"Leverage" has been canceled, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
It won't be a merry Christmas for fans of the TNT drama, since the intended Season 5 finale that will air on Tuesday, December 25 will now be the series finale.
Dean Devlin, executive producer of "Leverage," posted a message on LeverageFans.com, saying, "It has been decided today that this Tuesday’s episode of 'Leverage' 'The Long Goodbye Job' will be the series finale as TNT has decided not to renew the show for a sixth season." He added, "I'm so happy we were able to film the series finale we had always envisioned and I'm happy we're able to present it on Christmas as our gift to you. It's a bittersweet goodbye."
TNT did not immediately reply to a request for comment, but released the following to The Hollywood Reporter, where you can read the full statement:
".... After five wonderful years, it's time to say goodbye ... 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. We also want to thank the passionately devoted fans of 'Leverage,' who have been the driving force behind its success."
Earlier this month, Devlin wrote another letter to fans on LeverageFans.com, noting the possibility that "Leverage" could be canceled. Devlin explained that he and co-creator John Rogers "decided to end [Season 5] with the episode we had planned to make to end the series," just in case TNT canceled "Leverage."
The series -- which follows a team of con artists including a thief, a grifter, a hacker, and a retrieval specialist, led by former insurance investigator Nathan Ford, who fight corporate and governmental injustices inflicted on ordinary citizens -- averaged 4.0 million viewers per episode in the first season, 4.5 million viewers per episode in the second season and 4.5 million viewers per episode in the third season, but ratings have decreased in the series' current fifth season, falling below 3 million viewers per episode.
The "Leverage" series finale will air on Tuesday, Dec. 25 at 10 p.m. EST on TNT.
