History Cliffhanger / LiveActionTV

** This one is particularly interesting in that it cleared the way for cliffhangers, previously a staple for soap operas, to be used in more "serious" TV shows.
** At the time, this cliffhanger had particular punch because it was unknown whether Patrick Stewart would return for future seasons, and the episode ended with the very real possibility that his character was seconds from being killed. The writers left the second half open for this reason.

** Season 5: Brienne raised her sword and sentenced Stannis to death, Myrcella was shown bleeding from her nose and collapsing after Ellaria poisons her, Daenerys was shown surrounded by a khalasar, Sansa and Theon jumped off the wall of Winterfell to avoid Ramsey's wrath, Arya was blinded, Jon was stabbed repeatedly by his men and left bleeding in the snow.

* ''Series/JaneTheVirgin'' ends every episode with a cliffhanger. Seeing that this is a telenovela, and the season finales all have ended in a cliffhanger.
** The first season ended with [[spoiler: Jane give birth to Mateo, only for [[BigBad Sin Rostro]] to kidnap Mateo. Also, Xiomara and Rogelio have a Vegas wedding, albeit being drunk and Rafael having a second sample of his sperm]].

*** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS38E1E2Spyfall "Spyfall"]]'s first part ends on TheReveal that [[spoiler:"O" is actually the latest incarnation of TheMaster. He promptly reveals he's caught our heroes on a plane with a deadlock-sealed bomb before having the Doctor teleported to a mysterious dimension by one of his goons and teleporting away, leaving Ryan, Graham and Yaz stranded on a crashing, out-of-control plane without a cockpit.]]

* ''Series/CriminalMinds'': Does this with EVERY season finale.

* ''Series/EastEnders'': "You aint my muvva!" "Yes I am!!" Dun Dun dundundundun....
* ''Series/{{ER}}'': Does this pretty much every season.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'': Every single season ending.

* ''Series/OneTreeHill'': EVERY season finale.

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': Every single season of ''Smallville''.

** The third season ended with the city stuck in the middle of empty space with limited air and a failed hyperdrive. Even if Jewel Staite was entering the show as [[{{Series/Firefly}} Kaylee]] rather than Doctor Keller, it's a bit tricky to imagine them fixing it.

* ''Series/StargateSG1'': Likewise, parent show ended almost all of its seasons with cliffhangers of varying magnitude, all with the ominous "ToBeContinued..." caption.

* ''Series/TrueBlood'': Does this frequently.

* ''Series/TheXFiles'': Used constantly. Three really annoying words: "To Be Continued..."

* ''Series/Cleopatra2525'': Ended with three interconnected cliffhangers and two [[TheReveal Reveals]].

* ''Series/{{Batman}}'': Happens at the end of the first half of every two part episode in the 1960's series.

** The beginning of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E8TheImpossiblePlanet "The Impossible Planet"]] has a ShoutOut to the Cliff Hangers of the old series. In TheTeaser, the Ood, who look like Lovecraftian horrors, walk toward the Doctor and Rose chanting "We must feed", and the close-ups and spinning camera angles match the old Who's Cliff Hangers perfectly. Naturally, after the titles, the Ood are shown to be perfectly nice and friendly, with their apparent viciousness being a PhlebotinumBreakdown: "We must feed..." ''[whacks the translator ball]'' "...you, if you are hungry. Do you want refreshments?"

*** "The End of Time" has the severely damaged TARDIS falling towards Earth as the Doctor remains strangely unconcerned.

** For most of its history consisted entirely of multi-episode serials, so obviously it's had a lot of cliffhangers. There have even been a couple of {{Literal Cliff Hanger}}s.

* ''Series/{{CSI NY}}'':
** Had a few in the earlier seasons:
** Season 4: Mac is kidnapped by a killer.

** Season 6: Shane Casey breaks into Danny and Lindsay's apartment and has a gun pointed at their daughter.

** Season 6 ends with Holt being forced to quit by [[acting commissioner Wuntch]].

Only "The Curse of Dracula" reached its conclusion within the 10-week run, as lack of viewer interest, poor reviews and [=ABC=]'s powerhouse ''Series/HappyDays'' and ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'', turned "Cliffhangers" into a show that truly left the viewer hanging after cancellation. As a postscript, the "Stop Susan Williams" and "The Secret Empire" installments were re-edited into two-hour "made-for-TV" movies for later re-airing by NBC, and included their intended conclusions.

