What a cliffhanger is
A cliffhanger is a plot device in which a story, or one part of it, ends at a moment of high suspense with a crucial question left unanswered. A hero may be in mortal danger, a shocking secret may have just come out, or a life-changing decision may be left hanging. The goal is simple: to make the audience so eager to learn what happens next that they return for the following episode, chapter, or season.
Where the term comes from
Storytellers have used the technique for centuries. In One Thousand and One Nights, Scheherazade survives by leaving each night's story unfinished, so the king keeps her alive to hear the rest. The name itself is often traced to Thomas Hardy's serialized novel A Pair of Blue Eyes, from the 1870s, which left one of its characters literally hanging from a cliff. Serialized fiction in magazines made the trick a reliable way to sell the next issue.
Serials and the silver screen
Film serials of the early twentieth century made the cliffhanger a fixture of popular entertainment. Shown in cinemas one chapter at a time, week after week, they routinely ended with the hero or heroine in apparently hopeless danger, only for the next chapter to reveal the escape. Radio dramas and newspaper comic strips used the same technique to keep audiences tuning in, and it later passed naturally to television.
Cliffhangers on television
Television turned the cliffhanger into a tool for holding viewers across breaks between episodes and seasons. The most famous example is the 1980 season finale of Dallas, which ended with the villain J.R. Ewing shot by an unseen attacker. The question of who shot J.R. became a national obsession, and the episode that revealed the answer drew one of the largest audiences in American television history. Season finales still lean on the trick today.
When cliffhangers backfire
Cliffhangers are powerful, but they carry risks. If a show is canceled before the next season, the story may never be resolved, leaving fans permanently frustrated. Overused cliffhangers can also feel manipulative, especially when the resolution is a cheat, such as revealing that the danger was only a dream. Many writers balance the technique by resolving most of a story's questions while leaving one tantalizing thread open for next time.
The bottom line
A cliffhanger ends a story or episode at a moment of suspense to make the audience desperate for more. From Scheherazade's nightly tales and serialized novels to film serials and television season finales, it has kept audiences coming back for centuries. Used well, it builds excitement and loyalty, and used carelessly, it can leave viewers feeling cheated, which is why the best writers use it with care.
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See also: What is a plot twist? Explained, What is a miniseries? Explained.
Sources
Published date reflects the original event date (2026-10-23). This article is original Skillo editorial written from the sources above; facts were verified in September 2026.
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