In a surprise decision, Zap2it reports that the WB Network has confirmed that the current fifth season run of "Angel" will be its last - a sudden move which has raised a few eyebrows in the industry and shock amongst fans of the Buffy-verse.
Thus the remaining eight episodes of "Angel" will be the last to air and will have to wrap up some long-standing storylines such as Angel's future, along with more recent twists like the gang's working for the evil law firm of Wolfram & Hart.
Then again maybe not - the WB hasn't entirely closed the book just yet though with the possibility of TV movies still there. Here's the official statement from the network:
"For the last seven years 'Angel' and 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' have been cornerstones of our network. The sum total of the work done on those shows has produced some of the proudest moments in our history
Like some of the great series that are leaving the air this year, including 'Frasier' and 'Friends,' the cast, crew, writers and producers of 'Angel' deserve to be able to wrap up the series in a way befitting a classic television series and that is why we went to Joss to let him know that this would be the last year of the series on The WB.
We have discussed continuing the 'Angel' legacy with special movie events next year, which is still on the table. In a perfect world, all of these details would be completed before this information went to the press so that we could be definitive about the show's ongoing future. But in any case, we did not want to contemplate this being the last year of 'Angel' without giving the show the option of crafting their own destiny for this character and for this series".
Soon after the announcement, creator Joss Whedon spoke out about the decision over on The Bronze site:
"To answer some obvious questions: No, we had no idea this was coming. Yes, we will finish out the season. No, I don't think the WB is doing the right thing. Yes, I'm grateful they did it early enough for my people to find other jobs. Yes, my heart is breaking. As far as TV movies or whatever, I'm not thinking that far ahead. I actually hope my actors and writers are all too busy. We always planned this season finale to be a great capper to the season and the show in general. (And a great platform for a new season, of course.) We'll proceed ahead as planned".
Thanks to 'Gav', 'Jessica', 'Brian', 'Marcus', 'Ramy', 'John', 'Tony', 'Zhmike' & 'Joshua'