* ''Series/{{Vintergatan}}'': Had a cliffhanger OnceAnEpisode, with no sign of stopping. Fortunately, the cliffhangers don't bother people that much. Why? Because it's always been presented that way, and there's danger around every corner in-canon, so it doesn't seem forced (and even when it does, it rarely becomes {{Narm}} -- usually it's NarmCharm, and at worst, it's SoBadItsGood) -- and second, because that meant we got to hear [[CrowningMusicofAwesome the cliffhanger jingle.]] ''DAH, DADAH-DAH DAAAAAAH!''

* ''Series/SesameStreet'': The classic Ernie and Bert sketch featuring Ernie writing an "epic" story ... but it turns out to be the alphabet. Bert's enthusiasm (at least in the 1970s remake) quickly fades into irritation as he hears Ernie recite the alphabet, and give an over-the-top, overdramatic reading of the 'sad part" (letters H through P) and an over-enthused "action part" that represents Q through V. Bert really flips, however, when Ernie fails to finish the "big finish," leaving the story at "Y" and failing to reveal the obvious ending ("Z"). When Bert presses for Ernie to say the letter "Z" (without saying said letter), Ernie justifies failing to resolve this unresolved "cliffhanger" by suggesting that if he did, "then you'll never want to read it for yourself." Cue Ernie's trademark giggle and an annoyed sigh from Bert.
* ''Series/{{Soap}}'': The final ep ended on ''four'' cliffhangers. It is yet unknown whether the South American guerilla militia firing squad Jessica ended the episode in front of were [[BolivianArmyEnding Bolivian]].
** Later, in an episode of the spin-off ''Series/{{Benson}}'' Benson was visited by Jessica's ghost, leading many fans to believe that, yes, they were [[BolivianArmyEnding Bolivian]].
** The final episode of ''Series/{{Benson}}'' also ended on an unresolved cliffhanger. Benson is running for Governor, while incumbant Governor Gatling is running for re-election as an Independent making for a three-way gubernatorial race. In the final scene, Benson and the Governor resolve their personal differences, then sit together watching the TV as a newscaster says, "And the Governor for the next four years is-"
* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'': The de-facto series finale ended with Claire Bennett revealing her power to the world by jumping off the top of a ferris wheel and healing via news cameras; this was the beginning of the series' 6th Volume, Brave New World, which never came to fruition due to the show's cancellation by NBC in May 2010.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': The finale is this to anyone unaware of the comics, though it did make for [[BolivianArmyEnding a pretty magnificent note to end the series on]].
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'': Usually, fans become quite irate when cancellation leads to a series ending on a CliffHanger, but for some reason, when this show ended this way, the fans took this as a bold statement by the makers, refusing to give in to the SciFi Channel's decision to cancel the show. Only a few people were annoyed that, given plenty of warning and knowing how unsatisfying such an ending would be, they didn't opt for a more graceful ending. On the up side, that season's main storylines were already resolved, with the last few minutes used to set up a ''new'' bit of drama for the cliffhanger. And we ''were'' eventually rewarded with a GrandFinale miniseries.

* ''Series/{{Invasion}}'': Partially avoided this by wrapping up most of the series's plots in the last couple of episode, but still managed to end on a minor cliffhanger.
* ''Series/{{Surface}}'': Ended with the sea levels rising and the world now apparently dominated by monsters, with most of the issues raised in the series (such as who created the monsters and why) still unresolved.
* ''Cleopatra 2525'': Ended with three interconnected cliffhangers and two [[TheReveal Reveals]].

* ''Series/TwinPeaks'': "How's Annie? How's Annie? How's Annie?"
** Considering [[Creator/DavidLynch who made it]], [[TheWalrusWasPaul that was probably completely intentional]].

