Smallville remains one of television’s biggest hits, telling the story of a young Clark Kent and his journey into adulthood. However, after 10 seasons and a large audience, The CW ended up unexpectedly canceling it.
Smallville was an immensely popular Superman prequel series during its run, but as of the later seasons, it was never clear how long the series would continue. Specifically, each of the final three seasons of “Smallville” inevitably raised the question of whether it would be the last, until season 10 was officially announced as the series’ finale.
As season 10 approached, “Smallville” was still popular enough to suggest that it would continue into season 11. In the end it didn’t, and it turned out for the better: the series remained a ten-year saga about a young Clark Kent, played by Tom Wellingand his journey from Kansas farmer to Man of Steel.
The official reason why the eleventh season of “Smallville“took place has never been stated, but there are several possibilities embedded in the series itself. At the time of the finale, the series had already been on the air for ten years, and it is natural that the series’ ratings have been declining during that time, regardless of the popularity of the series itself.
In the case of “Smallville“, the WB and then the The CW had high ratings for ten years, but the gradual decline in viewership may have indicated to the network that the tenth season was the right time to end “Smallville.”
As a Superman series filled with superpowers, metahuman heroes, and CGI scenes, “Smallville” was an expensive series for the CW network. Networks often evaluate the relationship between budget and audience when deciding whether to air additional seasons, and it is quite possible that the combination of “Smallville’s” budget and its audience in the later seasons caused the 10th season to be the last.
Furthermore, one of the most likely factors as to why “Smallville” ended in its tenth season lies in the very concept of the series. Since “Smallville” is based on the concept of Superman’s life before becoming Superman, the series simply could not maintain the status quo of “no tights” indefinitely. , without flying.” Although ratings and budget considerations partly led to the decision to end “Smallville” with a tenth season, the fact is that “Smallville” always had a definitive endpoint.
