Why does the show have to end now?

[n1029 224]

Popular interest in the franchise has been declining for the last five years, only briefly regaining media attention when the movie came out. G4 is too far into all its story threads for there to be much hope of regaining the kind of buzz of the early 2010s, so best to bring it to a close and start over. While the idea of having it go on forever was appealing, the realities of the business have to be considered.

 

Though I'm optimistic they have an idea what qualities of this show they should be carrying over to G5, and hopefully with a bigger budget for the prequel movie they have the ability to get it off to a good start.

[imawesome 449]

Did it just reach a logical conclusion for the staff, were they getting tired of it, was it lack of support? (I highly doubt the last one). A question that's been bugging me is: why only nine seasons?

Now this is in no means me trying to bash on the staff or Hasbro executives for their decision, I just personally wish FiM had continued for a bit longer. There's so much lore built around it  for what essentially started as a colorful pony commercial, and the effort found within each episode shows to me that there was no lack in interest, so... why?

Why is FiM in the process of ending? It has support, it has the staff/budget (I'm sure), and I feel like there's so much more that could be explored with it.

Even when season 9 ends, I'm sure there will be countless of fans disappointed that we didn't get an episode on (insert highly requested plot to be shown in FiM here). So, with all these untouched ideas... why end now? 

[cuteycindyhoney 13,284]

I see no reason for it to be an eternal show. 221 episodes over NINE seasons,, a theatrical full length film, several specials, three movies establishing a spin off series, and specials for that spin off series. As animation goes, that's a HUGE body of work. Most anime in Japan are lucky to get two 13 episode series. That's more than most live action series get. We've been blessed. I think it's silly to pine over not getting more when we've been gifted with so much!

[Dark Qiviut 22,185]

There are many possible reasons.

1. In 2014, Hasbro signed on FIM for five more years. 2019's its last.
2. 2010 was the first year FIM/G4 aired, but production began around 2009 at least. So 2019 is likely its tenth or eleventh year of production.
3. Traditionally, generations begin in the first half of the decade. G1 began in 1982, G3 in 2003. Leaked content under the tag:
   Spoiler

   With G5 on the way, 2020-'21 will give Hasbro another nice cycle to reboot MLP.

4. By rebooting MLP to a new generation, McCarthy can build its world from scratch and incorporate new ideas of their own.

[Venomous 18,816]

@imawesome

Because there is already a slightly large thread regarding the same topic already in existance, I will be merging your thread with that one.

There are people who are going to be questioning why generation 4 of MLP ended no matter how much time passes. Some people don’t care if the quality of the show decreases like it did with Family Guy. They just want the show to continue.

[RDDash 18,900]

How long before the show would reach it pick and then just becomes another "meh"? 

Would be cool if the show could continue, although I think it would be kind of frozen in time.

[PinkiePie97 913]

13 hours ago, imawesome said:

A question that's been bugging me is: why only nine seasons?

Only nine? Most shows don't last this long.

Edited April 30, 2019 by PinkiePie97

[imawesome 449]

@PinkiePie97 I mean, considering the lore that has been built around it, the characters, and the wide range of plot ideas presented by the fans. 

[Fhaolan 4,468]

7 hours ago, imawesome said:

@PinkiePie97 I mean, considering the lore that has been built around it, the characters, and the wide range of plot ideas presented by the fans. 

Because, to be brutally honest, sheer volume of 'plot ideas' and compiled lore presented by the fans is part of the problem. For legal reasons, the writers can't use any of that stuff. According to the contracts they signed when they joined the show they're not even allowed to read any of it. The more the fans pile their fan-work, the harder it is for the writers to do their jobs with the lawyers breathing down their necks. When they do see stuff they like, they have to make sure nobody finds out they've seen it.

FiM is already *long* past the historical corporate kill-point for an episodic show with an active/creative fandom. Most other shows with this kind of fandom get axed at three seasons (enough episodes for syndication), or at most seven. Nine is extremely unusual.

And add to the fact that TV has swung pretty far away from episodic shows now. Because of streaming and binge-watching, the name of the game are sweeping epics with prepared multi-season-long character driven story lines. And FiM's lore and setting was *not* built for that. The show's pacing is far too rapid-fire for the kind of stuff getting modern airspace.

From what's been seen around G5, that's the direction the staff are wanting to go. Long-term storytelling, where they don't have to fight corporate overlords for every inch of Fluttershy's character evolution, and can actually have the CMC-equivalents get older over time. Things where they're not forced to reset everything at the beginning of every episode because they're not allowed to deviate too far from base settings.

[imawesome 449]

@Fhaolan My point in bringing that up is that there are countless ideas to explore with this universe. Even with some taken by fans, there are STILL many ideas I'm sure the staff could come up with. 

And your streaming/binge watching argument doesn't make much sense to me. Season 7 drew in 0.25 million viewers with Celestial Advice. Add that to the toy sales and it's clear MLP still has enough appeal to make good money for Hasbro. 

