‘A Million Little Things’ Ending at ABC

Get ready to say goodbye, A Million Little Things fans. The ABC drama created by DJ Nash is reportedly ending after its upcoming fifth season, which will not premiere until early next year. The series has always faced questions about its future at the end of each season, even though Season 4 ended with a shocking cliffhanger.

Nash is plotting the last season as if it is the show’s last, sources told TVLine Monday. ABC did not comment, but this is reportedly a purely creative decision to ensure the show has a satisfying ending. Nash made the decision with the support of ABC and series producers Kapital Entertainment and ABC Signature.

A Million Little Things features a large ensemble cast with David Giuntoli, Romany Malco, Allison Miller, James Roday Rodriguez, Christina Moses, Lizzy Greene, Grace Park, and Stephanie Szostak. It is set in Boston, where a group of friends is shaken by the unexpected suicide of a member of the group. They are inspired to live their best lives while coping with loss.

At the end of Season 4, Nash and his team took a big risk by deciding to end the season with a big cliffhanger. Gary (Rodriguez) revealed that he was secretly going through chemotherapy throughout the whole season. Maggie (Miller), who previously survived breast cancer, is pregnant with their child. Gary doesn’t want Maggie to tell their friends about his treatments so they will not treat him differently. The show didn’t get picked up for a fifth season until May 13, days before the finale aired.

In an interview with TVLine, Nash said they asked ABC if the show would be renewed in the middle of the season, and they told him not to end the show now. He and the writers took that to mean they could take a big swing at the end. “There’s no question we were a bubble show,” Nash said. “But everybody creatively at ABC was so supportive and wanted to see it happen, and we knew that if it didn’t happen, our fans would be like, ‘You can’t end a series like that!’ So we put all of our eggs in the Gary basket.”

A Million Little Things averaged 4.1 million viewers and a 0.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic with Live+7 playback included. It was down 20% in total viewers from Season 3, but it did score the second-best DVR bump among all ABC shows. All four seasons are available to stream on Hulu.