Water Cooler Fodder
In the golden age of TV—okay, in the 90s—there a phenomenon where a TV show might give you a cliffhanger so good it had the whole office gathered around the water cooler to talk about it the next day. These shows took it to the next level, with cliffhangers so juicy they caused a total frenzy.
ER: Lucy And Carter Are Attacked
The definitive hospital drama for many younger generations may be Grey’s, but those in the know know that ER, in its prime, was the best of the genre. Though the show employed many cliffhangers from week to week, one of the most chilling and devastating happened in season 6.
Throughout the episode, a series of frustrating interactions between Lucy and Carter culminates when a patient goes through a psychotic break. Carter walks into a darkened room in the ER and is attacked from behind and stabbed by the patient.
As he collapses to the floor, fighting for his life, he rolls over—and makes eye contact with Lucy, who’d also suffered the same fate. The screen then fades to black, with viewers left wondering if either would survive.
Constant c Productions, ER (1994-2009)
Lost: The Hatch
Lost was a show made up almost entirely of cliffhangers, and while we take it for granted now, the one at the end of the first season turned the show into something of an early viral sensation, as fans driven mad by the final scene took to the internet to discuss their theories.
The incident that caused all this furor, was, of course, the moment when Jack and Locke blew the door off the infamous hatch, revealing that it led deep underground. At the same time, a mysterious group attacks the raft that Michael, Walt, Jin, and Sawyer are on and take young Walt.
Were Michael & co dead? Who were the people that took Walt? And what the heck was down that hatch? These were just a few of the questions fans were left with in the interim between seasons 1 and 2.
Dallas: The OG Cliffhanger
You can’t put together a list about cliffhangers without mentioning the one that elevated the plot device to a whole new level: Dallas’ “Who shot JR”? The show took a huge risk when it introduced a plot line that imperiled the life of one of its main characters, but it paid off. After all, almost every character on the show had a potential motive—but then the writers took it even further.
Though JR was shot during the season 3 finale, they waited until the 4th episode of season 4 to reveal who it was—likely enthralling and infuriating fans in equal measure.
Lorimar Television, Dallas (1978-1991)
The Simpsons: Who Shot Mr Burns?
Along with the original cliffhanger, there’s its most prominent parody: The Simpsons episode “Who Shot Mr Burns?”. The title is self-explanatory, and its effects were felt far and wide, as a new generation of TV viewers had something to discuss at the water cooler (or, in some of our cases, in the schoolyard at recess).
Like Dallas before it, many characters had the motives to go after the nuclear magnate, but unlike Dallas, the writers gave the audience a resolution in the next season premiere.
Gracie Films, The Simpsons 1989-
Grey’s Anatomy: Meredith Meets Addison
Without one scene from the ninth episode of season 1 of Grey’s Anatomy, it’s entirely possible that we might not have 21 whole seasons of the hit show. It wasn’t just a cliffhanger—it was the scene that truly set up the series as the drama powerhouse anchoring the entire Shondaland universe.
The audience had watched Meredith fall in love with her boss, Dr Derek Shepherd, throughout the season—only for a strange woman to walk up and introduce herself as his wife. Fans were left wondering what it all would mean for their new favorite TV couple.
Shondaland, Grey's Anatomy 2005-
Game Of Thrones: Jon Snow Gets Stabbed
Game of Thrones taught its audience early on in the series that it wouldn’t shy away from killing off main characters. In fact, that exciting “anything can happen” feel was part of the appeal. But considering the way the show had built up the characters of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, it seemed like they were untouchable—until Jon was fatally wounded and left to die in the snow, appropriately, at the end of season 5.
After the episode aired, actor Kit Harington’s insistence that his time on GoT was done only added fuel to the fire—until the second episode of season 6, of course. Viewers had to wait more than 10 months for that one to be resolved.
HBO, Game of Thrones (2011-2019)
Sherlock: How Did He Do It?
Sherlock’s fresh, clever take on a classic set of characters brought in scores of viewers—all of whom were left on the edges of their seats at the end of season 2, which showed the titular character jumping off a building, much to the horror of his friend Watson.
Watson found it difficult to accept—and for good reason, as at the end of the episode, we saw Sherlock, still alive, lurking in the shadows. It was great news—but unfortunately for fans, it took two whole years for the next season, which revealed exactly how Sherlock pulled it off, to air.