*I'm sorry if this came off as to harsh, just trying to make a point*

Edited May 3, 2019 by imawesome

[Fhaolan 4,468]

On 4/30/2019 at 5:11 PM, imawesome said:

@Fhaolan My point in bringing that up is that there are countless ideas to explore with this universe. Even with some taken by fans, there are STILL many ideas I'm sure the staff could come up with. 

And your streaming/binge watching argument doesn't make much sense to me. Season 7 drew in 0.25 million viewers with Celestial Advice. Add that to the toy sales and it's cleear MLP still has enough appeal to make good money for Hasbro. 

*I'm sorry if this came off as to harsh, just trying to make a point*

It has very little to do with 'making good money'. It's got everything to do with 'making all the money'. Hasbro isn't a human being with a conscience, morals, ethics, etc. It's a corporation run by executives that have only one priority, making the shareholders happy by making more money this quarter than they did last quarter. If revenues aren't constantly increasing, then the executives are not doing their jobs.

The point with the streaming/binge watching is that the various professional show writers I've talked to over the years have wanted to do 'Game of Thrones' style storytelling on TV for decades, and the only place networks and other corporate overlords would let them do it is on soap operas. No truly long, convoluted plot lines and intersecting stories for your kiddie cartoons allowed. Accumulated lore is disconnected, disorganized, and isn't actually tracked by anyone other than obsessive fans, especially not the actual show writers, because there's no point. They wouldn't be allowed to use it, by corporate mandate. Syndication was king, and every episode has to be stand-alone on the off chance it's the first one seen by any potential consumers. If there is any backstory/explanations needed to grok a specific episode, it has to be contained in the title sequence or a 'previously on' scene at the beginning.

But streaming has changed that, and the IP owners are starting to allow for a different kind of storytelling, even for cartoons. And, from all accounts, Hasbro is going to allow MLP to switch to that kind of storytelling, like all the other IP that is chasing the Game of Thrones revolution. Something the writers have wanted to do *forever*, but weren't being allowed to. But because they didn't build the current show with that in mind, they would be constantly tripping over themselves trying to convert it. It would take more effort to codify the accumulated lore than it would be to start from scratch, and Hasbro isn't willing to pay for the difference. So, they start from scratch again. And they have to make it sufficiently different from what's come before so there will be minimal confusion between shows. So change the setting and art style, and re-arrange the character slightly.

Just now, Bas said:

1. Couldn't they possibly claim the content because it was written for their IP? If not, couldn't they threaten to sue the writers if they don't get a permission in written form?

2. If they can't, why don't they go licensing it from these fanfic writers?

Different nations can be an issue, though.

Too expensive, and it would open up a can of worms that the corps don't want to touch. Copyright/Trademark IP laws are a nasty mess, and corps *want* it to be that way so they use them as a blunt instrument to keep competition down. Using it proactively to benefit the IP would set precedents that could work against the corps later, and might attract attention.

[FirePuppy 641]

Don't forget that Flash Animation is phasing out next year.

[PinkiePie97 913]

3 minutes ago, FirePuppy said:

Don't forget that Flash Animation is phasing out next year.

No it’s not. It’s flash that’s uploaded and played directly on websites. Flash animation is here to stay.

[imawesome 449]

@FirePuppy @PinkiePie97

Conflicted here. I do think flash animation will die out eventually, just not as quickly as "in the next year". Maybe 10 years? until it becomes as rare as a Disney/Dreamworks animated film in traditional 2D. 

[ChB 18,532]

Because the writers and directors already have a plan on how they want to conclude the series. Hopefully, it will be a good one.

 

Sure, they could expand more on various characters, but that could be said for any TV series that ends at any point in time.

[RDDash 18,900]

I am not exactly happy with how the show is progressing. To put it in simple words the show is already surpassed itself and now it's lost all the charm of being a simplistic show about six friends going on adventures in the ponyland of Equestria.

It would take to long for me to explain what they've kind of tragegy they did done to Twilight Sparkle (she is simply to big of a powerhouse right  and every time she is supposed to learn a lesson she never remembers it, and it kinda became a joke in itself)

They've made her into Princess just so Hasbro had to make toys of her and then they never made any serious thought about it.

How would Princess Twilight be forced to deal with her new environment of being a royalty? What difficult decisions she would have to make by being a Princess?

None of it actually matters because Princess Celestia trolled everyone with her retirement in season nine Oh you really thought we would give you a serious responsibility Twilight? Why don't you go back to your Friendship school or something. (Sorry for being hard)

Edited May 4, 2019 by R.D.Dash

[EpicEnergy 22,214]

It has to end sometime, though it would have been nice if the show kept on going for a few seasons after season 9. Still, it is what it is, I'm sad that G4 is going to end soon but I have hope that G5 will be something great.

[Kadeda 178]

I'm sad it's ending... but i'm excited for G5. It sounds pretty good.

[Van123 29]

because that's what the show has to be like, although it sounds sad for the next story to pass.