Speaking to Chortle, writer Graham Linehan has said his Channel 4 "geek-com" The IT Crowd will probably end after its fifth series, due later this year.
Graham Linehan:
"I think one more series to really say goodbye to the characters and the fans. I'm not rushing into it because I don't want it to be a zombie series where the show is dead but its body is still moving around."That comes as no surprise to me. I'm of the opinion that The IT Crowd should have ended after series 2, and that series 4 was a weak run. I'm glad Linehan's decided to draft in some help writing series 5--recruiting scribes via Twitter, geekily enough--but the bigger issue is the growing fame of its cast.
Chris O'Dowd has been stretching out into dramatic roles just lately (lead in the BBC's period drama The Crimson Petal & The White) and his star's possibly ascending in the US (co-starring in the Judd Apatow-produced comedy Bridesmaids.) Meanwhile, Richard Ayoade has moved behind the camera very successfully (guest-directing an episode of NBC's Community, making his movie debut with the critically-acclaimed teen drama Submarine.) I'm sure Katherine Parkinson has some stage-plays to appear in and Maltesers adverts to film, too.
While The IT Crowd isn't a huge commitment for the actors, it's less likely O'Dowd and Ayoade can constantly keep their schedules mutually open to accommodate it. Linehan's on record as saying he finds it a tremendous struggle to write the show these days, and even with help I think the show's past its best. It'll always been slightly overrated, anyway. Any random episode of Father Ted (the '90s "clergy-com" Linehan co-wrote with Arthur Matthews) is twice as funny as The IT Crowd's best effort, if you ask me.
What are your thoughts? Will you be sad if The IT Crowd gets deleted after series 5, or do you think that's a wise move considering the general drop in quality after series 2?
