Star Trek: Strange New Worlds & Lower Decks Brought Cliffhangers To Streaming Era

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As a big Star Trek fan, I always thought cliffhangers could work well, and honestly, Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks on Paramount+ already showed us they can! It’s interesting though, because even with those successes, we’re starting to see how tricky cliffhangers are to pull off in the age of streaming. It seems like there are some fundamental challenges we’re running into, especially compared to how The Next Generation with Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner, or even Nemesis‘s writer John Logan, used to approach them.

The two-part episode “The Best of Both Worlds” from Star Trek: The Next Generation set the standard for dramatic cliffhangers in the Star Trek universe. When “Part 1” aired on June 18, 1990, it ended with a shocking twist: Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) was captured and transformed by the Borg into Locutus. Fans anxiously awaited all summer to find out what would happen to him.

Later installments of Star Trek, starting with The Next Generation, kept viewers on the edge of their seats with cliffhangers. This technique was then used in Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. While modern streaming shows often have short seasons and ongoing storylines, Star Trek found a way to still use cliffhangers, though the execution wasn’t always perfect.

Strange New Worlds & Star Trek: Lower Decks Proved TNG-Style Cliffhangers Still Work In Streaming

I was listening to the Dropping Names… And Other Things podcast, and Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, and John Logan were talking about Star Trek: The Next Generation. They all agreed that “The Best of Both Worlds” was a truly shocking cliffhanger, which Frakes pointed out just doesn’t happen much anymore. He explained that with streaming services, shows don’t really do cliffhangers because everything is available right away. You can check out the clip from the podcast right here!

Unlike Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, which told ongoing stories without traditional “To Be Continued…” cliffhangers after short breaks, Star Trek: Lower Decks reintroduced cliffhangers to Paramount+ in October 2021.

The second season of Star Trek: Lower Decks ended with a shocking twist: Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) was arrested for allegedly destroying a Pakled planet. This cliffhanger wasn’t resolved until the premiere of the third season, a year later. Star Trek: Lower Decks was the first Star Trek series on Paramount+ to bring back the traditional episodic format, allowing for storylines that could end with cliffhangers.

The second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ended on a cliffhanger in August 2023 with the finale, “Hegemony.” Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) faced an impossible situation when the USS Enterprise was forced to leave crew members behind after they were captured by the Gorn. At the same time, Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano) was fighting for her life against a deadly Gorn infection.

Strange New Worlds’ Cliffhanger Backfired (But It Wasn’t Their Fault)

The season 2 finale of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds aimed to recapture the exciting cliffhanger endings that Star Trek: The Next Generation was famous for, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite work as planned, and wasn’t well-received – despite the show’s best efforts.

Just as filming for the third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was about to begin in May 2023, the writers went on strike. In July, actors joined them on the picket lines, with both the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA participating in a strike that lasted for seven months.

Once the writers’ and actors’ strikes ended in December 2023, filming for season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds began immediately and lasted almost six months. Even after wrapping up production, Paramount+ decided to wait until June 2025 to release the new season.

It took almost two years for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to finally resolve the cliffhanger from its second season finale, “Hegemony.” This lengthy wait makes the three-month gap between parts of Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s “The Best of Both Worlds” seem short by comparison. The 22-month delay for Strange New Worlds highlights the risks of using cliffhangers in the age of streaming, suggesting they might not be the best strategy.

It’s typical for streaming TV shows, including Star Trek, to have about a year between seasons – and sometimes even less. The 10-month gap between seasons 2 and 3 of Star Trek: Lower Decks actually worked well to resolve a dramatic cliffhanger. However, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds took a much longer time to address its cliffhanger, and this delay might have contributed to the less enthusiastic response to season 3 from fans.

Even with streaming on Paramount+, Star Trek still uses cliffhangers, and they can still build suspense. These work best when episodes are mostly self-contained, like in shows such as Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. While it helps if fans don’t have to wait too long for answers, the gap between seasons isn’t likely to be as short as the summer-long wait audiences experienced before Star Trek: The Next Generation finally resolved its famous cliffhanger involving the Borg.

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2026-02-16 14:19