The May sweeps month coincides with the end of the TV season, so there are plenty of season finales. The idea is to get viewers to tune in to their favorite shows before the summer reruns start. For example, the "American Idol" finale in May consistently draws huge audiences to see who will win the singing contest.
A big part of the season finale is a cliffhanger, getting audiences invested in the emotional drama show to come back in the fall and learn the answer to a mystery they were left "hanging" to find out over the summer. One of the most popular cliffhangers was the Who shot J.R.? storyline on the 1980s prime time soap opera, "Dallas." The cliffhanger and the resolution are still some of the highest rated TV episodes of all time. This can sometimes backfire, when a show tries a cliffhanger to generate support for a new season but still gets canceled leaving questions unanswered forever. Fans of "Twin Peaks" are still wondering what happened to agent Dale Cooper nearly 20 years after the show's cancellation.
Bruce Willis! Garth Brooks! Kevin Bacon! Brittany Spears! Robin Williams! These are but a few of the movie stars and musicians that have made guest appearances on sitcoms during sweeps periods to drive higher ratings. Willis & Williams were on "Friends," Brooks was on "Empty Nest," Spears had a cameo role on "How I Met Your Mother" and Bacon sizzled on "Will & Grace."
One of your favorite characters will die. And, we're not telling. You'll just have to tune in to find out! There's no better way to get fans to come back to your show than to tease the fact that a longtime favorite character might be killed, die or just leave the show. This is often the result of off-screen drama, such as contract negotiations, as much as it is the result of dramatic writing.
For years, it seemed that "ER" was having its cast die (Anthony Edwards) or leave (Julianna Margulies) during sweeps. More recently, "Grey's Anatomy" dispatched actress Katherine Heigl after contentious contract negotiations.
The Brady Bunch goes to Hawaii. Roseanne and family go to Disney World. Exotic settings and locations can help bring more eyeballs to your show. It can also help cross-promote a network's other interests. For example, Roseanne didn't go to Disney World until the Disney company bought the ABC television network.