Syfy’s flagship show of quirky government agents on a mission to “Snag it, bag it, and tag it” for mystical artifacts can’t break past the network’s five season barrier.
It looks like Warehouse 13 is getting canceled and renewed at the same time: the Syfy show, which is currently on the second half of the fourth season, will be getting a fifth and final season, but that season will be severely abbreviated: six episodes to wrap everything up. Entertainment Weekly calls it a ‘cancel’ but The Wrap calls it a renewal. Sci Fi Stream goes a bit further in depth and examines the viewership, and the previous hopes that the series would be the one to break the five-season curse of the Syfy channel (No original scripted show has lasted more than five seasons on the network).
“Warehouse 13 has been an incredible signature series for us,” said Mark Stern, Syfy’s President, Original Content, in a statement. “We are grateful to the loyal and passionate fan base and know that Jack Kenny, his gifted creative team, and outstanding ensemble cast will give them an amazing finale season.”
I’ve been a fan of Warehouse 13 from the start – it’s a fantastic show with great characters and a cool world. It’s also one of the few shows I’ve found recently that not only casts women in a majority of the main character roles (Myka, Claudia, Leena, Mrs. Frederick to Pete, Artie, and Jinx) but also shows all the characters as positive and competent but still human. While it started off as fairly light and it still maintains that bit of comedy, it also has gotten a bit more serious in the past season or two, with some major character drama.
It’s sad that Warehouse 13 will be coming to an end, but at least it won’t be coming to an abrupt end – that the show’s creators will have a chance to give a somewhat proper ending for the enjoyable characters and artifact-rich world they developed. Having six episodes to wrap it up (to be aired in 2014) is certainly better than ‘undetermined bonus content’ with no real opportunity for broadcast for Star Wars: The Clone Wars.