Like all good things, every piece of sketch comedy must come to an end. Unfortunately, this is usually the hardest thing to do well.

Let’s say you’ve done everything else: you have a great idea, you’ve made great characters to have conflict over it, the conflict has escalated, and now you’ve passed the point of no return. You know it’s time for the ending.

But how do you do it?

There are three simple ways to end a sketch. You can probably find more out in the wild, but these are tried-and-true ways to easily end a sketch in a way your audience will love.

First, I want to make sure you sound like a professional. There’s a special term that sketch comedians use when discussing endings.

It’s called the “button.”

What is a button in sketch comedy?

The end of a comedy sketch is commonly called a “button.”

This is because it “buttons up” your sketch. It closes it off. Nothing more can be done; it is complete.

The ending of your sketch should give this tidy, complete feeling.

Finding the ending is easier than you think

One of my favorite things to keep in mind is: “The end is in the beginning.” It’s from Samuel Beckett, who wrote bleak postmodern comedies that really tickle my funny bone.

“The end is in the beginning” means that you don’t have to be creative or shocking or come up with something out of the blue. In fact, all of those things will make for a bad, unsatisfying ending.

The end is already implied by your sketch. You just have to pick it out.

Three ways to end a comedy sketch

I have put these in order of audience satisfaction. If you can do the first one, audiences tend to like it best.

There is also a bonus one at the end, so don’t say I never gave you anything.

Reincorporation

Audiences love this the best because it satisfies our human brain’s desire for a “full circle” ending to a story.

It is much easier to make things feel like they’ve come “full circle” than you might think. That’s why I keep putting “full circle” in quotes.

You don’t have to tie everything up nice and neat. You simply have to bring back one previously mentioned thing to close the sketch out.

For example, if in the first couple of lines of the sketch, someone mentions they’re dating Superman, a reincorporation would mean that Superman shows up and rescues everyone at the end.

To create a reincorporation button, select something mentioned earlier in the sketch, and bring it back.

Real-world example of Reincorporation

This is a great example of reincorporation from WKUK.

The younger character walks into the Boss’s office with a question, but the primary action of the sketch takes over.

In the button, the Boss brings focus back to the initial motivation for the younger character walking into the office. This gives a feeling of closure to the sketch when we finally find out what he is there for, and he gets the answer to the question he’s been waiting to ask for the whole sketch.

Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpC_hO15IoA

Switch

This is when one character changes their opinion, their status, or something fundamental to their character.

For example, let’s say you write a sketch where Tammy is trying to get Mark to propose, but he’s commitment phobic.

In the button, they would switch roles: he would finally propose, and she would reject him (good for her).

Here are some more examples:

• A hardass, jerk boss gives everyone 200% Christmas bonuses.

• An elite chef tries and enjoys a cheap can of spaghetti.

• An uptight mom leaves her family to join a biker gang.

I could keep going with these forever.

The right switch will be inherent in your sketch. Look at the character at the center of your conflict, and find a way for them to flip an opinion or their status.

A real-world example of the Switch button

Here is is an utterly gross but fantastic example by WKUK called Timmy Poops His Pants.

Gross story short, Timmy pulls a poop out of his pants during an office meeting. Everyone wants him to leave and clean up, but the Boss is tired of interruptions, and demands everyone try to focus on the meeting. He makes it clear no one is allowed to leave.

The sketch finally ends when the Boss changes his mind and tells Timmy to go to the bathroom. This is the switch.

I do a complete breakdown of the sketch’s structure here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyG8CkHWm14&t=15m44s

You can watch the original here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy9o9H_l3rk

Confirm you have passed the point of no return

All sketches should escalate their main idea until there is no going back. Once you’ve reached this point, you can find your button.

Sometimes, all you have to do is restate the concluding idea and make it clear there’s no returning to the status quo, or how the world was at the start of the sketch. Things have escalated irrevocably.

There are many ways to do this, but however you do it, it must reaffirm the action of the sketch and drive home that there is no returning to the state of the world before the sketch started.

This can work really well, because it keeps the sketch simple, but it can also feel anti-climactic. Try it out and see if it fits your sketch!

A real-world example of the Confirmation button

WKUK’s “Lincoln” sketch is a great example of this. The button is literally just one of the characters stating exactly how the sketch ends.

This is also a great example of how funny hats can really make or a break a scene.

Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_dRw62qVLs&rco=1

You will also notice this is an example of the following bonus button, which is a subcategory of the confirmation button!

Bonus Button: Kill someone

By “someone” I mean a character in the scene, of course!

This is one clear way to make it obvious you cannot return to the status quo. You certainly can’t go back to the world before the sketch if somebody is dead!

The Muppet Show used this almost exclusively. In fact, the writing team would often say, “Remember, if you don’t know how to end it: blow someone up, or eat somebody!”

This button usually works best if you are in a cartoonish or absurd world, like the Muppets.

Bonus Button in the real world

The Cheese Shop is one of my favorite Monty Python sketches.

Just watch it. It’s awesome.

Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz1JWzyvv8A

Try out different buttons!

Each of these buttons will work on almost any sketch-in-progress. You can probably come up with multiple ideas in each category, too.

This is good! When writing a sketch, the best way to find a good ending is to write a bunch of endings and then share them with your troupe or friends.

See which one they like best or if they have any ideas to improve them.

Comedy works best in teams, so put some endings together and try them out on folks!

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I am a professional writer and comedian with over fifteen years of experience writing, teaching, and performing comedy. I love breaking down the so-called “unteachable” secrets of comedy and sharing them with you!

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Thanks for reading!

Do you have any great examples of these buttons? Share them in the comments; I’d love to check them out!