* ''Series/CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture'': The first [[CutShort and only]] season ended with the death of a major character, the destruction of the good guys' home, and the remaining heroes stranded in the wilderness with a damaged ship.
* ''Series/OdysseyFive'': The 2002 sci-fi series ends with astronaut Angela Perry abducted by the [=AI's=] and scientist Kurt Mendel being arrested on suspicion of killing her. Plus the mysterious Cabal, which the team assume have something to do with the [=AI's=] and the impending destruction of the Earth, turn out to be a government force trying to ''stop'' the [=AI's=] and who believe that the Odyssey 5 team are the traitors.
* ''Series/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'': Had a pretty decent cliff hanger for the season one finale. [[OverprotectiveDad Walter]] walked in on Kat and Patrick right after they finished having sex. Bianca and Dawn quit the cheerleading squad in protest over their friend Chastity being unfairly kicked off, only to find out that Chastity is transferring schools and they didn't have to quit. Bianca's boyfriend Joey had become a contestant on a reality show and she tunes in just in time to see him kissing another one of the contestants. Then the network decided not to renew the show and the season finale became an unresolved series finale. Though the [[WordOfGod series creator]] was nice enough to tell fans [[http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/06/07/10-things-i-hate-about-you-season-two/ how things would have developed if the series had continued]]. Basically, [[spoiler: Kat and Patrick's relationship would grow closer, though they'd eventually clash about college.(Kat wants to go and wants Patrick to go, Patrick doesn't think college is his thing.) We'd meet Patrick's mom and stepdad, and Walter would become a sort of father figure to Patrick. Kat's other possible love interest, Blank, would be around, but it wasn't quite going to turn into a full-fledged love triangle. Joey would get kicked off the reality show, causing him to lose a bit of his spark. His and Bianca's problems(from his cheating and bit of a personality change) would lead to Bianca confiding in Cameron, which would lead to a Bianca/Joey/Cameron love triangle. Chastity was going to be gone for good, since the actress quit the show, and Dawn would be given a bigger role to compensate]].
* ''Series/DarkAngel'': ended with a huge CliffHanger. The world just got aware of the Transgenics, who were claiming their own part of the town and got under siege by the police.
** May be considered an unplanned BolivianArmyEnding.

* ''Series/HotelBabylon'': Got CutShort after four seasons due to low ratings but ended on a huge cliffhanger (unusual for the show that previously had few story arcs) [[spoiler:after Sam finds out Juliet, his ex-wife whom he had been dating again, had aborted his baby years ago he struggles to decide if he wants to continue their relationship and work past it or begin a relationship with Emily who he had been getting close to]]. No ending was ever written.
* ''Series/LasVegas'': The final episode of the fifth season ended with Cooper's plane having crashed with him onboard, and Danny & Delinda changing their wedding to a memorial service for him. After the musician plays a sad song, Cooper suddenly appears at the back, clapping, and Delinda goes into labor. The End.

* ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'': Ends with a [[spoiler:glowing red light coming from one of the morphers - the trademark of Venjix, the Big Bad. Looks like he survived by downloading himself into it...]] but ''RPM'' was the final season at the time of production. The series was later UnCancelled with ''Series/PowerRangersSamurai'' and they did do a crossover with ''RPM'', but acted as if it happened during ''RPM'' instead of after, thereby not giving any resolution.
* ''Series/ICarly'': The last episode of the fourth season ended with Sam kissing Freddie, whilst Carly watched in the window.

