‘Orphan Black’ Closing Shop on Clone Club Next Season

Twelve hours ago Orphan Black co-creator John Fawcett tweeted “The end is near,” which many fans took as a sign of the end of Season 4 but today BBC America announced the big news. Orphan Black will return for Season 5 next year which will also be its last.

Clone Club is bound to be shocked by the news. The BBC America series launched to rave critical and fan reviews when it began back in 2013. The series stars Tatiana Maslany as a series of clones in what is not only a technical but tremendous acting achievement. Layers have been peeled back each season revealing more clones for Maslany to master as well as depths of conspiracy and betrayal. The series is fantastic at covering both fantastical as well as real-world science, what it means to be family, sexuality, gender, and more.

Co-creators Fawcett and Graeme Manson released a shared statement: “We are excited to deliver an epic conclusion to the tale of Sarah and her clone sisters. The past four seasons have been a phenomenal adventure, and we are eternally grateful to our loyal fans who have loved the twists and thrills of our weird little show. We are thankful to our partners at Temple Street, and to BBC America and Space for their support and giving us the opportunity to end on a high.”

“When we embarked upon this journey with John and Graeme, we knew we had something special on our hands, but didn”t imagine how deeply it would resonate with audiences and the worldwide acclaim it would receive. We are truly in awe of Tatiana, who, each season, pulls off the impossible and brings each clone and their unique personalities to life in an extraordinarily captivating way,” said David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg, Executive Producers of Orphan Black and Co-Presidents of Boat Rocker Studios. “We are so proud of the cast and crew, who will be on this final ride with us as we draw the Orphan Black story to a close, and extremely thankful to our partners at BBC America and Space for their continued support, as well as the legions of fans who have made these five seasons possible.”

Orphan Black received a Peabody Award in 2014, and Maslany received a 2015 Emmy nomination for Best Actress, two Critics” Choice Awards for Best Actress, a TCA Award for Individual Achievement, a Young Hollywood Award, a Gracie Award, two Canadian Screen Awards and Golden Globe, SAG and People”s Choice nominations. Here's hoping more wise up to her outstanding talent. While Maslany fills out a significant portion of the cast, she's joined by the talented Jordan Gavaris, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Kristian Bruun, Skyler Wexler, Kevin Hanchard, Ari Millen, Evelyne Brochu and Josh Vokey.

I'm gutted to hear next season will be the last, but I'm also thankful the show will be able to go out on its own terms and have time to wrap up the story in a satisfying way. And frankly, it also gives fans time to come to terms with the end, something not a lot of fan-favorite shows get the opportunity to do these days.

Temple Street will be producing ten episodes for BBC America (and Space in Canada) for Season 5. Season 4's finale airs tonight, Thursday, June 16th at 10/9c.

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