Cliffhangers keep audiences engaged and invested in a TV show until the new season releases. Science fiction television has some of the best cliffhangers, as the genre can push the boundaries of the imagination and reality of its audiences. A well-crafted cliffhanger can turn a mediocre show into a masterpiece. However, cliffhangers that never get resolved can be infuriating even years after the TV show ends.
Incredible science fiction cliffhangers can range from time-traveling hijinks having unexpected consequences and world-altering repercussions, to world-ending cataclysms that leave the fates of the beloved characters unknown. While some science fiction TV shows have meticulously planned and executed series finales that end with cliffhangers for creative reasons, many sci-fi TV shows ending on cliffhangers are unable to conclude their story due to sudden cancelations, leaving cliffhangers that remain unresolved forever.
8 Sliders (1995-2000)
An Underrated '90s Sci-Fi Show
The Sliders is an adventure through space and time about a group of travelers who can "slide" through alternative Earths in parallel universes. After the handheld device that allows them to travel between alternative universes glitches out and loses its ability to guide the travelers to their original home universe, the group is forced to slide through universes in an effort to return to their home.
Sliders is a science fiction television series that follows Quinn Mallory (Jerry O'Connell) and a group of fellow travelers as they "slide" between parallel universes. With each new world presenting a unique alternate reality, the team encounters various versions of Earth, facing different challenges and societal structures. The series, which aired from 1995 to 2000, explores themes of consequence, diversity, and adaptation.
- Cast
- Jerry O'Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, John Rhys-Davies, Cleavant Derricks, Kari Wuhrer, Charlie O'Connell, Robert Floyd, Tembi Locke
- Seasons
- 6
The final season of Sliders got off to a rough start. One of the lead characters, Quinn Mallory, played by Jerry O'Connell, exited the show after the season 4 finale. Sliders season 5 ended with a major cliffhanger, as Rembrandt Brown (Cleavant Derricks) sacrifices himself by injecting himself with the dangerous virus that is deadly to the invading aliens Kromaggs. The Sliders series finale ends with Rembrandt's fate left unknown, resulting in a frustrating and incomplete conclusion to the show.
7 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008-2009)
A Great Continuation Of The Movies
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is a television spin-off of the groundbreaking and popular Termination film series. The science fiction drama series follows the titular character Sarah Connor, played by Lena Headey, and her son John Connor (Thomas Dekker) as they work toward stopping the creation of Skynet, the highly advanced artificially intelligent computer system that will take over humanity and wage wars in the future.
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Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
- Release Date
- 2008 - 2009-00-00
- Network
- FOX
WHERE TO WATCH
This spinoff of the Terminator franchise follows Sarah Connor, her son John, and Cameron, a Terminator reprogrammed to protect John. Pursued by time-traveling Terminator assassins, they must cope with life on the run as well as the impending threat of Skynet.
- Cast
- Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Garret Dillahunt, Richard T. Jones, Leven Rambin, Stephanie Jacobsen
- Directors
- David Nutter
- Seasons
- 2
Featuring time travel mishaps and high-octane action scenes, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was a worthy successor to the Terminator films, but was tragically canceled too soon. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles' final episode follows John as he travels to the future, and learns that he is no longer a widely recognized leader of the resistance against Skynet. John's revelation not only changes the course of the show, it also reveals that each action taken in Lena and John's timeline has major repercussions for the future.
6 Salvation (2017-2018)
A High-Stakes, Sci-Fi Thriller
The suspenseful sci-fi thriller series Salvation revolves around the shocking discovery of an asteroid that is set to collide with Earth in six months and cause widespread global devastation. The high-stakes drama series Salvation is an underrated masterpiece filled with complex characters and thrilling yet terrifying.
The promising sci-fi thriller was set to have a groundbreaking and unique season 3 until it was canceled, ending the show on a cliffhanger.
The debate regarding the world-ending asteroid collision was expertly built up throughout the two seasons, until the jaw-dropping series finale. The team had finally seemingly finalized the decision to hit the approaching asteroid with a nuke and avoid the collision.