* ''Series/FastLane'': The season and, as it turned out, SeriesFinale had two major characters being taken over by Jay Mohr, and another jabbed with a potentially-fatal overdose of drugs.
* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': Series 3: [[spoiler: Moriarty's face is broadcast on every TV in the UK. "Miss me?"]]
* ''Series/MadMen'': Season 5, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YocBfe1N598 ends]] with [[spoiler: Don Draper being propositioned by a woman. The credits start before we can see if he really has decided to cheat on Megan. It's strongly suggested the LadyKillerInLove is gone and the philanderer is back.]]
* ''Series/TowerPrep'': Just before the show was cancelled it ended on a big cliffhanger, where the students finally escaped from the school, just to find out that there is still much more to discover with the mystery.
* ''Series/CriminalMindsSuspectBehavior'': Followed the above-mentioned "silent mandate" from CBS concerning this trope by putting two of the leads in life-threatening danger, with another lead having to make the choice as to which one would die. Unfortunately, the show was a dud with CBS audiences despite the lead-in from [[Series/CriminalMinds its parent show]], and the network decided to pull the plug after one season.
* The final season of ''Series/TheLWord'' ended on an unresolved cliffhanger, of the viewers not knowing who killed Jenny Schector.
* The final "Assignment" of ''Series/SapphireAndSteel'' ended with the two title characters apparently trapped in a pocket universe with no means of escape.
* ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' ended with a massive cliffhanger of [[spoiler:John, John Henry and Weaver having been sent into the future, and Cameron possibly dead]].
* ''Series/{{Starcrossed}}'', canceled by the CW network, ends on a whopper, with [[spoiler:Taylor possibly about to perish in a fiery car accident, and the signal from the ''Suvek'' having been received by a fleet of Atrian warships, which heads for Earth.]]
* In the fourth SeasonFinale of Series/{{Cybill}}, the main characters' prank war with Dr. Dick escalates. The episode ends with them [[spoiler:suddenly being arrested because [[DeadlyPrank their last prank supposedly killed him]]]]. Then, during the break, the series was ScrewedByTheNetwork. The German dub subsequently omitted the ToBeContinued message and gave the episode a CompletelyDifferentTitle that outright called it the end, falsely implying that the series had an intentional SuddenDownerEnding.
* ''Series/StargateUniverse'': Midway through season 2, the [[CoolStarship Destiny]] is headed for intergalactic space, most of the crew has been placed in stasis in order so conserve resources and only Eli remains. Will he be able to guide the ship and put himself into stasis and get out again? Tune in nex week to learn that the show has been ScrewedByTheNetwork and cancelled.
* Played for laughs in ''Series/AngieTribeca.'' The first season finale "The One With the Bomb" ends with a WireDilemma as Angie tries to save her partner from a bomb vest. She cuts a wire as the timer counts down to zero -- and the episode ends.
* ''Series/TheFamily2016'': The series ended on one due to its cancellation [[spoiler: with Bridey dead, presumably at Willa's hands, and Adam revealed to be alive. He's coming back to reclaim his life from Ben.]]
* ''Series/TotalRecall2070'': The show ends with Farve getting possibly damaged beyond repair and going into hibernation, the future of David and Olivia Hume as a couple being uncertain because of trust issues, and Calley getting contacted by Farve's creator, who has apparently survived the destruction of his body. Since the series was cancelled at this point, these dangling plot threads were never resolved.
* ''Series/HandOfGod'': The series ends on this, given its cancellation. Several plot threads are left dangling.

*** [[Recap/DoctorWho2013CSTwiceUponATime "Twice Upon a Time"]], however, manages to blow all previous regeneration cliffhangers out of the water by having the Thirteenth Doctor [[spoiler:''tossed out into freefall at thirty thousand feet'' after she presses one button, as the exploding TARDIS dematerializes to Time knows where.]]

*** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E11ClosingTime "Closing Time"]] has a MoodWhiplash ending where River, studying accounts of the Doctor at the Lunar University in the 52nd century, is suddenly [[spoiler:kidnapped by the Silence and forced into the astronaut suit in order to kill the Doctor.]]

*** Almost all of William Hartnell's stories were presented with a cliffhanger right at the end, except for season finales and one or two other exceptions, to create the impression of a single run-on adventure. This makes life notoriously awkward for ExpandedUniverse writers trying to find {{Time Skip}}s to put stories in — Peter Purves once joked that there is "one scene change in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E8TheGunfighters "The Gunfighters"]]" that holds virtually all of his Steven & Dodo audios. (Of course, at the time, there was no concern about this sort of thing.) Most Troughton stories did not do this and there is a lot more room to add material into his timeline. The practice was briefly revisited by the show in Season 12 as part of a RevisitingTheRoots approach with the new Doctor, causing similar problems fitting in adventures with the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane and Harry. There were also a small number of later examples, notably Nyssa collapsing at the end of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E2FourToDoomsday "Four to Doomsday"]], which leads into [[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E3Kinda "Kinda"]], and the ending of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS20E3Frontios "Frontios"]] with the TARDIS going out of control, which turns out to be due to it being accidentally caught in the Dalek time tunnel that features in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS20E4ResurrectionOfTheDaleks "Resurrection of the Daleks"]].