One of the harshest things a TV show can do is end a season on a cliffhanger. Manipulate your emotions, lead you to the pivotal moment the whole season has been building toward, only to leave you there high and dry. It’s a risky proposition though; some fans consider it a cheap way to attract attention and will rage-quit the show.
Today, we’re taking a look at legendary cliffhangers that not only struck gold – they struck a chord with TV fans, cementing the shows’ reputations and all but ensuring their success. We’ll be focusing on season finales, so plot twists such as “The Red Wedding” in Game of Thrones, Hank realising who Heisenberg is, and The Sopranos’ cut-to-black finale won’t be on this list, despite being earth-shatteringly shocking.
Dallas – Who Shot J.R.?
When talking about cliffhangers on TV, one has to start with the one that started it all: the 1980s soap opera Dallas. In its third-season finale, the show’s breakout character – the ruthless, manipulative oil tycoon JR Ewing – hears someone stumbling outside his office and steps out to see what’s happening, only to be shot twice in the chest. We then cut to black. No clues, no closure, nothing. Want to know more? Well, you’d have to wait almost a year.
While Dallas wasn’t the first series to end a season on a cliffhanger, it was the first to lean heavily into the marketing. “Who shot JR?” wasn’t just a scene in a TV show; it became a global phenomenon. Merchandise, late-night jokes, newspaper columns analysing clues, Dallas’ finale went viral before viral was even a concept. When the show returned, a record 83 million people tuned in to learn the answer to the burning question. Spoiler: it was Kristin. Kristin shot JR.
Lost – Opening the Hatch
The Season 1 finale of Lost was what made it legendary and what got people hooked enough to endure the questionable writing of later seasons. For months we watched the survivors of a plane crash deal with everyday hardships, internal conflict and supernatural phenomena: a smoke monster lurking in the woods, a polar bear on a tropical island, a handicapped man miraculously walking again.
It all culminated in the discovery of a mysterious hatch deep in the jungle that had no visible way of opening. For months our imagination – and the characters’ – ran wild: what was it, what was it doing there, how did it get there, and most troubling of all, what was inside?
In the finale, our heroes finally blow open the hatch with dynamite, ready to reveal its secrets. The camera zooms in on a ladder descending into darkness… and then, boom – cut to black. See you next season. A show built on mysteries had just added its biggest one yet. The world was hooked.
The Walking Dead – Negan’s Kill
The Walking Dead has since become a parody of itself; much like its zombies, it now shuffles along powered by an unquenchable thirst for more money. But back in the day – after the brilliant first season and the borderline unbearable second and third – the show delivered a bone-chilling Season 6 finale that marked the debut of fan-favourite villain Negan.
After an ill-fated attempt to take out his gang, the Saviors, our heroes are captured and brought before Negan, kneeling with their hands tied. An eerie whistling cuts through the night as a trailer door swings open and the psychopathic Negan strolls out, barbed-wire bat Lucille in hand. What follows is pure dread: Negan plays eeny, meeny, miny, moe to decide who he’ll execute. The camera switches to the point of view of the victim as Negan starts bashing their head in. Blood fills the screen – cut to black.
Speculation over who Negan killed went on for months. The event had appeared in the graphic novel, but the show had already deviated from the source material, even killing off major characters. In the end, it stayed faithful to the comics (RIP Glenn) but until the last second, fans were braced for the bat to swing in any direction.
Friends – Saying the Wrong Name
Sitcoms don’t usually wrap up seasons on cliffhangers, but Friends was never just a sitcom; it was a cultural juggernaut. Season 5 ends with everyone’s favourite palaeontologist (sorry, Alan Grant), Ross, flying to London to marry Emily. Rachel – his ex-girlfriend and eternal crush – is initially fine with the wedding, but eventually decides to fly to London to confess her feelings. Everyone warns her against it, but she ignores their advice. In the end, she chooses not to interfere and simply watches the ceremony.
As the happy couple exchanges vows, Ross accidentally says Rachel’s name instead of Emily’s. The audience gasps.
For months, nobody knew how that plotline would play out, and it sent fans into a frenzy. It was simplicity at its most effective – with just one word, the writers set the world aflame.
What are your favourite cliffhangers? Tell us in the comments!
