All Magic comes with a price dearie… And it appears ABC isn’t willing to foot that bill for the once popular fairytale drama any longer. It seems that the magic has run out for ABC’s Once Upon A Time and the series will end its run after seven seasons.
ABC has confirmed the shows cancellation and that the final episode will air this May. “Once Upon a Time has been an amazing journey for all of us at ABC Studios and for fans around the world,” said Patrick Moran, president of ABC Studios. “We’re so proud and appreciative of the hard work and creative talent that Eddy Kitsis, Adam Horowitz and their cast and crew brought to this show for seven magical seasons.”
After many of the shows leading characters exited at the end of season six, ratings for the series dropped to an average of 2.5 million total viewers and a 0.5 rating per episode. The change to a Friday night time slot didn’t help either.
Once Upon a Time premiered in fall 2011 and it was an instant hit. It attracted fans from all over the world and much more than just Disney fans. The show featured classic Disney fairytale characters reimagined in dramatic fashion. The original cast starred Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas, Robert Carlyle and Jared Gilmore.
At the end of season six, two of the most popular main characters, Jennifer Morrison and Ginnifer Goodwin, departed as regulars on the show. Without Emma Swan and Mary Margaret (a.k.a. Snow White) the series went in a new direction, essentially rebooting itself. Storybrooke was left behind and the seventh season picked up in Seattle where a brand new curse basically started the same plot all over again.
“Seven years ago, we set out to create a show about hope, where even in the darkest of times, a happy ending would always be possible,” said Once creators/executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. ” But we never imagined the happy ending that was actually in store for all of us — years and years of adventure, romance, magic and hope. We’re so grateful to our brilliant collaborators – the cast, crew, and writers — as well as our partners at the studio and network for making this journey possible. But most of all, we want to thank the fans. Their fierce loyalty and devotion was the real magic behind Once Upon A Time. We hope they join us for these last few hours as we journey to the Enchanted Forrest for one more adventure.”
The show is currently in its mid-season break and after more than 150 episodes it will return for the second half of its final season on March 2.