HBO Sets Date for Fifth and Final Season of Big Love, New Project in the Works for Olsen/Scheffer

It's official: it's the end of the road for the Henrickson clan.

HBO today announced that the fifth and final season of Big Love will kick off on January 16th. Yes, you read that correctly: the final season.

“It has been an honor and pleasure to work with series creators Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer on this unique and provocative series, and I’m happy that they will be able to bring the story to its close the way they always envisioned,” said HBO Programming president Michael Lombardo in a statement. “We look forward with great anticipation to collaborating with Mark and Will on their next venture.”

However, don't get angry at HBO. At least according to comments made by Olsen and Scheffer in the official press release, it seems as though the series is reaching a natural ending, as it were... and the duo aren't going anywhere. It appears that a new HBO project for the writing team will be announced shortly.

“When we created Big Love in 2002, we had a strong conception of the journey the Henrickson family would make over the course of the series, of the story we had to tell,” said Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer in a joint statement. “While we were in the writers’ room this year shaping our fifth season, we discovered that we were approaching the culmination of that story.

“Big Love has been our all-consuming labor of love for the past eight years. We are very grateful for HBO’s continuing support and for the collaborative effort of our partners at Playtone, our producers, our fine cast and our fellow craftsmen and crew for making this show the exceptional and joyful experience that it’s been," they continued. "This coming January, we look forward to presenting our audience with the most vibrant and satisfying final season of a television series that we can produce.”

Here's what executive producer Gary Goetzman had to say about the news:

“Big Love has been a truly rewarding experience in every way for Tom Hanks and me,” said Goetzman. “We’ve been so fortunate to have had such a tremendous cast over the five seasons, and we’ve never been less than amazed with their brilliance and willingness to take risks. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed our partnership with Will and Mark and have always been blown away by their storytelling abilities. We believe this final season of BIG LOVE will be the best ever.”

As for that future project, here's what HBO had to say: "Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer have a continuing relationship with HBO, and their next project for the network will be announced when it is confirmed."

In other words: stay tuned.

Personally, I'm going to miss the Henricksons. Over the last four seasons, I've come to fall head over heels in love with this complex and emotionally resonant series. While Season Four may have been shaky at times, I still maintain that the third season of Big Love stacks up against the all-time greatest television seasons of all time.

And I have a feeling that Season Five will attempt to shift the tone of the series back in line with where it was in the third season. I have faith in Olsen and Scheffer to not only wrap up this series with grace and grit but also to reduce me to tears once more.

Are you sad about the news? Is it time for HBO to wrap up the saga of the polygamist family drama? Or is there still life left in this non-traditional family? Head to the comments to discuss.