BBC Cancels the Original Being Human

Being Human, the landmark original drama from the U.K.’s BBC Three, is headed for its swan song.

The network confirmed this week that the show will end with the current fifth season, which premiered last Sunday and will run for six episodes.

Created by Toby Whithouse, the show follows a group of roommates — a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost — trying to find normal lives and reclaim something of their humanity. The series has undergone a major casting upheaval over the last two years — with the entire original cast of Aidan Turner (Mitchell), Russell Tovey (George), and Lenora Crichlow (Annie) exiting.

In its final year the show stars Damien Molony as Hal, Michael Socha as Tom, and Kate Bracken as Alex.

A remake of the series set in Boston has done well for Syfy Channel in the United States, with storylines following the British twin rather closely.

“All good things come to an end,” Whithouse wrote on his BBC blog. “We must remember too that the remit of BBC Three is to encourage and support new talent, to give them opportunities to make television, to test out new ideas and formats. In that sense Being Human is perhaps a victim of its own success. We can’t really call ourselves a new show anymore, and much as I’d like to think of myself as a young thrusting new talent and not a bitter old war horse, the reality is we have a duty to move aside and make space for the next Being Human.”

“We’ve created what I hope you’ll agree is an epic, thrilling and shocking finale that’ll keep the fans guessing and speculating for years to come.”

The final episodes of Being Human air Sunday nights at 10 p.m. on BBC Three.