The television landscape can be cruel to science fiction, and many great sci-fi shows have been canceled far too soon. At least “Person of Interest” sufficiently concluded its story, but CBS pulled the plug on the series while the ratings were still hot. So, what gives? Sadly, “Person of Interest” wasn’t financially profitable enough for CBS to keep it going. While attending the Needham Emerging Technology Conference in 2016, former CBS CEO Les Moonves noted that Jonah Nolan’s series only broke even because the network had to split the profits with Warner Bros.
CBS sought to change its business model, and “Person of Interest” didn’t fit into it. “The value of content is so much greater than it was before. Having ownership is a huge, huge difference, and it does affect everything we do,” Moonves said (via The Hollywood Reporter). “A show that’s 100% owned will generally get a better time period.” The creators of the acclaimed CBS series don’t feel any sour grapes, either. Following the show’s cancelation, Jonah Nolan and Greg Plageman thanked the network, and the fans, for allowing “Person of Interest” to last as long as it did — especially since the show is so weird and unconventional.
Despite being canceled, fans agree Person of Interest ended at the right time
Some departed TV shows could have benefited from an extra season, but “Person of Interest” arguably isn’t one of them. Fans of the sci-fi procedural generally agree that it ended at the right time, otherwise it might have risked overstaying its welcome like other popular genre series that caused audience fatigue. “S5 ended perfectly imo,” one fan wrote. “And honestly, continuing the story risks a ‘Supernatural’ situation, where the first 5 seasons culminate perfectly with them defeating the worst possible enemy (Lucifer/Samaritan) and then being forced into increasingly absurd situations to raise the stakes.”
“It’s my favorite series ever but I didn’t want it to suffer the same fate as other American series. Namely to go on indefinitely getting progressively worse until it gets a rushed finale,” another fan added. The show’s creators haven’t closed the door on returning to this universe — whether that’s in the form of a sequel or spin-off series. However, it’s been 10 years since “Person of Interest” wrapped up, and The Machine has been dormant since then, so a continuation might not be on the cards.
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