The 8 most shocking TV cliffhangers of 2026 so far
The 8 most shocking TV cliffhangers of 2026 so far
Britt HayesThu, May 28, 2026 at 2:20 PM UTC
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Kaitlin Olson on 'High Potential'; Donnie Wahlberg with Marisa Ramirez on 'Boston Blue'; Luke Grimes on 'Marshals'
Credit: ABC; CBS (2)
Warning: This article contains spoilers for... well, a lot of 2026 TV season finales.
Another TV season is winding down, which means several of our favorite network shows are wrapping things up with good old-fashioned cliffhanger finales, ensuring we'll be tuning in when they eventually return.
Several dramas recently ended their seasons with the fates of key characters hanging in the balance, including High Potential and Yellowstone spinoff Marshals, while others concluded in the midst of a major conflict, like NCIS and 9-1-1: Nashville.
Either way, our jaws have been adequately dropped, our nerves properly racked, and our nails thoroughly bitten by the end of each episode. Thankfully, these shows have all been renewed for new seasons, but some aren't returning until midseason, making the wait a little more excruciating.
Below, we break down the most shocking season finale cliffhangers of 2026 — so far.
01 of 08
High Potential
Jennifer Jason Leigh and Clancy Brown on 'High Potential'
Credit: Disney/Raymond Liu
High Potential season 2 really went out with a bang.
Armed with incriminating evidence, Morgan (Kaitlin Olson) and Wagner (Steve Howey) convince fixer Willa Quinn (Jennifer Jason Leigh) to divulge more details about Morgan's missing ex and the father of her oldest daughter, Roman Sinquerra.
It turns out Roman was in bed with a corrupt FBI agent named Lyla Flynn. Even worse, he's suspected of murdering Lyla, and Willa helped the agency "bury" the case. It's enough to convince Morgan that maybe some mysteries are better left unsolved, but Major Crimes boss Selena Soto (Judy Reyes) tells her it's too late to back down.
At the end of the season 2 finale, Morgan is at her daughter Ava's art show when she gets a call from Wagner, who asks her to meet him at a park to discuss intel he received from an "FBI ghost." But when Morgan arrives, she finds Wagner bleeding out on a bench, having apparently been shot or possibly stabbed. Back at the art show, a shadowy figure — possibly Roman? — is watching Ava.
Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that Howey won't be a series regular in season 3, which means this could very well be the end of the line for him. Will he make a surprise recovery? Will we finally meet the mysterious Roman?
"We've been talking about it for a couple years now, trying to figure [it] out," Olson told PEOPLE. "But no matter where [Roman] was, if he's still alive, and he has stayed away from her and his daughter for this long, I think she's going to be livid. I'm not sure there's any excuse that's going to be one that makes it okay."
We'll have to wait a little longer for answers, as ABC is moving High Potential to midseason for season 3, meaning we won't see the Major Crimes gang again until early 2027.
02 of 08
Boston Blue
Donnie Wahlberg and Marisa Ramirez on 'Boston Blue'
Credit: Ian Watson/CBS
Donnie Wahlberg's Danny Reagan officially relocated from New York to Boston for Boston Blue, which just ended its first season. The Blue Bloods spinoff sees Danny trading one police family for another, teaming up with new partner Det. Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green), who is similarly part of a respected law enforcement dynasty.
The season wraps up as Lena finally meets her birth father, Chris Williams (Erik King), who also happens to be a police chief just outside of Boston, and her half-sister, Kristina (Alisha Wainwright). During EW's chat with showrunners Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier about the finale, the pair confirmed that we'll be seeing more of Lena's extended family in season 2, but the reunion might not be a happy one for long. "Be careful what you wish for because there could be other consequences you didn't anticipate," Margolis warned.
There's also the matter of Lena's boyfriend, Det. Brian Rodgers (Ryan Broussard), who might be breaking things off to move to Washington, D.C. for a new job with the DEA. Boston Blue's first season ends on a cliffhanger, as an unknown assailant intentionally rams Brian with a truck, pushing his car into the river.
