Entertainment

20 Canceled TV Shows That Ended With Major Cliffhangers

EntertainmentPublished May 20, 2019
By Bethany Quinn
Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Kylie Bunbury in PitchFox Network

Ever since television was invented, people have been glued to their screens and totally hooked on its shows. Whether comedies, dramas, made-for-TV-movies -- or even mini-series -- television has been there for us through everything. It even allows the ability to watch Christmas movies in May, or binge an entire series in one sitting! It's sad enough when our favorite shows get canceled, and it's even worse when they get canceled mid-season or in the middle of some really important plot points.

While we love a good cliffhanger, we love a resolution even more!As viewers, we can't help but be totally invested in TV shows. Whether we binge episodes all at once, or tune in week after week, we rely on these shows to give us something to talk about and perhaps indulge in a little escapism, too! While we know the people in these shows aren't real and are fictional characters, we still get majorly disappointed without the benefit of closure. Not knowing if Gilligan and gang ever got off the island, or if Angela ended up with Jordan or Brad in My So Called Life, is excruciating! 

Even if the ending of some shows isn't one we like or even one we understand (we are still confused about that Sopranos ending), we much prefer to have everything answered! Here are 20 television shows that got canceled with major cliffhangers.

1/20
'Pitch'-placeholder
'Pitch'
Fox Network

'Pitch'

We were definitely sad to see this one go!

Fox canceled Pitch after months of decision-making, which was a total cliffhanger in and of itself. But the actual show left us out to dry, wondering if Ginny, the first female pitcher in the MLB, would recover after injuring herself in a game -- or if she and Mark Paul-Gosselaar's character would officially become a thing.

2/20
'The Passage'-placeholder
'The Passage'
Eliza Morse/FOX

'The Passage'

Yes, another Mark-Paul Gosselaar series to get canceled after only one season. This one left us wondering about the fate of humanity and the government-funded Project NOAH that uses humans as test subjects for crazy medical experiments. It ended giving us flashes into the future with no context as to why.

... and it looks like we will never get an answer!

3/20
'The Arrangement'-placeholder
'The Arrangement'
Daniel Power/E! Entertainment

'The Arrangement'

E! canceled this show after the season two finale, leaving fans in the dark about the fate of Kyle and Megan's relationship. Megan had recently admitted to cheating on her new husband, and the two were in the beginning of engaging in a full-out war on each other.

Sadly, we will never know how it plays out!

4/20
'Deadwood'-placeholder
'Deadwood'
HBO

'Deadwood'

Fans will be happy to know that this beloved TV series was made into a movie to wrap up the major loose threads it left in its wake (it's coming soon). When an innocent woman is killed to make it look like Trixie, a main character, was murdered, fans felt like they needed answers -- only to receive none. Luckily, the Deadwood movie will premiere on May 31, so we definitely hope our questions will be answered then!

5/20
'No Tomorrow'-placeholder
'No Tomorrow'
The CW

'No Tomorrow'

With a possible love triangle brewing, and an asteroid heading toward Earth, the cancelation of this show left some pretty big cliffhangers in its wake.

No Tomorrow was canceled after only one season.

6/20
'The Family'-placeholder
'The Family'
ABC

'The Family'

This show was known for its plot twists and surprises, so it makes sense that The Family would go out with a bang upon being canceled. The premise of the show follows a politician's family with a son, who was thought to have been murdered, returning home. The ending left us with the death of some main characters and a lot of unanswered questions!

7/20
'Star'-placeholder
'Star'
Fox Network

'Star'

After three seasons, Fox decided to pull the plug on Star -- but not without leaving us with major cliffhangers from the finale. Several main characters were shot during a wedding ambush (one was murdered) in a previous scene. Plus, the kidnapping of the titular character's son made for one insane episode that, sadly, we will never have any closure for.

8/20
'Finding Carter'-placeholder
'Finding Carter'
MTV

'Finding Carter'

MTV cancelled Finding Carter after two seasons. (The series was about a woman who returns to her biological family after learning she was kidnapped as a child.) It ended with one of the main characters turning himself in for the death of another main character. The fate of a third character was left in the balance after he was brutally attacked!