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Salvation
- Release Date
- 2017 - 2018-00-00
- Network
- CBS
- Directors
- Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Stuart Gillard, Dan Lerner, Joe Gallagher, Nick Gomez, Maja Vrvilo, Gregory Prange, Jennifer Lynch, Douglas Aarniokoski, Greg Beeman, Robert Duncan McNeill, Russell Lee Fine, Edward Ornelas, Tessa Blake, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Ken Fink
- Writers
- Gavin Johannsen, Mike Werb, Blake Taylor, Dennis Saldua, Corey Miller, Angela Harvey, K.D. Dávila, Jeffrey Lieber, Mark Kruger, Steven Maeda
WHERE TO WATCH
Salvation is a science fiction drama series centered around an MIT graduate student and a tech magnate who reveal to a Pentagon official the impending threat of an asteroid set to collide with Earth in six months. The series explores the race against time to prevent catastrophe and ensure survival.
- Cast
- Albert Chung, Dean Armstrong, Doug MacLeod, Jennifer Finnigan, Paul De La Rosa, Tovah Feldshuh, Karl Campbell, Santiago Cabrera, Tara Nicodemo, Dorly Jean-Louis, Gregory Ambrose Calderone, Shawn Meunier, Vas Saranga, Josette Jorge, André Dae Kim, Rachel Drance, Phi Huynh, Willy Lavendel, Natalie Jantzi, Colin McClean, Catherine Tait, Charlie Rowe, Jacqueline Byers, Shazi Raja, Ian Anthony Dale
- Seasons
- 2
However, Salvation season 2 ends with a chilling cliffhanger, revealing that what seemed to be an asteroid is an unidentified flying object (UFO) that gains significant ground and comes to a stop between the moon and the Earth. The promising sci-fi thriller was set to have a groundbreaking and unique season 3 until it was canceled, ending the show on a cliffhanger.
5 Sunny (2024)
A Black Comedy Starring Rashida Jones
In this day and age, a creative and thought-provoking science fiction series revolving around artificial intelligence (AI) is a refreshing and relevant adventure. The black comedy series Sunny is based on the novel The Dark Manual by Colin O'Sullivan. The series Sunny revolves around Suzi Sakamoto (Rashida Jones), an American living in Kyoto, Japan, whose husband and son went missing in a plane crash after she receives a domestic robot and begins to uncover the truth.
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Suzie, an American woman living in Kyoto, Japan, grapples with the mysterious disappearance of her husband and son in a plane crash. Given a domestic robot named Sunny by her husband’s company, Suzie initially resents Sunny but soon they form a unique bond. Together, they uncover the dark truth behind her family's disappearance, becoming entangled in a dangerous and hidden world.
- Cast
- Rashida Jones, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Joanna Sotomura, Judy Ongg, Jun Kunimura
- Directors
- Lucy Tcherniak
- Seasons
- 1
The series premiered in July 2024 and was canceled in November 2024 after one season, not giving Sunny enough time to grow as a TV show and gain a dedicated fan base. Each episode of the season helped unravel an aspect of the central mystery and, in the shocking season 1 finale, twists and turns make it clear that there were still several unanswered questions left to be explored. Unfortunately, the cancelation of Sunny after season 1 means that the questions introduced in the show and in the cliffhanger will never be answered.
4 Alphas (2011-2012)
A Frustrating Season 2 Finale
The untimely cancelation of Alphas has resulted in one of the most iconic and well-known cliffhanger endings of a science fiction series. The superhero drama series follows a group of five superpowered people, known as the titular "Alphas" who investigate crimes committed by other Alphas. The thrilling cliffhanger in the season 2 finale of Alphas turned into an unbelievably frustrating experience after the show was canceled before season 3.
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Alphas follows a team of individuals with enhanced mental and physical abilities who work under the U.S. Department of Defense. They investigate cases involving others with similar powers, tackling threats that ordinary law enforcement cannot handle while exploring the complexities of their unique skills.
- Cast
- David Strathairn, Summer Glau, Daniel Kash, Elias Toufexis, Jameson Kraemer, Liane Balaban, Adriano Sobretodo Jr., Lauren Holly, Skyler Wexler, Callum Keith Rennie, Scott Ryan Yamamura
- Seasons
- 2
The action-filled and thrilling episode follows the team as they hunt down Stanton Parish's (John Pyper-Ferguson) bombs and attempt to disable every bomb in an effort to save the world. Things take a turn when one of the bombs goes off, causing everyone in Grand Central to collapse, excluding Gary Bell (Ryan Cartwright), who is unaffected as an Alpha as everyone surrounding him crumbles to the ground.
3 Constellation (2024)
A Creepy Psychological Thriller
Constellation is a sci-fi psychological thriller TV show that follows a group of astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and revolves around Jo Ericsson (Noomi Rapace) as she returns to Earth and realizes that not everything is what it seems.
