"Person of Interest" is now on its last legs. According to a report from Deadline, the new season will only have 13 episodes instead of the full 23 that previous seasons had and it will premiere during the midseason, placing it in early 2016 instead of its previously expected premiere in fall 2015.
According to a report from Venture Capital Post, the late premiere and fewer episodes indicate that the series may be airing its final season. The series, conceived by film writer Jonathan Nolan, is often viewed as a success with fans and critics but still hasn't been able to garner higher viewership ratings. With plummetting ratings across the board, it may have come as a surprise for some that the series was renewed at all.
According to the report from Deadline, the same tactic was done for the series "The Mentalist." The show was renewed but the last season premiered late and had fewer episodes. It was announced several months later that the show was cancelled. Deadline surmises that this strategy may repeat itself for "Person of Interest."
However, having a shorter season 5 may also indicate that the showrunners were already given the heads up that the series is getting cancelled, allowing them to use these last 13 episodes as a means of giving "Person of Interest" a proper send-off. Most showrunners aren't told in advance about their show's cancellation and have to resort to a special limited series or a tie-in TV movie to end the story properly.
Showrunner Greg Plagemen stated that season 5 will be "a rebuilding one for our characters. They've been protected to this point by this all-seeing eye of the Machine, and they're now responsible for trying to rebuild that machine, so they're much more vulnerable than we've seen them before. It's going to be a harrowing season."
"Person of Interest" has no confirmed premiere date as of the time of writing but has been scheduled for a midseason release in early 2016.
