GlossaryCraft technique
Tag
Also: stinger · button
A tag is a short scene at the very end of a television episode, after the final act break, used to land a last laugh, a quiet character beat, or a hook into the next episode. It is the bookend to the teaser — brief, pointed, and often played over or just before the end credits.
The tag (also called a stinger or button) sits after the last commercial break. It is rarely more than a scene or two and exists to leave a final impression rather than advance plot.
In comedy the tag usually pays off a runner from earlier in the episode; in drama it can twist the audience's understanding of what they just watched or set the table for next week.