Coming as somewhat of a surprise, CBS has announced that its spy fi series MacGyver will be coming to an end with its Season 5 finale which will air on April 30th. The network is trying to make it seem like the ending of the series was planed with the statement that they are “gratified we get to give this dedicated and loyal fan base the opportunity to say goodbye to their favorite characters in the thoughtful manner this series deserves”. But there had been no previous indication that the show would wrap up this season and its numbers on low-viewership Fridays have been good this season. It has averaged a 0.52 rating this year which is just slightly lower than the network’s average for non-repeat, non-special, non-sports programming, and really pretty good for a Friday program. It will also wrap up just short of the of the 100 episode mark (with 95 total eps), a milestone that is considered a major accomplishment for a television series. It has more than enough episodes for a run in syndication (where shows really turn a profit) so a sixth season previously seemed like a good bet for this one.
There is no mention of it in the cancellation announcement, but the fact that the show is coming to an end almost certainly has some connection to the lawsuit it is currently attached to. Parties linked to the creators of the original 1985 series that starred Richard Dean Anderson in the lead role have claimed the reboot is a spin-off and that they are entitled to part of the profits. CBS denies these claims, and it appears that both sides will end up in court. The legal entanglements could follow the show for a while, and it is likely that the network decided to end it now rather than continue to put money into a production that they may lose the rights to or have to share revenue on the profits (it is likely more expensive than the average CBS drama). MacGyver did not rely heavily on story arcs (and really just barely counts as genre entry), but it is unclear if the creative team had enough notice to write a satisfying conclusion for the series. The hashtag #SaveMacGyver is trending the morning after the announcement, so I expect that fans will make a Call to Action to try and get the show at least a sixth and final season.
MacGyver follows Angus “Mac” MacGyver who works for a secret U.S. government organization and who has extensive knowledge of science and an uncanny ability to improvise that he relies upon while working on secret missions across the world. It stars Lucas Till, Tristin Mays, George Eads, Sandrine Holt, and Justin Hires.
We are approaching season end, so more renewal/cancellation announcements could be on the way. We are also still waiting to hear word on quite a number of other genre shows like HBO’s Lovecraft Country, Netflix’s Cursed, Hulu’s The Hardy Boys, and more so stay tuned for more breaking news. You can see the status of all the currently airing, returning, and upcoming sci fi and fantasy shows on our Cancellation Watch Page. And be sure to stay tuned to this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
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Well that’s a sucker punch if ever there was one. This series as has been mentioned been given no indication that it was destined to finish this season – the numbers don’t bear it out. As has also been mentioned, it is most likely the lawsuit that’s hanging over this reboot that’s likely the culprit. The claim is that this “MacGyver” is a spin off – well actually it’s not – it is just a modernization of the same story. Spin offs generally will be called something else, involve different plots with different main characters. This MacGyver does not – it follows the same story line genre, Mac using his creative genius to get out of tight spots – I sincerely hope they have the pull to put this lawsuit to bed sending the affecting parties running with tails between their legs – however the cost is the cancellation of this great series which is such a shame, the characters were developing – mostly I would say that of Bozer, being Mac’s sidekick kept in the dark about Phoenix and ending up being part of the whole think tank and development in the labs. I hope they are able to wide up the story lines definitively; I don’t know that the writers have been given much of a chance to do this since the announcement was all of a sudden and the Pandemic has caused such awry to filming schedules. Still let’s see what happens – I hope that the series will end on a plus and that we can see everything has come full circle, but that is a rare occurrence – I am sure some loose ends will remain as such.