Season 11, Episode 16 (February 28, 1983) — the series finale and the 256th episode of M*A*S*H overall. Written by Alan Alda, Burt Metcalfe, John Rappaport, Dan Wilcox, Thad Mumford, Elias Davis, David Pollock, and Karen Hall; Directed by Alan Alda.
The 2½-hour series finale remains the most-watched scripted television episode in U.S. history, drawing 121.6 million viewers. It aired on February 28, 1983, and featured Alan Alda both starring in and directing [1].
The finale showed each character finding peace: Hawkeye imagines a future without war, B.J. dreams of returning to his family, and Colonel Potter receives news of his granddaughter's birth. The final scene shows Hawkeye leaving the 4077th by helicopter, looking down at rocks spelling "A.S.A.P." (the camp's motto: "Animation, Situation, Action, Propensity"—a running joke throughout the series).
The episode won four Emmy Awards and held the record as the most-watched broadcast in American television for 27 years.