More Cancelled Shows That Ended on a Cliffhanger: Readers’ Picks From Prodigal Son, Covert Affairs and More
We don’t like being left hanging — and it turns out you don’t, either.
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Earlier this month, we here at TVLine published a list of 27 cancelled TV shows that ended on a cliffhanger, leaving us with questions that will never be resolved. But that list was just the tip of the iceberg, as we quickly learned. As usual, TVLine readers came out in force in the comments and reminded us of more than 20 additional series that we missed the first time around. (And we’ll admit: We’re not proud that we missed some of these.)
From key characters clinging to life on Prodigal Son and TNT’s Dallas continuation to huge twists that never paid off on FlashForward and The Society, our readers are still agonizing over these loose plot threads that will forever remain untied. Read on to see more TV shows that were cruelly cut short before they could properly finish their story — and if you missed our original list the first time around, click here to check that out, too. Oh, and if we still missed one of your favorites after all of this, hit the comments to jog our memories. (Because as you can see, we are listening!)
Alcatraz
“I gotta mention Alcatraz, which literally ends with the lead dead, on a hospital gurney. Was she supposed to live? Likely. But that’s not what we were left with. As far as the audience is concerned, she’s just dead.” — Jason
Alphas
“The whole team seemingly dead on the platform, so frustrating!” — Cathy Greytfriend
Caroline in the City
NBC’s ’90s sitcom left us dangling on a classic cliffhanger: Caroline was about to get married to Randy when her slow-burn love interest Richard burst in to interrupt the ceremony.
“I will forever be angry about Caroline in the City, though. I mean, come on!” — Elle
Covert Affairs
CIA operative Annie was facing a major crossroads in her professional and personal life when her handler and pal Auggie told her to close her eyes and trust her intuition to know the right path. She closed her eyes, and we heard her say “Got it”… but what was it, exactly, that she’s got?
“Covert Affairs is constantly left off this list and it left all kinds of questions when it was cancelled.” — Theresa Leavitt
Crime Story
“What about Crime Story with [the] plane crashing in the ocean? We never learned the fate of Lt. Torello, Luca, and Pauli.” — Scot Steinberg
Dallas (TNT)
The original Dallas was the gold standard for TV cliffhangers, so naturally, the TNT sequel series ended Season 3 with Jesse Metcalfe’s Christopher Ewing seemingly dying in a car bomb explosion — and then TNT axed the series a month later.
Dark Angel
Season 2 ended with Jessica Alba’s Max and the residents of Terminal City hunkering down as the military surrounded them — but we never got to see the outcome of that climactic battle, since Fox scrapped the series.
Dark Matter
The Syfy series left off with our heroes looking on in horror as a fleet of ominous black spaceships emerged from a spatial anomaly… and we never got to see what happened next.
“What a lousy way to treat the creators and the fans!” — David
FlashForward
The first and only season of this ABC drama concluded with people having another flash-forward, but this time, 20 years into the future rather than just six months.
“I read the book it was based off hoping for resolution, but it turned out the show was very, very loosely based on the book, and it was no help at all. I have thought of FlashForward so many times over the years.” — Trina
Las Vegas
“Las Vegas was in the middle of a big storyline when the writers went on strike. Never picked the show back up.” — Karen Pallone
Lockwood & Co.
“Lockwood & Co. ended on a cliffhanger, although we knew what was behind the door by reading the books. Still… I’m bitter about that one.” — Lisa H.
The Mick
Fox’s bawdy comedy starring Kaitlin Olson ended on an especially harsh note, with an electrocuted Sabrina clinging to life in a hospital bed and facing a difficult recovery. (The show’s EPs did give us some hints about how they would’ve continued things, though.)
“What about The Mick? At the time it was one of the few shows that made me actually laugh. It ended on a cliffhanger as well.” — Thatcher
Missing (aka 1-800-Missing)
“Why does 1-800-Missing always get forgotten on these lists? I need to know if Antonio died in that explosion (or if it was detonated early)!” — Elyse
The OA
The mind-bending Netflix series bent our minds even further in the final moments of Season 2, with the reveal of another dimension where series stars Brit Marling and Jason Isaacs played themselves as actors on a TV show — and Steve hopped dimensions to join an unconscious Prairie in an ambulance.
“Where’s The OA???” — FTD
Prodigal Son
The sorely missed Fox procedural wrapped up with Malcolm stabbing his serial killer dad Martin during a struggle, with Dani discovering the carnage just before the credits rolled. Will Martin survive? We’ll never know.
“Worst. Cancellation. Ever. The cliffhanger. The crap Fox kept over this magnificent show is ludicrous.” — Judy Snell
Reunion
This one-and-done Fox drama was chock-full of future TV stars — Dave Annable! Chyler Leigh! Will Estes! — but it failed to fulfill a key part of its premise, as reader Amy points out: “Unfortunately, the storyline was a whodunit murder mystery, and only 13 episodes aired. Who was the murderer? We will never know.”
Silk Stalkings
“The end of the two-parter had Tom telling his partner [and ex-wife] Cassy that he had never loved her, leaving the audience to wonder how they would come back from that.” — Wendy R.
The Society
Netflix’s survival drama followed a group of teens forced to fend for themselves after everyone else in their town disappeared, but the finale revealed that all the other residents of West Ham were still alive and well after all… before cutting to a memorial plaque for the teens.
“I’m still p.o.ed about The Society.” — Ally Otten
Star
Fox’s music industry soap went out in a hail of bullets as a gangland shooting at Derek and Alex’s wedding left the lives of several key characters hanging in the balance. Executive producer Lee Daniels promised a wrap-up movie… but four years later, we’re still waiting.
“It ended on a huge cliffhanger. I’m still mad.” — Muffy
Stargate Universe
The Syfy series “really started to get its footing in Season 2 and then [was] cancelled, and no new Stargate show to continue on the fantastic story they had started.” — Dee
Z Nation
“Considering how long it ran for (five seasons), I would have liked to have seen Z Nation get a proper ending instead of ending on a cliffhanger.” — Robert Ortega
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