Much to the dismay of the show’s loyal followers, The Unit was cancelled by CBS in May. The series’ viewership had declined in its later years but, despite being preempted several times, still attracted 9.67 million viewers in season four.
The Unit was supposedly being seriously considered to continue in first-run syndication but the deal didn’t work out, likely because of production costs. Sadly, while the military drama and Dennis Haysbert, Regina Taylor, Robert Patrick, and Scott Foley will be around in syndication for years to come, we won’t be seeing season five of The Unit.
It turns out that the writers had a full plan for year five which Executive Producer Shawn Ryan was expecting to be the show’s last. He pitched the storyline ideas to the CBS execs but ultimately they weren’t interested.
At the recent TCA press tour, Ryan shared with The Futon Critic what would have happened. He said, “It was going to be a whole new show in the sense that we were going to be training some young people, Bob was going to be training some people for a whole new organization. Jonas was finally going to be seeing his run end.”
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Ryan continued, “The final season was going to be, I figured the fifth season was going to be the last… It was going to be a long, sort of final mission for Jonas. He’s not medically cleared, Mac has to go in and sort of change the medical records so that Jonas can keep on [going on missions]. We had a whole thing planned, it was going to be good.”
Of the cancellation, Ryan points to CBS’ last-minute decision to save NBC’s discarded Medium series. If things had been reversed and The Unit “had been owned by Paramount and Medium had been owned by 20th Century Fox, we’d be making the fifth season of The Unit right now. I don’t know how else to say that.”
What do you think? Do the plans for season five sound like a good way for the military drama to finish?
Image courtesy CBS.
We looked forward to watching The Unit every week. And we will certainly miss it. Is there any change for a return?
THE UNIT WAS THE BEST SHOW ON TV !!!!!!!! IM VERY UPSET ALL THE CRAPPY SHOWS STAY ON, and OF COURSE THIS GETS CANCELLED !!! NOT FAIR !
According to my hubby, The Unit was the only show that kept his soldiers’ morale up while deployed. It’s a HUGE disservice not only to our country but to the soldiers that fight for our freedom. BRING THE SHOW BACK!
It’s no surprise that CBS (Conspiratorial Barack Spokesmen) would cancel a pro-America show. It just didn’t fit in with the new Socialism the networks seem to prefer. The real surprise, though, will come when the mainstream media wake up and realize that they’ve lost their right to publish whatever they choose… they’ll be state-run voices like Pravda and Tass under the old USSR.
Bring it back. Great show. What were the producers thinking? Not enough money? We certainly don’t need another fake sleazy reality show now do we?
I for one really hate the fact now on Sunday nights I don’t have the unit to watch oh well CBS you really did it this time, I guess I will also take up reading or just visit netflix more often.
It doesn’t surprise me that CBS would cancel a quality series with great acting. CBS, reconsider and BRING IT BACK.
I am SO disappointed! I have been waiting for a new show and wondered when it was going to come on. I had not heard it was canceled. It was a great season end but not the end of a show. LOVED watching it every week. It was definitely in my top 5!
What a huge disappointment! The Unit was the only show I made sure I watched every week — loved the actors and story lines. CBS definitely does not get it.
The Unit was one of few shows that I actually followed each week. It had a good story line and beleivable actors. Go figure that CBS would cancel a show that actually shows men acting as real men with some sort of moral codes,and keep shows on that portray men as weak and subserviant to the woman,or just plain stupid.Bad choice of shows to cancel.
I am so disappointed that this intelligent series has been cancelled! It was probably my favorite TV show. Please consider bringing it back!
bring the unit back it is the best show ever. it should of never been canceled by those losers. it should definitely be brought back.
a very mad person at CBS <——– I SWEAR THAT RETARDS RUN THIS!!!!!!
I think that guy is right the reason they took one of my FAVORITE shows off is because “it promotes war” what a load of c–p. BRING BACK THE UNIT. I hate it whe the networks get you hooked on a show and then JUST take it off the air. They s–k!!!!!!!
cbs is as dumb as our current administration and out of touch. guess i’ll take up reading again.
As a military wife and American…I LOVED and appreciated this show! It portrayed the military and their spouses in a real and flattering light! Not many shows do that! I agree…I think politics got in the way of this show! Some producer who does not see eye to eye with the military and it’s ultimate cause – to keep Americans free – had his or her way and made a statement! I am a 32 year old wife and mother who loves her country, loves her God and is very saddened by what is shown on CBS or any other… Read more »