Medium's Final Message

Medium has taken its fans on some intensely crazy rides over the course of seven seasons. Why should the finale be different? The CBS fright series — the victim of low ratings — will end its run tonight with the episode "Me Without You," which starts with psychic Allison Dubois and her family in the present day and follows them 48 years into the future.

Along the way there's a stop, circa 2018, and that's what Patricia Arquette — an Emmy winner as Allison — is shooting today. The setup: Allison's hubby, Joe (Jake Weber), has been missing and presumed dead for years, but she has just discovered he's actually running narcotics across the U.S. border for a Mexican crime lord. What? Stalwart Joe becomes a drug mule? It's just one of the many futuristic shocks and emotional surprises in store as the show wraps up.

"We're really going balls-to-the-wall," says Arquette. "You should have seen our writers when they were working on the script. They were in this total frenzy — their eyes were wild, they were sweating bullets. I've never seen anything like it!"

And Arquette has seen plenty. As the hopelessly sleep-deprived Allison, she's been haunted by prophetic dreams and countless murder victims who send her crime-solving clues from the spirit world. Through it all, Allison has been an awesome — and awesomely real — wife and mother, and this has made Medium one of the most poignant family dramas and love stories in recent TV history.

"The extraordinary marriage of Allison and Joe is the fuel that's driven this series from the start, and that's what we'll honor when the show ends," says creator Glenn Gordon Caron, who promises closure. "You won't be left wondering what happened to any of our people. There will be a genuine and provocative end to our story, though some viewers may take exception to what we've done." Caron is keeping details hush-hush. "But I will tell you the big, big, big ending secret," he teases. "Everyone is going to be fine."

Most everyone's doing fine on the set, too. "The cancellation wasn't really a shock, because we'd been on the bubble a long time," says Weber. "This is a good thing coming to its natural end." Adds Miguel Sandoval, who plays district attorney Manuel Devalos: "It was our fear we'd be canceled over a summer and not get to come back and finish our story. We're grateful CBS gave us a chance to wrap things up."

The finale marks the return of Sofia Vassilieva as eldest daughter Ariel. The 18-year-old left the show last fall to attend Columbia University. "The family breakfast scenes have meant the most to me," she says. "Kids fighting, cereal boxes flying — it made our strange supernatural show so relatable. And, trust me, I've eaten enough heart-healthy, fiber-packed Cheerios that, for the rest of my life, I'm going to be so fine!"

It's Maria Lark, who plays precocious middle sib Bridgette, who's feeling the pain. "I've been on this show over half my life!" says the 13-year-old. "It's a bummer that my character won't get to have all those life experiences, like sabotaging someone's prom dress or stealing a car. I had it all worked out. I'm a big planner!"

So is Arquette. "Years ago, I had a love affair that ended badly and I was really sad," recalls the star. "My brother said, 'Babe, don't worry about this guy. I guarantee you won't be thinking about him on your deathbed.' Well, that's not the case with Medium. These people will be with me to my very last days." Adds the actress with a laugh: "If my TV kids think they're getting rid of me just 'cause we got canceled, they're ca-raaazy! I'm already planning sleepovers at my house!"

Medium airs Friday at 8/7c on CBS.

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