Reign Canceled at The CW After Four Seasons
Carissa Pavlica
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Mary Queen of Scots has been dethroned.
Reign, a fictional tale about the young Mary, her turbulent time in France and steamy love love, will conclude on The CW after its upcoming fourth season, scheduled to begin on Friday, February 10, 2017.
When Reign Season 1 first began, it was pretty popular here at TV Fanatic.
The story may have been fictionalized, but it was compelling and sexy. There were thrilling scenes that set the water cooler abuzz at work the next day. Sexy King Henry became a thing.
Who doesn't love a love triangle? Future King of France Frances and bastard Bash both loved Mary and would go to any lengths to have her, even betraying each other on their way to the throne.
By Reign Season 2, it was all about Mary and Francis and building their life together, fighting for the throne against outsiders who thought Francis weak and worthless.
Sexy King Henry went mad and eventually died, throwing the kingdom and the new King and Queen into turmoil because of the secrets Francis kept.
But, oh, the discussions we had! Then somewhere in the middle of the season, things faltered. Stories felt forced and Mary's betrayal of Frances wrong.
Reign Season 3 took a terrible turn, with the death of love. The death of Francis took the wind out of the sails of Reign.
The introduction of Queen Elizabeth should have re-ignited some of the political turmoil, but instead felt like another story meant for another series.
By the end of the season, Bash, too was written out.
Still, Reign was renewed for Season 4 and given a 16 episode order. The network and producers have apparently been in touch throughout this journey, and producers were prepared for the worst.
So when they got the call while filming the finale, which will air sometime in June, they were not surprised when they were told it had to be a series finale instead of a season finale, and had the pieces in place to do that.
Sadly, Reign came in strong and confident, and will go out softly, with nary a whimper. At least we had it at the beginning, when it was driving discussion and we couldn't wait until the next episode, right?
Let us know how you feel about this cancelation and join us for reviews when the show returns on February 19.
If you want to relive the magic, watch Reign online right here via TV Fanatic.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
