Last week one of the higher-ups at FX ruined our Naked Hooker Marco Polo party by informing us that the tentative plan was for Justified to wrap up after next season, its sixth. There was a little wiggle room in there, as the executive said it was the plan “right now” and that it “could always change given the needs of the creatives,” but that wiggle room appears to have been sealed tight with plastic explosives connected to ticking timer that says “25 EPISODES” (12 more this season, 13 for the next one) as FX Network CEO John Landgraf confirmed the news today at the TCAs.
“It was [showrunner] Graham Yost and Timothy Olyphant’s decision,” he said. “I would have liked to have had more Justified, it’s one of my favorite shows.”
Landgraf noted that he reluctantly accepted the decision from the duo to wrap up the series. “We talked about it a year ago; they felt that the arc of the show and what they had to say would be best served by six seasons instead of seven,” he said. “Regretfully, I accepted their decision.”
We discussed all the Pros and Cons of this last week, so there’s no point in re-hashing all of them again today. The important thing is that the show is getting to end on its own terms, which is a rarity in today’s television landscape. And, hey, it frees up the members of the writing staff to work on other projects, like, oh, I don’t know, a spinoff about a certain foxy grifter who appeared in a single episode last season. Or one titled Boyd Crowder: Ice Cream Magnate. Either or both would be fine. Make it happen, Landgraf.
Source: THR
