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TV Shows That End On A Cliff Hanger - & Then Get Cancelled
Nothing drives viewers more insane than when a show they like ends its season on a huge cliff hanger, only to find out after it's been filmed that the series has been cancelled and they'll never get a resolution to the mystery.
The latest network show to bait the hook and then get the boot - "So Help Me Todd," which CBS pulled the plug on Friday after disappointing ratings. The problem?
According to TV Line:
"Todd did not plan for its upcoming finale to be a possible series ender. Sources tell us that the episode — which airs immediately after Young Sheldon‘s two-episode farewell on Thursday, May 16 at 9 pm — ends on a huge cliff hanger. And now that the show has been cancelled, it seems unlikely that we’ll get an on-screen resolution."
It's happened too many times to count on television where economics trump viewer fan bases. (Although if this show had a bigger fan base it might be back next year.) I can think of dozens of shows I've watched where that ending never came.
The one that still bugs me the most was on a show I'm betting no one here even remembers. It starred Dominic Purcell of "Prison Break" fame in a series called "John Doe," about a man who wakes up with special powers but no memory of who is or where he came from. In the last episode of the season (and, as it turns out, the series) we find out his best friend who was helping him solve the mystery was in fact the very person who was deliberately keeping him from getting answers.
I still think about the fact we'll never see how that betrayal came about.
Are there any shows you used to watch that effectively finished without an ending?
27 Cancelled TV Shows That Ended on a Cliff Hanger
- ED1
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Reboot, a Canadian-produced television CGI series that aired on YTV in the 90s, had a cliffhanger series finale.
- Radiowiz
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I am so glad that everyone was rescued from Gilligan's Island.
RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person.
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.
- TomTV
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Quantum Leap (2023-4). Ben never returned home...
- betaylored
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Donald Sutherland, Billy Baldwin and Jill Clayburgh in Dirty, Sexy Money definitely deserved a better fate.
Then there's the shows that were allowed one or two episodes to try to tie up all the storylines in a way that satisfies the audience and hardcore fans.
Timeless was a great show that ended with a few clunky episodes.
- mace
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Out of those 27 series, I only recognized five and didn't watch any of them.
- darcyh
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I don't think Tony and Doug ever returned through the Time Tunnel.
- newsguy1
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There are notable movie cliff hangers too.
2001 Planet of the Apes with Mark Wahlberg.
The movie ends with Wahlberg's character travelling back in time from the Ape ruled earth only to find that back in the present the Apes were still in charge of Earth.
The sequel was supposed to explain how that was possible but lousy reviews resulted in no second try by Tim Burton.
1969 The Italian Job.
The movie ends with the bus containing all the loot was literally left hanging from a cliff.
Will it tip over? will the thieves manage to save the day?
There was supposed to be a sequel but it all fell apart.
Casablanca.
Although the ending of the classic movie does have an ending of sorts, (Rick and Louie walking off into the night to start a "beautiful friendship") There was supposed to be a sequel called Brazaville.
But it too fell apart so we'll never see the further adventures of Rick and Louie or even Ilsa and Victor.
Back to TV again... there was no cliffhanger as such but whatever happened to Jeannie and Tony?
Did the astronaut ever marry the magic lady?
Did he live happily ever after with her still in the bottle?
Last edited by newsguy1 (April 20, 2024 1:47 pm)
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Here's one, again long forgotten, that still bothers me. ABC had a show based on Canadian sci fi writer Robert J. Sawyer's novel "FlashForward." The premise was that everyone on Earth somehow blacked out for two minutes one day and saw a vision of their futures, completely altering their present. Investigators, who were also affected, were trying to find out what caused it.
The show ended on a huge cliff hanger but after one season in 2009, the network cancelled it and we never did discover what happened or what was behind it, along with the fate of many of the characters. I suppose I should have just read the book to find out, but for some reason, I never did.
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