Some thrillers leave audiences with more questions than answers — and that’s what makes the genre so addictive. The best thriller shows reveal just enough information for viewers to piece together their own theories, only to pull the rug out from under them with an unexpected twist. It’s already difficult to tell who’s truly good or bad, but when the story starts presenting different versions of the same truth, every revelation only heightens the mystery.
That’s where cliffhangers come in. Designed to keep viewers on edge, they end episodes at the worst possible moment, tempting audiences to hit “next episode” in search of answers — only to be met with even more questions. Without further ado, here are seven thriller shows that are a masterclass in cliffhangers.
1
‘Bosch’ (2014–2021)
Titus Welliver in BoschImage via Prime Video
Murky police politics, corrupt commissioners, and hidden agendas — Boschis never one to offer straightforward conclusions. LAPD Homicide Detective Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) constantly finds himself in the middle of murder investigations. What he doesn’t expect is that certain cases either connect or are merely pieces of a much larger conspiracy involving not only the police department, but also the highest levels of Los Angeles politics.
Almost every episode ends on an uneasy cliffhanger. Just when audiences think they’ve identified the killer, another character suddenly turns up with an alibi, or the prime suspect ends up dead instead. Some of the series’ biggest jaw-dropping moments include the shocking daylight murder of Bosch’s ex-wife, the revelation that his mother’s killer is none other than the President of the Los Angeles Police Commission, and Bosch’s sudden resignation at the end of Season 7 — a moment that ultimately sets up his post-LAPD life in Bosch: Legacy perfectly.
2
‘Sherlock’ (2010–2017)
Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) peers inquisitively to something as he stands outside at night with an orange blanket draped around his shoulders in ‘Sherlock’.Image via BBC
No detective story is more globally iconic than Sherlock. This 21st-century adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic tales follows Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman) as they tackle the author’s most elaborate cases with a modern twist. Armed with DNA analysis, digital footprints, and state-of-the-art forensics, solving crimes is easier than ever. But when it comes to hunting dangerous criminals, even the latest technology can’t prepare the sleuthing duo for what lies ahead.
If fans think the books hold all the answers to Sherlock‘s biggest cliffhangers, think again. The series takes creative liberties with Sir Doyle’s stories to keep viewers guessing over whether certain characters are truly dead or alive. From the return of Moriarty (Andrew Scott) and Sherlock’s “presumed” death to Watson’s fate after being shot in the face, these cliffhangers reinvent the Sherlockian lore while staying true to the spirit of the original stories.
There are many ways to get someone out of jail. In Prison Break, Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) purposely gets himself incarcerated to break out his brother, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell), who is sentenced for a murder he did not commit. For the escape plan itself, he’s got it all tattooed across his entire upper body. Sounds like a foolproof plan, but practice has a nasty way of betraying theory.
Prison Break promises escape, but never guarantees safety. Most of the cliffhangers revolve around Michael and Lincoln having the rug pulled out from under them just as they’re an arm’s length away from freedom. Just when they think they’ve reached the light at the end of the tunnel, that very escape tunnel literally collapses. The season finales are even more unforgiving, from Michael’s heartbreaking sacrifice in “The Final Break” to the mind-blowing revelation years later that Michael is actually alive and imprisoned in Yemen under another identity.
Collider Exclusive · Action Hero Quiz Which Action Hero Would Be Your Perfect Partner? Rambo · James Bond · Indiana Jones · John McClane · Ethan Hunt
Five legends. Five completely different ways of getting out alive — with style, with muscle, with charm, with luck, or with a plan so intricate it probably shouldn’t work. Ten questions will reveal which action hero was built to have your back.
🎖️Rambo
🍸James Bond
🏺Indiana Jones
🔧John McClane
🎭Ethan Hunt
01
You’re dropped into a dangerous situation with no warning. What do you need most from a partner? The first few seconds tell you everything about who belongs beside you.
02
You have to get somewhere dangerous, fast. How do you travel? How you get there is half the mission.
03
You’re pinned down and outnumbered. What does your ideal partner do? This is when you find out what someone is really made of.
04
The mission is paused. You have one evening to decompress. What does your partner suggest? Who someone is when the pressure drops is who they actually are.
05
How do you prefer your partner to communicate mid-mission? Good communication is the difference between partners and a liability.
06
Your enemy is powerful, well-resourced, and has the upper hand. How should your partner approach them? The approach to the enemy defines the partnership.
07
Things go badly wrong and you’re captured. What do you trust your partner to do? Who someone is when you need them most is the only thing that matters.
08
What does your ideal partner bring to the table that you couldn’t replace? A great partner fills the gap you didn’t know you had.
09
Every partnership has a cost. Which of these can you live with? No one comes without baggage. The question is whether you can carry it together.
10
It’s the final moment. Everything is on the line. What do you need from your partner right now? The last question is the most honest one.
Your Partner Has Been Assigned Your Perfect Partner Is…
Your answers have pointed to one action hero above all others. This is the person built to have your back — for better or considerably, spectacularly worse.
Rambo
Your partner doesn’t talk much, doesn’t need to, and will have assessed every threat in your immediate environment before you’ve finished your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics — he is a force of nature shaped by survival, loyalty, and a capacity for endurance that goes beyond anything training can produce. He will not leave you behind. He has never left anyone behind who deserved to come home. What you get with Rambo is the most capable, most quietly ferocious partner imaginable — one who has been through things that would have broken anyone else, and who chose to keep going anyway. You’ll never need to ask if he has your back. You’ll just know.
