Why is The Conners Ending and Was it Canceled?

The Conners is ending, leaving fans wondering if the seventh season was supposed to be the natural conclusion to the show or if it’s been canceled. The series started with controversy but ended up being a ratings hit for ABC. However, an abbreviated final season indicates that interest isn’t nearly as high seven years later.

Why is The Conners ending?

No official reason has been given for why The Conners is ending. However, it’s been in the cards for a while. In May 2023, The Conners Executive Producer Bruce Helford told TVLine that the 6th season would possibly be the show’s last season and that he hoped they would know in advance so they could film a proper series finale. However, in January 2024, Helford retracted the statement and said ABC wasn’t considering ending the series then.

Due to the Writer’s Guild of America strike, season six of The Conners only got 13 episodes compared to the 20 average that were produced for seasons 2-5. As such, the original plan might have been to end it in 2024, and the six episodes that comprise season seven are leftovers. However, no definitive explanation has been given.

Was The Conners canceled?

While The Conners is ending, it’s not being framed as a cancellation. The show is getting a series finale, which executive producers Bruce Helford and Dave Caplan said will “give a really honest, and I’ll say dignified end to the arcs of all these characters and the journey that they’ve all been on.”

Despite the positive spin, the show has seen a steady decline in ratings since its premiere in 2018, and never matched the viewership Roseanne Season 10 saw. Average viewers per episode declined from around 9.5 million in season one to 4.1 in season six. At this point, despite the lack of an official cancellation, the network likely considers the show to have run its course.