There were some rocky patches along the way, but Once Upon a Time finally concluded its seven-season run this week. The show went through some major retooling for the final season, losing several main characters and somewhat rebooting the universe. It was a bit of an odd way to build the final season, but it's all over now and it must have made for a unique experience for fans. While the main characters finally saw their happy endings, things were a bit more downcast for the show as far as ratings were concerned, as the finale dropped 44% compared to last year.
Per Deadline, Once Upon a Time didn't go out on a series high note. Compared to the Season 6 finale, the series finale dropped 44% in total viewers. However, it was still the highest number of viewers (2.32 million) that the show has experienced over the last few months. It's important to note that these two finales aired on different nights, which may have been a contributing factor. Season 6 aired on Sunday nights, while the final season was moved to Fridays, which is typically not a great night for TV. Still, the ratings are not a great note to end on for the show even though there was no chance of there being another season.
However, that's not to say that ratings should affect the personal enjoyment of a show. The series ended with lots of characters achieving the happy endings they were looking for -- even the ones who died. Ultimately, that's always been what the show is about, so fans can take heart in the fact the show was allowed to end on its own terms. It wasn't a high performing show towards the end, even before the reboot and time slot shift.
If it comforts any fans out there, it wasn't a great night for ABC shows on the whole. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. also aired a finale on Friday and while it wasn't a series finale, it didn't draw particularly high numbers. The Season 5 finale fell in viewership by 29% compared to the Season 4 finale last year. Likewise, these finales aired in different timeslots, with S.H.I.E.L.D. having moved from Tuesday to the dreaded Friday. So, Once Upon a Time was not alone in its troubles.
Once Upon a Time may be over, but there's still plenty of TV out there to help fill the gap and CinemaBlend has got some options for you. Head on over to our summer premiere guide to find out what else is dropping in the coming weeks. On the other hand, networks are cleaning house and plenty of other shows have already bit the bullet. find out which ones won't be back with our cancellation guide.
