furious. (Reed, we learn, is actually Diane’s dog groomer.)

“We’re pathetic,” says Diane.

“The only reason why I went through all of this was so you wouldn’t get the wrong idea,” Sam explains. “That my life was empty, that without you, I’m lost and alone with nothing to live for.”

Related: Kelsey Grammer reveals why he and Cheers costar Ted Danson didn’t talk for 30 years

Addressing their split, Diane says she intended to return to Boston after finishing her novel. But when nobody would publish it, she reworked it as a screenplay. She didn’t want to come back until she was successful, but the months turned into years. “By then, I’d waited too long,” she says. Diane goes on to say she’s been lonely, and Sam can’t help but make a move.

After a night of lovemaking, they decide to get married and leave for Los Angeles. On the plane, however, they’re both haunted by nagging doubts voiced by the plane’s captain for Sam and a flight attendant for Diane.

“Are you really in love with this woman, or are you just trying to love her because you’re afraid of ending up alone?” says the captain over the intercom, which only Sam can hear.

“For god’s sake, Diane,” goes an announcement from the flight attendant, heard only by Diane. “You’re a bright, alluring woman with a great deal to offer mankind. Will this man stimulate your gift, or be an anchor, pulling you to the bottom of the sea of mediocrity?”

An unspoken understanding passes between them. “I think we both know,” Diane says.

Does Sam leave Cheers?

No, Cheers ends with Sam still behind the bar. He almost leaves, however, deciding to give up his ownership and move to L.A. with Diane.

When his friends at the bar push against his decision to leave, he lashes out. “All you fellas do is just sit there and watch the world go by. You don’t need me for that,” Sam says to Norm and Cliff (John Ratzenberger). When Carla (Rhea Perlman) calls him a traitor, he venomously replies, “I need more than this. You should need more than this. I am not your mother. This is not your home.”

Related: Ted Danson and Cheers costars constantly pranked Woody Harrelson because they ‘couldn’t beat him at anything’

Sam apologizes upon his return, looking to mend fences with Norm, Cliff, Carla, Woody (Woody Harrelson), and Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) with a box of Cuban cigars.

Initially, the group demurs, saying they need to get home to their families. “C’mon, Sam, it’s not like this is our home,” Woody says, leaving Sam alone.

But it was just a ruse to pay him back. Diane called the bar to let them know what happened, so they sought to bust his balls. “You gotta go a lot further than that to insult us,” cracks Cliff.

Does Rebecca get married?

Yes, Rebecca and her plumber boyfriend, Don (Tom Berenger), get hitched by the end of the episode, though their (brief) engagement was not without its struggles.

The finale begins with Rebecca giddy about Don’s imminent proposal, but she can’t bring herself to say yes when he asks. She concedes that maybe there’s something deep in her that knows it’s not right, but when Don crashes her lunch date with Sam, Diane, and Reed the next day, she leaps at the chance to be with him.

It was the right decision, or was it? They celebrate their courthouse nuptials at Cheers, but Rebecca freaks out behind the bar. “I married a plumber! I’m the wife of a plumber! We’re gonna have a whole bunch of little plumbers! And the horrible part of it is that he’s too good for me,” she cries.

Still, Rebecca knows she’s lucky to have him. “Until he finds out how screwed up I am and he dumps me, we are going to have the most wonderful marriage.”

Her jitters seem to be gone by the finale’s end, when she gets ready to depart for their honeymoon. “You did good, Rebecca,” Frasier tells her. “I did, didn’t I?” she says, waving goodbye.

What other loose ends does the Cheers finale tie up?

The Cheers finale carves out happy endings for several of its cast members. Woody, for example, officially joins the Boston City Council, using his position to help Norm get a new job as an accountant for the city. This does, however, make Woody more or less Norm’s boss, which creates an odd dynamic.

Cliff, too, gets good news. He’s been promoted to be the “new assistant supervisor of subdistrict A, grid L.” And all he had to do was promise his boss he’d put a new family room onto his house.

How does Cheers end?

Cheers ends with Sam smoking cigars with Norm, Cliff, Carla, Woody, and Frasier while discussing the meaning of life. Throughout the finale, Sam obsessed over the idea of making a change and transcending the “tedium of ordinary life.” What he realizes in the end, however, is that he’s lucky for what he has.

Speaking of his efforts to overcome his alcoholism and sex addiction, Sam says, “One by one, I seem to be losing my thrills and tingles, you know? I keep asking myself, ‘What is the point to life?’”

For Cliff, it’s “comfortable shoes.” For Carla, it’s bringing new life into the world. Frasier pontificates (futilely) about the meaninglessness of such questions, while Woody simply says his life would be “nothing” without the friends he made at Cheers.

Later, as everyone is heading home, Woody tells Sam that “change” is overrated. He wants something you can count on.

Now alone with Sam in the bar, Norm gives his two cents. “Sammy, I didn’t wanna say this in front of the others,” he admits. “You know what I think the most important thing in life is? It’s love.” Norm, for example, loves his stool at the Cheers bar and hopes he can sit on it in heaven.

“I don’t think it matters what you love, Sammy,” he continues. “It could be a person, it could be a thing as long as you love it totally, completely, without judgment.”

Related: Ted Danson and more Cheers stars pay tribute to late castmate George Wendt: ‘A true craftsman’

Norm knew Sam would never leave Boston. “You could never be unfaithful to your one true love. You always come back to her,” he says.

“Who is that?” Sam asks.

Before leaving, Norm says, “Think about it, Sam.”

Alone, Sam muses on that. “Boy, I tell ya,” he mutters, “I’m the luckiest son of a bitch on Earth.”

A nighthawk knocks on the door. “Sorry, we’re closed,” Sam says, sending the man away. And with that, he finishes closing the bar.

Where can I watch Cheers?

Cheers is currently streaming on Paramount+ and Hulu.

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