The showrunners wouldn't confirm Brian's fate, with Sonnier only offering, "Whether he's with us next year or not, it galvanizes [the] family."
CBS officially renewed Boston Blue for season 2, which will premiere this fall.
03 of 08
Marshals
Luke Grimes on 'Marshals'
Credit: Fred Hayes/CBS
Hasn't Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) been through enough? Based on the first season of the Yellowstone spinoff Marshals, the answer is no.
After weathering the deaths of his father and wife, Kayce is charting a new path for his life with the U.S. Marshals, joining a crew that includes Cal (Logan Marshall-Green), Belle (Arielle Kebbel), Cruz (Ash Santos), and Miles (Tatanka Means). He's also determined to break the Dutton family's cycle of violence and prevent his son, Tate (Breckin Merrill), from getting trapped in it.
At the center of the first season is the Broken Rock reservation and Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), the chairman of the Confederated Tribes of Broken Rock. Rainwater's environmental advocacy and attempts to stop the development of a rare earth mine have drawn the attention of nefarious "dark forces." Having survived attempted assassinations and bombings, Rainwater isn't particularly surprised when his team is ambushed en route to a pivotal meeting with a local senator.
The finale's climax unfolds at East Camp, with Kayce and the marshals battling masked shooters who converge on the ranch. The marshals initially suspect Rainwater's adversary on the Broken Rock council, Nathan Irons (Gary Nohealii), who is found dead of an apparent suicide. A subsequent investigation reveals that Irons was probably murdered, and the marshals find a security video from East Camp that shows a ranch hand making a phone call just before the attack. Meanwhile, concerned for his son's safety, Kayce allows Tate to go on a fishing trip with Tom Weaver (Chris Mulkey), the wealthy rancher who unsuccessfully tried to buy East Camp.
Marshals season 1 ends with Cal and Belle paying that ranch hand a visit — only to find him dead, too. We see Jeb, Weaver's ranch foreman, driving away as a pair of assailants open fire on Cal and Belle. Who is really pulling the strings in Broken Rock? What does Weaver want with the land? Is he going to hurt Tate?
Season 2 of Marshals will premiere sometime this fall on CBS.
04 of 08
Paradise
Sterling K Brown on 'Paradise'
Credit: Ser Baffo
The second season of Hulu's Paradiseends with the destruction of the underground bunker that gives the series its name. But that doesn't mean there isn't more story to tell. Perhaps you've heard of Alex?
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Alex is an AI-controlled quantum computer highly coveted by the enigmatic Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson). Why? Because it might just have the power to both predict the future and manipulate time itself. Link (Thomas Doherty), who helped create Alex before the apocalypse, wants to destroy it. When he and his crew of followers storm Paradise with the intention of doing so, they unintentionally help bring about the bunker's meltdown.
Though Sinatra dies in Paradise's collapse, she seems oddly at peace. That's because she believes Alex — which is located in a second bunker under the ruins of the Denver airport — has the ability to stop all of this destruction from ever happening in the first place. She just needs someone to "activate" Alex. That person is Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown).
"What makes you think I'll do any of this?" Xavier asks.
"I believe you already have," Sinatra replies.
Paradise has been renewed for a third season, which will likely be its last.
05 of 08
Rocky Carroll on 'NCIS'
Credit: CBS
After more than 20 seasons on the air, NCISis still keeping us on our toes. Season 23 kicked off with a major revelation: McGee (Sean Murray) has an 18-year-old son named Mateo (guest star Patrick Keleher) that he never knew about. McGee and Mateo spend much of the season getting to know one another, with Mateo learning all about his dad's job with NCIS.
The plot takes a dark turn in the finale, when Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) discovers that Mateo used one of the office computers to apply for a job, despite claiming that he wasn't interested in an internship. But the application Mateo filled out vanished. Torres confronts an erratic and anxious Mateo, who has a gun and says, "They could be watching." We hear a shot fired, and then... the episode ends, leaving NCIS on one heck of a cliffhanger. Did Mateo shoot Torres? Did Torres shoot Mateo? Did one of them shoot someone else? What's going on?!
