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Showtime Cancels The Borgias After Three Seasons

Showtime is ending The Borgias earlier than anticipated.

Nicholas White

Showtime is ending The Borgiasearlier than anticipated.

The network announced that the June 16 episode will be the series finale, which will conclude the drama after only three seasons. Borgias, which stars Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI, had been planned to run four seasons to parallel the lifespan of its Showtime predecessor The Tudors.

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"I never thought I would make a cable series and have enjoyed every minute of it," creator Neil Jordan said in a statement.  "For a variety of reasons we won't be doing a fourth season, but, 'The Prince' [the final episode], when I wrote it and shot it, did seem like the end of a journey for the family. Whatever bonded them as a family dies in this episode, and the center of the drama for me was always the family. I want to thank Showtime and [entertainment president] David Nevins for their unstinting support over the last three years, and look forward to working with them in the future."

Showtime has seen a number of its high-profile, award-winning series depart (or are scheduled to depart) in the past year including Weeds, The Big C, and Dexter, the latter of which premieres its final season in June.

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The Borgias hit a series high in ratings with its latest episode. Viewers for the current season average about 2.4 million, comparable to Season 2's viewership.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, The Borgias is a programming holdover from previous Showtime chief Robert Greenblatt, but is ending now that Nevins is in charge. The network is prepping a religion-themed show, The Vatican, starring Friday Night Lights' Kyle Chandler as Cardinal Thomas Duffy.

The Borgias series finale airs Sunday, June 16 at 10/9c on Showtime.

Will you miss The Borgias? Did you want the series to run longer?