TNT had already announced that their post-apocalyptic series The Last Ship would be returning for a fourth season (it wraps up its third this Sunday), but news broke yesterday that it will continue sailing into a fifth year. That news is interesting and it makes me wonder if the show could be targeting its endgame. Its ratings have been down notably in its third season (in no small part due to scheduling conflicts) and it is certainly an expensive series to produce. The fourth and fifth season will be filmed back to back which will keep costs down, but it may also be designed to wrap up most of the major storylines. Cable shows seem to be wrapping up in the four to six season range if they don’t count as breakout hits. And a five season run for The Last Ship will give it fifty six total episodes (there will be ten each in its fourth and fifth year) which might be okay for a limited syndication run and will definitely be attractive to binge-watchers. So don’t be surprised if season five is set up as a possible ending point with enough storylines held in reserve in case the ratings improve over the next couple of years.
There are still several Spring / Summer sci fi & fantasy shows awaiting word on their fate at this point such as Freeform’s Stitchers (On the Bubble), FOX’s Wayward Pines (On the Bubble), and Chiller’s Slasher (Renewal Possible). Keep a close eye on this site as well as the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for any breaking news on those shows and more in the coming weeks.
