Top 10 Biggest Unsolved TV Mysteries
#10: Who Stole Peggy Carter’s File?
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“Agent Carter” (2015-16) Excitement was quite high for “Agent Carter,” one of the first shows under the MCU umbrella. Despite that, it lasted just two seasons and ended on a tantalizing cliffhanger. Jack Thompson is shot by an unseen assailant, who proceeds to steal a redacted file on Carter. Unfortunately, the show was canceled before this storyline could play out, meaning we never learned who shot Jack and stole the file. An answer essentially came a few years later, when producer and writer Jose Molina insinuated that it was Peggy’s presumed-dead brother Michael. While this info is now considered canon by many, it wouldn’t necessarily be known to casual fans.
#9: Who Was Pregnant?
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“Moesha” (1996-2001) A huge hit for UPN in the late ‘90s, “Moesha” was a sitcom following the titular teenager in Los Angeles. However, interest and ratings eventually dropped and the network canceled the program in 2001 following its sixth season. Unfortunately, the story ended on a huge mystery that has never been resolved. A positive pregnancy test is found in Moesha’s dorm, but it’s unclear if this test belongs to Moesha or someone else. The plan ostensibly was to resolve this cliffhanger on spin-off show “The Parkers,” but for whatever reason this never happened. So we’ll just have to use our imaginations and fill in the blanks ourselves.
#8: What Happened to Keeler?
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“24” (2001-10; 2014) This iconic drama was an unbelievable success that drew huge ratings, resulting in nine seasons and a TV movie. Point is, they had plenty of time to resolve the fate of President John Keeler. Keeler was a fixture in the third and fourth seasons but was left in critical condition after Air Force One was shot down. And that was basically the last we heard of him. While the show went on for many more seasons, Keeler’s ultimate fate was never addressed. The writers have given conflicting accounts, with some saying that he survived alive and others that he died. According to writer-producer Howard Gordon, Fox forbade them from killing an American President on-screen, forcing them to pen a more ambiguous fate.
#7: Who Is Earl Jr.’s Father?
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“My Name Is Earl” (2005-09) The fourth season of this popular NBC sitcom ended with the famous “to be continued.” But yeah, no. The series was unexpectedly canceled in 2009, supposedly owing to financial conflicts between the network and studio. And because of this, Earl wasn’t able to finish his list, and we never learned the true paternity of Earl Jr. Creator Greg Garcia conducted a Reddit AMA in 2013 and claimed that the father was going to be someone famous…like Dave Chappelle or Lil Jon. The writers were unable to work out the full plotline owing to the surprise cancellation. So Dave Chappelle might be Earl Jr.’s father. Take that as you will.
#6: What Happened to Judy?
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“Family Matters” (1989-98) Sitcoms have a problem with randomly dropping characters and never bringing it up again. The trope even has a name. It’s called “Chuck Cunningham Syndrome,” which is named after the “Happy Days” character who dropped off the face of the Earth. Another famous example is the sassy Judy Winslow from “Family Matters,” who was unceremoniously written out in the show’s fourth season. Not only did she stop appearing, but the other characters began acting like she never existed in the first place. Various reasons have been given for this, including budget constraints, behind-the-scenes drama, and the growing importance of Steve Urkel over the Winslow family.
#5: What Was Will Going to Say to Alicia?
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“The Good Wife” (2009-16) Some mysteries remain unanswered due to surprise cancellations and network interference. Others are left intentionally ambiguous, as is the case with Will’s call to Alicia in “The Good Wife.” Will Gardner is shot and killed in the appropriately-titled episode “Dramatics, Your Honor,” leaving behind a frustrating voicemail to Alicia. Will is interrupted while on the phone, leaving his motivation for calling Alicia unknown. She spends the whole next episode trying to deduce his message but to no avail. Like Alicia, we are forced to fill in the blanks ourselves, as that’s exactly what the writers intended.
#4: What Happened to Sam?
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“Quantum Leap” (1989-93) There are few endings in TV history as frustrating as “Quantum Leap.” In the original sci-fi adventure, Sam Beckett hops through time to correct past mistakes from history. In the final episode, Sam meets a God-like figure who tells him he can return home if he so desires. Instead, he decides to reunite Beth and Al before venturing into an unknown future. Viewers are given a bizarre title card vaguely informing them that Sam never returned home, and… that was that. Creator Donald Bellisario was unsure if the series was being renewed, so he penned an ending that could work as both a cliffhanger for a new season and an ambiguous series finale. Turns out, the show was not renewed, so we got the latter. The show was rebooted in 2022, but with different main characters.
#3: Who Was The Prince That Was Promised?
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“Game of Thrones” (2011-19) It’s no secret that “Game of Thrones” kind of fell apart at the end. As a result, many mysteries were either ignored completely or given unsatisfactory conclusions. For example, the famous R+L=J theory, as Jon Snow’s lineage didn’t really amount to anything. And what about The Prince That Was Promised? The identity of the prophesied savior was never revealed, although many assume that it was Jon. But this is far from confirmed, and it could also be Rhaenyra, Stannis, or Daenerys, as “prince” in this case is gender neutral. Making the situation trickier is that the prophecy was not fully adapted from the novels, so non-book readers were left even more confused.
#2: What Was With the Numbers?
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“Lost” (2004-10) “Lost” left behind a questionable legacy following a disappointing ending that left many threads dangling. One of the biggest was the importance of Walt and his mysterious abilities. But there are bigger questions - like what the heck was with the numbers? We know they corresponded to the candidates, but that doesn’t really address all of their mystery. Why do they pop up everywhere? Why exactly were they broadcasting from the radio tower? Why were they special and powerful? Apparently they’re a part of the “Valenzetti Equation” that predicts the end of humanity, but you’d have to play the game “The Lost Experience” to know that. It’s just a tangle of mythology that has no real satisfactory answers.
#1: Did Tony Die?
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“The Sopranos” (1999-2007) “Made in America” is one of the most divisive ending episodes in TV history, drawing both acclaim and criticism for its ambiguous ending. Some argue that Tony definitely died. Some argue that he didn’t. Some argue that it’s the paranoid tone of the scene that matters rather than its explicit outcome. Regardless, the mystery of Tony’s fate has drawn a wide array of interpretations and is still hotly debated to this day. Creator David Chase has seemingly confirmed in various interviews that Tony dies, but then again he is adamant that these quotes were misinterpreted and taken out of context. Ironically, this has only fueled the debate even more, with Chase’s comments proving just as ambiguous as the ending he produced.
