Party On, Scott Wolf

The Party's over, and 31-year-old Scott Wolf, who's spent six years playing Party of Five's beleaguered Bailey Salinger, is ready to call it a day.

"It was an incredible ride," he tells the TV Guide Channel. "I'm going to take some time off... live a little bit, spend time with my family and friends and prepare myself for the next opportunity that comes along."

Not that Wolf was bored with Bailey, whose struggle with alcoholism fueled many of the series's most intense episodes. "The writers deserve a lot of credit for keeping these characters evolving and changing. I think it would have been really difficult to maintain our sanity and creativity if they [hadn't given] us the opportunity to keep changing and growing."

Over the course of six seasons, the five orphaned Salinger siblings have suffered a host of ills, large and small; the show itself was snatched from the jaws of cancellation by intensely devoted fans. We can rest assured that we'll be seeing its breakout stars ? Wolf, Neve Campbell and Jennifer Love Hewitt ? for some time to come, but without the troubled-but-loving Salingers, Wednesday nights are going to seem awfully empty. (The show's much-anticipated final episode airs May 3.)

Will the actors who've gone through so many family traumas together stay in touch? "We're a family for good, though not seeing them every day is going to be hard for a while," Wolf says. "I love them all, and I'm excited about getting a chance to have our careers go on their way [Wolf's last movie outing was the critically lauded cult picture Go], and being able to watch each other and support each other. It's going to be fun."