9/20
'Southland'-placeholder
'Southland'
TNT

'Southland'

After five seasons, this cop drama that took place in Los Angeles ended with one of its main characters being shot ... and us never knowing if he survives. As for Regina King's character, Lydia, she was in a new romance that we will never see play out!

10/20
'The Whispers'-placeholder
'The Whispers'
Jeff Weddell/ABC

'The Whispers'

When aliens are abducting the children of Earth with the intent of world domination, we're definitely going to want to know how that plays out! And when the main character of the show sacrifices herself to said aliens -- to save her son -- well, we're going to want to know how that plays out, too! Sadly, we never will because The Whispers was cancelled after one season.

11/20
'The Secret Circle'-placeholder
'The Secret Circle'
The CW

'The Secret Circle'

The day after the season one finale aired, it was announced that the show was canceled -- which means we'll never get answers as to how the teens in this series became witches, or the new crew of kids that join the school.

12/20
'Pushing Daisies'-placeholder
'Pushing Daisies'
ABC

'Pushing Daisies'

With the unique ability to be able to bring people back from the dead, Ned, the main character (played by Lee Pace), never really got a chance to explain himself to the other characters in the show before it was canceled. Because Ned used his power to solve murder mysteries, the show's ending was really a double whammy in the cliffhanger department.

13/20
'Lethal Weapon'-placeholder
'Lethal Weapon'
Fox Network

'Lethal Weapon'

Damon Wayans announced (to the surprise of many) that he would not be returning to Lethal Weapon after the third season. The show ended with the main characters aboard a plane to South America with their respective significant others. After an explosive finale (literally), fans learned that the show was in fact canceled.

14/20
'Off the Map'-placeholder
'Off the Map'
Mario Perez/ABC

'Off the Map'

A group of doctors head to South America for a fresh start in this drama that starred Mamie Gummer, Rachel Lefevre, and Jason George. It ended with one of the locals getting shot while his family's cocaine field is burning in the background.

Want answers?

Yeah, so do we!

15/20
'Chasing Life'-placeholder
'Chasing Life'
Adam Rose/ABC Family

'Chasing Life'

When a young woman is faced with a devastating cancer diagnosis, she spends years fighting the disease, overcoming hardship after hardship. When faced with yet another battle, she packs up and moves to Italy and is left wondering if she should just accept her fate. We'll never know if she chose to fight for her life or accept defeat -- and that just drives us bonkers!

16/20
'Revolution'-placeholder
'Revolution'
NBC

'Revolution'

This post-apocalyptic series about a group of people who fight against the government got canceled after its second season. During the finale, people were summoned to Bradbury, Idaho, and it seemed as if it was all part of the government's plot to keep their control, although we'll never really know for sure.

17/20
'The Event'-placeholder
'The Event'
Jordin Althaus/NBC

'The Event'

The Event is exactly what viewers were deprived of when this show was canceled after only one season. Throughout the run of the show, the characters' attempt to fight off a widespread virus -- only to learn that actual aliens have invaded Earth. The show never got the chance to portray just what would happen after the aliens were discovered.

18/20
'Bored to Death'-placeholder
'Bored to Death'
HBO

'Bored to Death'

This show had pretty low-key plot lines up until its third season which found protagonist, Jonathan Ames (played by Jason Schwartzman) realizing that he had been sleeping with his half-sister. (Totally gross, yes, but also totally enthralling.)

What will these two lovebirds aka siblings do now?

The show was canceled before anyone could find out.

19/20
'V'-placeholder
'V'
Jack Rowand/ABC

'V'

In V, aliens arrive on Earth and seem to play nice with humans. Slowly, they start to reveal their true intentions for domination, and season two made for increasing tension between the aliens and humans that would eventually lead to an all out war. Sadly, the show got canceled before we could see how that played out.

20/20
'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'-placeholder
'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'
Fox Network

'Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'

Even Game of Thrones star Lena Headey wasn't enough to save this Terminator spin-off. It was canceled due to poor ratings after its second season. We see John Connor escape to the future, only to realize that no one has ever heard of him.

So what happened?

Looks like we'll never know.

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