‘9-1-1,’ ‘CSI: Vegas,’ ‘When Calls the Heart’ & More of the Best TV Cliffhangers of 2023
You know what we can’t help but both love and dread when it comes to our favorite shows? A really good, juicy cliffhanger, at the end of a season or just a regular episode. There’s something about that screen fading to black and not knowing what will come next — and immediately calculating how long the wait will be for an answer — that draws us in.
This past year, of course, had plenty of those, whether lives were hanging in the balance (such as on 9-1-1 and even an entire team on FBI: International), a character proposed (Chicago Fire) or was arrested (CSI: Vegas), or we were left wondering what exactly happened to someone (When Calls the Heart) or how far an agent might go (NCIS). Barry ended one episode leaving us wondering if what we saw actually was reality, while Outlander had us questioning when and where a character is.
Below, we take a look back at those moments and more memorable cliffhangers on TV in 2023.
9-1-1: Buck struck by lighting
The first responder drama is known for its intense sequences, and it returned from a hiatus with one in the midseason premiere, “In a Flash”: Buck (Oliver Stark) was struck by lightning. The rest of the 118 could only stand and watch as he fell off the ladder and was hanging for a heart-stopping few moments until they all leapt into action … and rushed him to the hospital in full cardiac arrest! It all stemmed from a simple pitch: “Buck dies.”
Barry: That eight-year time jump
To be honest, we had no idea what to think at the end of “It Takes a Psycho,” when the HBO dark comedy showed Barry (Bill Hader) and Sally (Sarah Goldberg) not only together but appearing to have had a son together. (The following episode would go on to confirm that what we saw was real and detail their life together, which, to put it simply, was not great.)
Chicago Fire: Casey’s proposal and Mouch’s injury
With the potentially joyful came the horrific in the Season 11 finale. Mouch (Christian Stolte), after getting injured on the job, was last seen possibly bleeding out in the hospital as Herrmann (David Eigenberg) could only call for a doctor. Firehouse 51 could very well be about to lose one of its veteran firefighters. Then, Casey (Jesse Spencer) proposed to his ex-girlfriend Brett (Kara Killmer) as she was poised to adopt a baby she met on a call — and we were left to wait for her answer. (With Killmer exiting some time in Season 12, it’s very possible she could say yes.)
CSI: Vegas: Is Josh a murderer?
In the Season 2 finale of the procedural drama, Josh (Matt Lauria) learned his mother (Lolita Davidovich) was murdered and then ran his own investigation into what happened. Things got… dark: He tricked someone he thought only knew who killed Jeanette into thinking he was bleeding out (using blood bags). But that same man turned out to be the one who killed his mother, and then his body was found by the rest of the team. The episode ended with Max (Paula Newsome) and Serena (Ariana Guerra) tracking him down and Josh letting himself be cuffed. Even Lauria couldn’t rule out the possibility that Josh did commit murder when TV Insider spoke with him about the episode.
FBI: International: The entire Fly Team was blown up
After getting a win in the Season 2 finale case — they secured a missile and had an arms broker in custody — the Fly Team realized they were being targeted. Someone delivered something to the first floor of the building in which their headquarters is located, and Scott (Luke Kleintank), Jamie (Heida Reed), Vo (Vinessa Vidotto), Smitty (Eva-Jane Willis), and Powell (Greg Hovanessian) were all last seen inside before the bomb went off. Raines (Carter Redwood) was on the street, but the explosion blew him back and he was last seen unconscious. We now know Reed is exiting the series, but it’s unclear when, so there’s no way of knowing who might not have survived that blast.
Ghosts: Who was sucked off?
We might have to face a Season 3 without one of our favorite spirits! The Season 2 finale ended with quite the cliffhanger: Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) could only watch as someone was clearly “sucked off” — a ghost crossing over to what is thought to be some sort of heaven — from inside Woodstone Mansion. Was it one of the regulars — Alberta (Danielle Pinnock), Pete (Richie Moriarty), Thorfinn (Devan Chandler Long), Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones), Trevor (Asher Grodman), Hetty (Rebecca Wisocky), Sasappis (Román Zaragoza), or Flower (Sheila Carrasco)? Was it someone from the basement?
NCIS: Will Torres pull the trigger?
The Season 20 finale, “Black Sky,” ended with Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) pulling his gun not in an official capacity and seemingly threatening to kill a man with whom he shared a past. “The bastard’s still alive, and he’s still doing it,” he’d said earlier in a voicemail for his sister. Torres then waited for the man to come home and told him he wanted “what I always wanted … to watch you die.” Given comments from finale cowriter David J. North and executive producer Steven D. Binder, we can’t rule out Torres crossing a line.
Outlander: Where is Jemmy?
Talk about a cliffhanger to leave fans wanting as short a Droughtlander as possible: The midseason finale ended with Jemmy’s (Blake Johnston-Miller) whereabouts (and when-abouts?) still unknown. Rob Cameron (Chris Fulton) kidnapped Roger (Richard Rankin) and Brianna’s (Sophie Skelton) son in Episode 7, and with the kid’s scarf near the standing stones at Craigh Na Dun, time travel is involved. But to when? And will Roger and Buck (Diarmaid Murtagh) end up in the same time?
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: How many more will die because of the Gorn?
When Batel (Melanie Scrofano) and her crew ran into trouble with the Gorn, Pike (Anson Mount) and the Enterprise came to their rescue in the Season 2 finale. However, Batel was infected — the Enterprise lost Hemmer (Bruce Horak) because of that in Season 1 — and it’s likely their attempts to help her will be for naught. Plus, La’an (Christina Chong), M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), Ortegas (Melissa Navia), and Sam (Dan Jeannotte), along with others, were thought to be beamed back to the Enterprise … only to be taken by the Gorn. It’s very possible that the Gorn might take the life of at least one member of Starfleet we’ve come to love.
When Calls the Heart: What happened to Lucas?
Given comments since, we know that Lucas (Chris McNally) is still very much part of the Hallmark Channel drama, but Season 10 ended with quite the mystery surrounding him. After he won the election (for governor), a car pulled up as he was leaving his office in Capital City. “What are you doing here?” he asked whoever was inside. Then, interrupting a moment, in the last scene, Bill (Jack Wagner) found Elizabeth (Erin Krakow) and Nathan (Kevin McGarry) to tell them, “It’s Lucas. I need you both now.” What happened?
