Published Feb 16, 2026, 6:00 AM EST
John Orquiola is a New & Classic TV Editor, Senior Writer, and Interviewer with a special focus on Star Trek. John has over 4,000 published articles at SR, and he has interviewed the biggest names in Star Trek on the red carpet and VIP events, among other beloved shows, movies, and franchises.
Contrary to Star Trek: The Next Generation's Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner, and Star Trek: Nemesis writer John Logan, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Lower Decks already proved that cliffhangers can work in Paramount+'s streaming era. However, inherent problems with modern-day cliffhangers in streaming were exposed.
Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Best of Both Worlds" two-parter defined and perfected what became a tradition of Star Trek cliffhangers. Premiering on June 18, 1990, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1" ended with Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) being assimilated by the Borg and turned into Locutus. Fans waited on pins and needles throughout the summer of 1990 to learn Picard's fate.
Star Trek: The Next Generation continued delivering cliffhangers, which were adopted by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. Today, streaming television delivers shorter seasons and serialized storytelling, which would seem to make cliffhangers impossible, but Star Trek adapted the trope for the modern era (albeit not seamlessly).
Strange New Worlds & Star Trek: Lower Decks Proved TNG-Style Cliffhangers Still Work In Streaming
On Dropping Names... And Other Things podcast, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, and John Logan agreed that Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Best of Both Worlds" was "a real cliffhanger, which is unheard of now," according to Frakes, who added, "With streaming, there is no cliffhanger anymore." See the Dropping Names clip below:
While Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, which were heavily serialized, didn't attempt cliffhangers - meaning episodes that end on a suspenseful note that are "To Be Continued..." next season after a relatively short hiatus, Star Trek: Lower Decks brought cliffhangers to Paramount+ in October 2021.
Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2's finale, "First First Contact," ended with a jaw-dropper when Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) was arrested and accused of destroying Pakled planet. The cliffhanger was resolved a year later in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3's premiere. Star Trek: Lower Decks was the first Star Trek on Paramount+ series to revitalize the episodic format, which made cliffhangers an option again.
In August 2023, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds did their own shocking "To Be Continued..." with season 2's finale, "Hegemony." Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) was placed in a no-win scenario when the USS Enterprise was ordered to retreat from the Gorn instead of saving their crew members who were abducted. Meanwhile, Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano) was dying from a Gorn infection.
Strange New Worlds’ Cliffhanger Backfired (But It Wasn’t Their Fault)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' season 2 cliffhanger was designed to be a rebirth of the beloved tradition that was trailblazed by Star Trek: The Next Generation, but, through no fault of Strange New Worlds, it backfired terribly.
As production of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 was set to start in May 2023, the Writer's Guild of America went on strike. In July, the writers were joined by actors and performers as SAG-AFTRA joined the picket lines. The combined WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes lasted 7 months.
Soon after the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes were resolved in December 2023, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 quickly began production, and they filmed for nearly 6 months. After production of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 was completed, Paramount+ opted to hold off on premiering it until June 2025.
As a result, nearly a full 2 years passed before Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 was able to resolve "Hegemony's" cliffhanger. Comparatively, the 3-month wait for Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Best of Both Worlds Part 2" felt quaint. Strange New Worlds' record-setting 22-month wait for a Star Trek cliffhanger resolution proved cliffhangers in the streaming era are fraught with danger and are inadvisable.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds inadvertently pushed waiting for a cliffhanger's conclusion to its extreme.
A year between seasons is standard (and often the minimum) for streaming TV shows, including Star Trek. The 10-month break between Star Trek: Lower Decks seasons 2 and 3 turned out to be a best-case scenario for resolving a cliffhanger. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds inadvertently pushed waiting for a cliffhanger's conclusion to its extreme, and it may have affected fans' overall colder reception for Strange New Worlds season 3.
Cliffhangers are still a thing in Star Trek on Paramount+, and they can still be effective. However, it's ideal if a series is episodic, like Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The TV gods must also favor the series with a relatively short wait, but that interim will not be as brief as the summer-long nail-biter before Star Trek: The Next Generation resolved its seminal Borg cliffhanger.
English (US) ·