'The Fosters' to Finish With Three-Episode Finale

The Fosters will end with three final episodes, but it isn't goodbye for Freeform's celebrated family series.

The network, formerly ABC Family, has announced a three-part Fosters finale event to air next summer, Deadline reports. The final shows will introduce a spinoff series starring the long-standing drama's stars Cierra Ramirez and Maia Mitchell, which has already been ordered for 13 episodes.

"Set several years in the future, it will follow the lives of their characters, Callie (Mitchell) and Mariana (Ramirez), as they embark on the next phase of their young adult lives," Deadline adds of the new show's story, which will be set in Los Angeles. Conversations are also reportedly underway for at least one more young original cast member to join as a series regular.

Freeform's new Fosters-esque drama is in the early stages of development and does not have a title, but the network already has high hopes for its future.

The network's EVP of programming and development Karey Burke said the idea of a spinoff series stemmed from three of the show's writing executive producers, creators Peter Paige and Bradley Bredeweg, as well as Joanna Johnson, who are overseeing the new project. They felt it would be well-served to grow the younger characters up in an organic way, and pitched their idea, which was ultimately given the green light.

"It's really about expanding the universe and continuing the legacy of The Fosters but in a different venue," Burke said.

Their strategy to age the young characters isn't totally groundbreaking for the network; its hit drama Pretty Little Liars also introduced a five-year time jump in the series. But rather than jumping the full cast forward and keeping them grounded in the same town, "we felt like taking a bolder step with The Fosters and let the characters choose a new path," she said.

Still, the original cast members won't be shunned by the new direction. "We plan to have all characters from the original series make guest appearances," Burke said.

The Fosters recently finished production of the show's fifth season, ending with the two-hour 100th episode which will play as the season finale. The cast has not yet filmed the three-part series finale.

The ten-episode season 5B of The Fosters debuts January 9 on Freeform.