Science fiction exploded on television in the 1990s. Though it had always been a focal point of the format for decades, thanks to the likes of The Twilight Zone and Star Trek among others, the ’90s saw it explode with the debut of shows that would not only influence the genre but TV as a format, including The X-Files, Babylon 5, Stargate SG-1, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. These shows became support beams and remain beloved by fans, with talks of reboots for most of them still popping up every few years despite all of them largely having a completed story.
Another key sci-fi TV show that was released in the 1990s that has been a genre favorite is Sliders. Starring Jerry O’Connell, Sabrina Lloyd, Cleavant Derricks, and John Rhys-Davies, Sliders followed a group of people traveling between the multiverse and visiting alternate Earths that have vastly different histories and circumstances than our own. The series had its ups and downs across its five seasons, but no moment has stuck with fans quite like the series finale, which aired on TV 26 years ago today, February 4, 2000, leaving fans on a cliffhanger that has still never been addressed.
26 Years Ago, Sliders Ended on a Major Cliffhanger
With each new episode of Sliders, the team found themselves on alternate Earths that posed unique questions that fundamentally changed society. Episodes in the series include “What if Britain won the American Revolution?” and “What if intelligence was celebrated like athleticism?” There were countless other “what ifs” that the series explored as well, like “What if Prohibition never ended?” and “What if Egypt remained a global superpower?” Despite these singular storylines that Sliders would get into week after week, it did have a larger narrative arc across the show: how would the team get back home to Earth Prime and return to their own world? Later still, another thread was added in the form of the alien invaders, the Kromaggs, who also travel between realities to conquer various Earths.
This brings us to the series finale. Though Jerry O’Connell and John Rhys-Davies had long departed the series by this point, the show’s last episode of Season 5 put the characters in a unique place, having arrived on an alternate Earth where the sliders themselves were celebrities and their exploits were shown on a TV series. This meta-twist on the idea was a hilarious one at first, but it naturally delivered a surprise finale twist as a psychic on this Earth predicts they will die the next time that they slide, a warning they all take seriously despite their timer being damaged beyond repair.
After finding leftover Kromagg technology on this alternate Earth, the Sliders find themselves in possession of a virus that can actually eliminate the series’ villains, along with a Kromagg sliding machine that might finally get them home. Naturally, with the prophecy in mind, there’s another twist, as it becomes clear that the unstable vortex can only carry one of them as they attempt to return to Earth Prime and finally eliminate the Kromagg. As they try to decide who will carry out the mission, Rembrandt (Cleavant Derricks) injects himself with the virus and leaps into the portal to not only sacrifice himself potentially but also finally eliminate the threat, closing the vortex behind him…And that’s it. Sliders ended right there, with no new season or episodes ordered after that point, nor even a comic book, cartoon, or Sliders reunion special to wrap things up.
A Sliders Reboot Could Finally Answer This Decades-Old Question
In the more than two decades since Sliders went off the air and frustrated fans, the series simply won’t go away. Though other shows have come along that have further explored the concept in similar ways, talk of a reboot for Sliders has come up more than once. Former stars Jerry O’Connell and John Rhys-Davis have been the most vocal about being eager to return to the series in some form. As recently as September of last year, much of the cast for Sliders reunited for a panel at FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention, where they continued to beat the drum for a revival.
There is one big issue with a potential return for Sliders, which is how these stars all departed the series even before the big cliffhanger occurred. If the show were to return, not only would there be an expectation by fans that it would finally answer the question about what happened at the end of Season 5, but also how all of these characters that had previously departed were also now back into the fray. If anything could come up with a reason for making all of it make sense, it would be the team behind Sliders, though, which brings us to another potential problem for the revival: series co-creator Tracy Tormé passed away in 2024.
Furthermore, there is another issue that might make the future for Sliders a tough one: rights issues. Though Sliders began its life on Fox for the first three seasons, the network cancelled the series, which saw the NBC-owned Sci-Fi channel pick it up and carry it for two more seasons. As a result, despite everyone’s hopes and dreams, it’s unclear how difficult that decision might make the future for Sliders, as Fox is now owned by Disney, which not only always wants to retain ownership over everything they have but is also less interested in niche franchises.
Suffice to say, Sliders has been stuck on a cliffhanger for over two decades, exactly twenty-six years today, and though the idea of going back and figuring out what comes next has endless appeal to the cast and fans, maybe the “What if” nature of it makes the most sense for the series after all.