Hartswood Films, Sherlock (2010-2017)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Buffy’s Sacrifice
When the fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer began, something was markedly different. Namely, Buffy suddenly had a younger sister who’d never been there before. It would take too long to explain all the mythology behind Dawn’s appearance, but the season ultimately ended with Buffy sacrificing herself to save Dawn, and a final shot on Buffy’s tombstone.
It was no surprise that many assumed that was the end of the show—but then, it was renewed for another season, and fans had to wait for it to come back to figure out how a show called Buffy could survive without Buffy.
Mutant EnemyBuffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
Breaking Bad: Hank Finds The Book
Breaking Bad teased fans over many seasons about Hank’s alternating moments of ignorance and suspicion about Walt’s, ahem, extracurricular activities. When it’s finally revealed to him, it’s done in a beautifully understated but ultimately incredibly satisfying way.
Hank finds a copy of a book Gale Boetticher inscribed and gave to Walt—leaving fans to wonder what could possibly happen now that Walt’s DEA agent brother-in-law knew what he was up to.
High Bridge Productions, Breaking Bad (2008-2013)
Stranger Things: The Loss Of Hopper
The OG viral Netflix hit left fans in a state of flux at the end of season 3, with the possibility that beloved character Hopper was dead, some weird stuff going down with the Russians, and Joyce, her family, and Eleven picking up and leaving Hawkins.
It left viewers with a lot of questions that needed to be answered—and they had to wait three years for the next season to air and to answer them all.
21 Laps Entertainment, Stranger Things (2016-2025)
Twin Peaks: Dale Cooper In The Black Lodge
There were many ups and downs, plot-wise and quality-wise, during Twin Peaks’ original two-season run—but the final package, and the rabid devotion it inspired since, speak for itself. Then, of course, there’s the fact that the series itself ended on a cliffhanger, with Agent Dale Cooper stuck in the Black Lodge. He eventually escapes—only to reveal the Dale who escaped is possessed by Bob.
The point was driven home in the follow-up film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, which takes place before the events of the series, where a bloodied Annie appears to Laura and says, “The good Dale is in the Lodge and he can't leave”.
Fans had to sit with the devastating revelation that the real Dale was stuck indefinitely in the Lodge—but there was an unexpected resolution to it all when David Lynch brought back Twin Peaks in 2017 and audiences were finally able to see what happened to each Dale. And then...of course...that reboot ended in a cliffhanger too.
Lynch/Frost Productions, Twin Peaks (1990-1991)
The Sopranos Series Finale
Is it a cliffhanger if it’s never going to be resolved? We all know the lore: Everyone wondered how David Chase & co could possibly end one of the most beloved and critically acclaimed TV series of all time. When the final episode aired, with the last few moments showing Tony and his family meeting up at a diner, only to suddenly cut to black, viewers thought their TVs had broken or that their cable had gone out. But that was it, that was the end.
Which then, of course, sparked years of fervent debate between two camps: Those who believed Tony was assassinated at that moment it went black, and those who believed life simply went on for the Soprano family. Though the show’s creators have laid their opinions of the matter bare in interviews and on podcasts since, many of the fans who picked a side haven’t stopped believing (see what we did there?) in their preferred ending.
Friends: Ross Says "Rachel" Instead Of "Emily"
A lot went on during Friends’ tenure at the top of the TV ratings charts, but let’s face it—a lot of fans kept tuning in for the classic will-they-or-won’t-they relationship between Ross and Rachel, which had been the anchor of the show since season 1. Of course, Ross’s impending nuptials with English rose Emily in season 4 made it seem like it was finally over—or was it?
Rachel looked on in shock and Emily in horror when Ross uttered Rachel’s name at the altar during his vows. And everyone else looked on in confusion.
They finished the ceremony, Emily stomped out of the church, Ross followed, and everyone—including the viewers at home—were left wondering what would happen when the curtains raised on the next season.
Warner Bros., Friends (1994-2004)
The Walking Dead: Negan Picks Someone To Kill
The Walking Dead was full of cliffhangers—not just in its season finales, but often, from episode to episode. But at the end of season 6, with the introduction of the Negan character, already infamous from the comics, writers knew they had to raise the stakes. The episode ended with the cruel, sardonic new introduction to the show walking around the characters we’d spent six seasons growing attached to, and picking out one to kill.
It happens off-screen as we watched Rick’s reaction, and viewers had to wait until the first episode of season 7 to find out who Negan’s victim was. Did the cliffhanger pay off? Well, many viewers cite the events of the end of season 6—which were revealed at the start of season 7—as the reason they stopped watching the show.