James Bond
Your partner will arrive perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story so convincing it’ll take you a moment to remember what’s actually true. James Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he enters — and the most disarmingly charming, which is the point. He operates in a world of layers, where nothing is what it appears and every advantage is used without apology. You’ll never be bored. You’ll occasionally be furious. But when it matters — when the mission is genuinely on the line and the margin for error has collapsed to nothing — Bond is exactly the partner you want. He has survived things that have no business being survivable. He does it with style. That is not nothing.
Indiana Jones
Your partner will know the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is actually the most important thing in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless, and occasionally impossible — but he is also one of the most resourceful, most genuinely knowledgeable partners you could find yourself beside. He approaches every situation with a scholar’s eye and a brawler’s instinct, which is an unusual combination and a remarkably effective one. He hates snakes and gets personally attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It doesn’t matter. What Indy brings is irreplaceable — and the adventures you’ll have together will be the kind people write books about. Assuming you survive them.
John McClane
Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything approaching the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and an absolute refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it looks. John McClane is the greatest accidental hero in the history of action cinema — a man whose superpower is stubbornness, whose contingency plan is improvisation, and whose capacity to absorb punishment and keep moving would be alarming if it weren’t so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will make it significantly more chaotic than it needed to be. And he will absolutely, unconditionally, without question come through when it counts. Yippee-ki-yay.
Ethan Hunt
Your partner has already run seventeen scenarios by the time you’ve finished reading the briefing, and the plan he’s settled on involves at least two things that should be physically impossible. Ethan Hunt operates at the absolute edge of human capability — technically, physically, and intellectually — and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organisations that shouldn’t exist. He is not easy to know and he will never fully tell you everything. But he will carry the weight of the mission so completely, so absolutely, that your job is simply to trust him — and the remarkable thing is that trusting him always turns out to be the right call. The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway.
4
‘The Night Manager’ (2016–Present)
Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine in ‘The Night Manager’ Season 2Image via Prime Video
The Night Manager follows Jonathan Pine (Tom Hiddleston), a former British soldier who trades the battlefield for a quiet job managing a luxury hotel. His life takes a dangerous turn when a guest he promised to protect is murdered, leading him to go undercover and infiltrate the inner circle of notorious arms dealer Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie). As Pine earns Roper’s trust, every move brings him closer to exposing the criminal empire while putting his own identity and life at risk.
The Night Manager keeps audiences on edge with the constant uncertainty surrounding Pine’s undercover mission. Nearly every episode ends with his cover hanging by a thread, leaving viewers wondering whether Roper has uncovered the truth or if Pine can talk his way out of yet another impossible situation. Even when Pine believes he’s cleared Roper’s suspicions, Roper’s associates often have doubts of their own, raising the stakes even further. With Pine just one mistake away from being exposed, the show’s cliffhangers only become more intense.
5
‘Lost’ (2004–2010)
The cast of ‘Lost.’Image via ABC
When you’re stranded on a mysterious island in the South Pacific after a plane crash, you’re bound to have a lot of questions. Lostconstantly keeps viewers guessing, from why the plane crashed and where the survivors really are to whether anyone will ever rescue them. With no idea what the island truly holds or if they’ll ever make it home, life there feels like purgatory, where the only certainty is the emotional baggage each survivor brings with them.
For an island in the middle of nowhere, there’s certainly no shortage of mysteries in Lost. Its cliffhangers often center on the survivors’ fates as they face increasingly bizarre situations, from kidnappings and disappearances to seemingly impossible escapes that leave viewers questioning who’s dead or alive. The season finales also peel back the island’s secrets, revealing an intricate mythology where the island can move, time travel is possible, and nothing is ever quite as it seems.
Becoming dirt poor can do strange things to a cancer-ridden chemistry teacher. Breaking Badfollows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a desperate man who enters the drug trade to secure his family’s future after his cancer diagnosis. While his partner Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) has more experience, Walter quickly proves himself capable of building a respectable operation. Much of Breaking Bad’s conflicts come from Walter claiming his power, and in turn, the people around him slowly losing theirs.
As Walter’s empire grows, his associates and rivals start losing their influence, which rarely ends well when they realize they can no longer control the man they helped create. These power shifts are what make up some of the show’s most brutal cliffhangers. Whether it is Walter eliminating threats, losing control of his empire, or pushing Jesse to the brink of betrayal, each turning point shows just how far he has fallen. Alliances fall apart, trust disappears, and everyone around him is forced to deal with the consequences.
7
‘Silo’ (2023–Present)
Rebecca Ferguson in “Silo,” premiering July 3, 2026 on Apple TV.Image via Apple TV
When you’re stuck with roughly 10,000 people in one silo, the last thing you want to do is ruffle the feathers of the people in charge. Silofollows accidental rebel Juliette Nichols (Rebecca Ferguson), who is unexpectedly appointed sheriff while grieving the unexplained death of her lover. As she settles into the role, she begins uncovering disturbing secrets, realizing that the silo’s leaders have been hiding the truth about the world they live in.
The mystery surrounding the silo is what makes Silo‘s cliffhangers so effective. Nobody knows why the silos were built or why humanity is living inside them. The only thing everyone has ever been told is that stepping outside means certain death, making it the ultimate punishment. But with every cliffhanger, Juliette discovers another lie, slowly unraveling everything the silo has taught its people to believe. By the time she finally steps outside, viewers are led to believe she’s as good as dead, only for the series to reveal that the truth about the world is far more shocking than anyone imagined.
