The CBS acronym may soon have new meaning to fans of ‘Person of Interest’ to Can’t Beat Samaritan as news that the upcoming season of the series will be its last.
The information comes from executive producer J.J. Abrams who spoke about the series while at the Television Critics Association winter press tour stating that he didn’t see a future for ‘Person of Interest’ on CBS after Season 5:
“My guess is it is the final season. The only heartbreak there is how much good story there was to come if it were to have continued. Jonah [Nolan] and Greg Plageman have done such an amazing job on that show. I know what these episodes are, that they’re done wrapping it up… That’s sort of the goal. Obviously things can become malleable and adjust based on, I supposed, miraculous performance of this thing. I think the idea is essentially that this would be the finale.”
Speculation of the series meeting the cancellation ax began last year when CBS announced that ‘Person of Interest’ was being renewed but for only for a shortened 13 episode season instead of a full 22 episodes. Then when the network announced its Fall schedule without the fan favorite series (it did, after all, just win a People’s Choice award), more conjecture arose. However, with the renewed interest in the show fueled by a syndication run on WGN and the show streaming on Netflix, there seemed to be hope that the network would see the uptick of viewers and place the series on their midseason schedule. It’s absence from that schedule has prompted fans to wonder if they’ll even see this last season. Abrams, however, assures that is not the case:
“We don’t yet have a schedule. But I know they will see the light of day, [and] people will get to see these episodes. I know the power of that story.”
One main reason CBS is not likely to readily renew ‘Person of Interest’ is because it is a series that is produced by Warner Bros. Television which is not as financially beneficial to the network as compared to a show that is produced in-house like ‘Limitless.’ But having a 5-year run, according to Abrams, should be considered a “miracle” in today’s TV standings:
“… to have a show that goes on as many years as that has, it’s very hard to complain. It’s a miracle to get a show on the air and to have it last that long is something that we should just be grateful for. But I do love that show and I would’ve loved to see that continue.”
While we won’t know the show’s official fate until CBS presents their schedule at the TCAs later this week, the question has come up as to whether or not the producers are looking at other avenues to save the series:
“Those are discussions that, in theory, will be had in the right time. But at the moment that’s not what we’re doing.”
So it seems officially the ball is still in CBS’s court and until then, the series’ future will continue to be in limbo. If its number is up, let’s hope CBS decides to air the final season of ‘Person of Interest’ soon to clear the way for the producers to hopefully shop the series to other outlets.