Of course, CBS has renewed NCIS for season 24, which will premiere this fall.
06 of 08
NCIS: Origins
Mariel Molino on 'NCIS: Origins'
Credit: Erik Voake/CBS
Not to be outdone, prequel series NCIS: Origins just concluded its second season, with the Camp Pendleton team successfully saving their office from closure and the NIS officially rebranding to — drumroll, please — NCIS.
It's been a busy season for Camp Pendleton, and for Lala (Mariel Molino) in particular, who recovers from the harrowing car crash at the end of season 1 only to endure a scandal that forces her to consider entering witness protection and leaving young Gibbs (Austin Stowell) behind. Faced with the possibility of losing Lala, Gibbs asks her to stay, and the two finally share a long-awaited kiss.
But the season 2 finale can't end without teeing up season 3. While Lala and Gibbs are enjoying their cute moment, and the team is celebrating its rebranding to NCIS, their colleague Randy (Caleb Foote) is kidnapped by unknown assailants. Who took Randy? And why?
CBS renewed NCIS: Origins, which returns this fall with a shortened season 3, per Deadline.
07 of 08
9-1-1: Nashville
LeAnn Rimes on '9-1-1: Nashville'
Credit: Jake Giles Netter/ABC
9-1-1: Nashville proved a worthy spinoff in its debut season, which introduced us to the Station 113 crew and veteran firefighter and rodeo rider Capt. Don Hart (Chris O'Donnell). Don is is married to the wealthy Blythe (Jessica Capshaw) and father to young firefighter Ryan (Michael Provost). The first season immediately put the team through their paces when a huge tornado descended upon a country music festival.
After successfully captaining Station 113 through one disaster after another, including a distillery explosion and a cyberattack, you'd think Don capable of defeating any challenge that comes his way. But then there's Dixie Bennings (LeAnn Rimes), a ruthless country singer and the thorn in Don's side.
During a brief period of separation from Blythe, Don had a fling with Dixie, resulting in the birth of his other son, Blue (Hunter McVey). Dixie subsequently prevented Don from seeing Blue for much of his life, using his existence to threaten and extort Don.
Those tensions come to a head in the finale, when Don reluctantly agrees to sleep with Dixie so she'll stop making diss tracks about Blythe. Thankfully, Don decides not to go through with it, but not before Dixie shows Blythe the text messages she exchanged with Don about their little "agreement." Dixie and Blythe's confrontation takes a violent turn, and the finale ends in the middle of their wild and very physical fight.
According to showrunner Rashad Raisani, the fight they filmed with Dixie and Blythe was much longer than what we saw in the 9-1-1: Nashville finale. "I just thought it was more shocking and compelling to just cut it off at a moment of explosion and not play it all the way through this sort of big, choreographed fight," Raisani told TV Insider. "What I can say is that we will pay it off in Season 2, but we may make the audience wonder a little bit for a while about exactly what happened, how injured everybody was, and what happened after."
Season 2 will premiere sometime this fall on ABC.
08 of 08
The Rookie
Bridget Regan on 'The Rookie'
Credit: The-Rookie-0504
The Rookie always leaves us hanging. Throughout season 8, Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) has been watching his back, waiting for nefarious crime boss Heath Everett (Jeffrey Vincent Parise) to exact revenge after Tim rejected his bribe. It also seemed like Wesley Evers (Shawn Ashmore) had switched sides when he started working with Everett's team. By the end of the season, Everett is captured once again by the LAPD after escaping prison, and we learn that Wesley has been working as a double agent.
The season finale gives everyone a minute to enjoy a sigh of relief, and finally sets our dear Chenford up for a happily ever after when Tim proposes to Lucy (Melissa O'Neill) on the beach — and she accepts!
Unfortunately, the couple won't be riding off into the sunset just yet: a couple of Everett's associates sneak up on the celebratory couple, inject them with tranquilizers, and kidnap them. Everett may be back behind bars, but he still has a score to settle with Tim.
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Per THR, ABC renewed The Rookie for season 9, which premieres in early 2027.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