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Throughout Constellation season 1, we learn that there are two versions of Jo, one who is dead in space and another one who returned to Earth but is from the other universe. The intricate and complex TV show Constellation sees characters inadvertently jump between alternate universes and fight to return to their real home and loved ones.
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Constellation is a sci-fi psychological thriller written and created by Peter Harness for Apple TV+. After facing a crisis in space, Astronaut Jo returns to Earth only to discover nothing is quite the same - and that her sanity may be slowly slipping from her grasp.
- Cast
- Jonathan Banks, James D'Arcy, Lenn Kudrjawizki, William Catlett, Barbara Sukowa, Carole Weyers
- Directors
- Michelle Maclaren
- Seasons
- 1
However, the final episode of the sci-fi show reveals that the seemingly dead Jo in space is alive, and the alternate universe's Jo might face pushback to her new life on Earth. Constellation's cliffhanger ending leaves audiences bewildered, and the cancelation of the series means that audiences will never get the chance to unravel the show's mysteries.
2 Dark Matter (2015)
The Show Was Exciting Right Up To Its Cancelation
Dark Matter is a sci-fi series following a group of six mercenaries after they awaken in stasis pods aboard a starship with no memories of their past. The mysterious pasts of the compelling main characters and the mercenaries' growing bond and adventures in space make Dark Matter a thrilling and entertaining science fiction series.
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Dark Matter (2015) follows a six-person crew who awaken on a derelict spaceship with no memories of their identities. With only a cache of weapons and a mission to a conflict-ridden mining colony, they must navigate their uncertain loyalties and unravel the mystery of their pasts.
- Cast
- Alexander Mandra, Amanda Brugel, Andrew Moodie, Dylan Trowbridge, Eugene Clark, George Chiang, Grant Nickalls, Hiro Kanagawa, Ian Matthews, Ish Morris, James Binkley, Kirsten Alter, Kristen Holden-Ried, Louis Paquette, Mac Fyfe, Megan Murphy, Michael Boisvert, Michael Rhoades, Moses Nyarko, Moti Yona, Nicolas Van Burek, Paul Rutledge, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Regan Moore, Robin Brûlé
- Directors
- Ron Murphy, Andy Mikita, Bruce McDonald, John Stead, T.J. Scott, amanda tapping, Craig David Wallace, Gail Harvey, Lee Rose, Paolo Barzman, Steve DiMarco, Melanie Orr, Mairzee Almas, T.W. Peacocke
- Seasons
- 3
Throughout the series, the stakes in Dark Matter kept going higher and higher. The third and final season of Dark Matter revolves around the escalating corporate war and the mercenaries' struggles with Four/Ryo's (Alex Mallari Jr.) betrayal. The season 3 finale set up an exciting fourth season.
The incredibly thrilling cliffhanger ends with a massive space anomaly appearing and gigantic spaceships coming through would have been exciting if not for the show's cancelation.
However, Dark Matter was then canceled, making the season 3 finale a series finale. The incredibly thrilling cliffhanger ends with a massive space anomaly appearing and gigantic spaceships coming through would have been exciting if not for the show's cancelation.
1 The Society (2019)
A Mystery That Is Never Solved
The Society is a sci-fi mystery TV show that follows a group of high school teenagers who return from a field trip early and find that the rest of the residents of the town have disappeared. The teens are forced to create a functioning society to survive and unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of the residents.
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The Society effortlessly balances drama, conflict, and tension with heartwarming romance and lighthearted comedic moments. Throughout The Society season 1, the teens struggle to the outside world and figure out what happened to their town and its citizens.
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One day in West Ham, Connecticut, the students of the local high school return from a field trip to find the rest of the town's population gone. With a dense forest surrounding the town and no way to the outside world via phone or internet, the teenagers must formulate their own rules to maintain their own society and survival.
- Cast
- Kathryn Newton, Gideon Adlon, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Jacques Colimon, Olivia DeJonge, Kristine Froseth, Jose Julian, Toby Wallace, Rachel Keller
- Directors
- Marc Webb
- Seasons
- 1
In the season finale, it is revealed that the real version of the town West Ham still exists and that there is a memorial plaque for the missing teenagers. The mind-boggling reveal provides hints for the central mystery and adds a sense of intrigue. The Society was initially renewed for season 2, but was then canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the mysteries of West Ham forever unsolved.
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