‘Leverage’ season 5 will be the last, canceled by TNT

When we first heard that the showrunners for “Leverage” were setting up the season 5 finale on Christmas to act as though it was the series finale, there was only one real thought that crossed our mind: this is probably going to be the end of the show, and they know something about their chances that we don’t.

Now, we know for sure just what that knowledge was. TNT has released a new statement, and it confirms that the final episode of the long-running show will in fact air on December 25, which will hopefully give fans who have been watching for the entirety of its run some sort of feeling as though the story has run its course. Here is just a snippet from the statement below:

“TNT’s Leverage has thrilled audiences with its delightfully intricate plots, its “stand up for the little guy” attitude and its terrific performances from stars Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Christian Kane, Beth Riesgraf and Aldis Hodge. But after five wonderful years, it’s time to say goodbye. Leverage will come to a close on Christmas, Tuesday, Dec. 25, at 9 p.m., with a series finale that stands as one of the show’s best episodes.

“We are honored to have worked with executive producer Dean Devlin, Electric Entertainment, creators John Rogers and Chris Downey, and all the cast and production crew on Leverage. We look forward to exploring new opportunities to work with them again in the future.”

As for why the show was canceled to begin with, there are really a few separate things you can attribute it to, in between the show’s own ratings and the fact that TNT has a number of pilots on the go, including one from Michael Bay (“The Last Ship”) and a potential show created in part by “Homeland’s” Howard Gordon. The network has in some way getting rid of many of their older shows in 2012, as “The Closer” also wrapped with a series finale.

If you want to read more scoop on the “Leverage” series finale, you can do so over here.

Photo: TNT