Why Do Television Seasons So Often End With Cliffhangers?
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on May 26, 2016, 2:49 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
Many television series that I have followed have seasons that end with cliffhangers, which greatly annoys me, since that means that the audience shall need to wait for several months to see the resolution of the plotline, and it also means that the audience shall need to commit to another season, which they may not wish to do.
For example, I started watching Bones during its seventh season, and that season, as well as its eighth and ninth seasons, all ended with cliffhangers, which meant that I could not simply stop following that series; I had to continue to follow it to see the resolution of each plotline, which became very tiresome after several seasons, so I was very glad when its tenth season ended with no major cliffhangers, allowing me to finally stop following the series. Also, there is the risk that a series shall not be renewed after its current season ends, as happened with The Finder, so I believe that it is better to not end a season with any cliffhangers, in the case that that happens.
Three series that I followed that avoided this trend were Legend of Korra, Justice League, and Teen Titans; while there was continuity throughout the entire duration of each of those series, each season had its own self-contained plot and each season finale was written so that it could have been a potential series finale (with the exception of the final episode of Teen Titans), in the case that the series was not renewed for another season. I believe that all television series should do this, to avoid unresolved cliffhangers and also save the viewers from needing to commit to a series for one season after another.
What does everyone else say about this? Why do so many television series have seasons that end with cliffhangers?
Epochalyptik says... #3
You answered your own question. They obviously want to generate viewer interest because that translates to more viewers, which means the stations can charge more for ads and the producers can make more from merchandising.
May 26, 2016 3:38 p.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #4
they end with cliffhangers because that way they can guarantee a larger number of views during the next season's run, allowing for a greater profit.
May 26, 2016 7:21 p.m.
EXCALIBRAHHHH says... #5
That is exactly it, the human mind is conditioned to focus more on things we are yet to get closure for
May 26, 2016 9:10 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #7
Lightpulsar9, DERPLINGSUPREME, Epochalyptik, in that case, what happens in situations when a television series is not renewed and it has unresolved plotlines? Given the uncertainty of the industry, and the number of television series that have ended on cliffhangers, would it not be sensible to have a season end with no significant cliffhangers, to avoid that fate?
If I were a writer of a television series, I would specifically ensure that each season ended fairly conclusively, as did those of the three series that I mentioned above, to avoid this horrible fate, and, if I were the executive producer of a series, I would deliberately not reveal to the writers and actors whether or not I was renewing their series for another season until after the current season had finished, to discourage them from ending the season with a cliffhanger.
TheDevicer, from where is that image, and why did you post it here?
May 26, 2016 11:14 p.m.
It's from the season 2 finale of Rick and Morty. No real spoilers in that video. Well, not any spoilers that will ruin the show in some large fashion anyways. It's relevant to this thread.
May 26, 2016 11:47 p.m.
DERPLINGSUPREME says... #9
@DemonDragonJ they've canceled series before resolving them. Think way back to "Visitors". It was about reptilian aliens and such. It ended in the middle of the beginning of a war :|
May 26, 2016 11:58 p.m.
EXCALIBRAHHHH says... #10
Also, from a writing stand point, it gives them a jump start on writing the next season
May 27, 2016 3:30 a.m.
so ummm, what do you guys think of attack on titan in this case? I hated every episode because the cliffhangers were so strong I couldn't stop watching it! (I do actually love it, but the cliffhangers were kinda obnoxious.)
Lightpulsar9 says... #2
I think it's because they want you to keep watching, and get you hooked. If they can get you to watch the beginning of another season to resolve the plotline, then they can most likely try and get you hooked for the rest of the season, and repeat until you're too involved in the show to put it down. I prefer watching everything on netflix after a few seasons just because of this reason.
May 26, 2016 2:56 p.m.