Spartacus Season 3: War of the Damned will be the Last – why was it cancelled? Find out inside! & Season Teaser Trailer

I’M SPARTACUS!

Sad news Spartacus Fans, the Starz cable network have confirmed that the third season of the hit show Spartacus will be the last and that makes me a sad panda.

On some levels I’m surprised. I thought the show was doing reasonably well in the ratings, even after Andy Whitfield’s passing, so the question is: why cancel the show? Well, according Executive Producer and Showrunner Steven S. DeKnight it’s a mixture of not wanting to water down the show and a question of risk.

During an interview with IGN, he said, “Starz always does the unexpected. This show has been challenged, to say the least, in many, many ways. We’ve faced many difficulties and tragedies on the show. My original plan was to attack the show in a five to seven season arc. Once we got into it and after Andy’s passing and looking at the historical story of Spartacus, we came to the decision to basically end on a high note. We certainly could have continued for a few more seasons and stretched it out, but we really wanted to end high and not feel like we were treading water — and really just condense the rest of the history into one amazing ten-episode, badass final season.”

“You know, the whole show was a huge risk from the start for Starz, and it was another huge risk when I decided to try to keep the show going after Andy’s passing. Any normal studio would have just cancelled the show at that point and not risk the financial downside of it not working. But Starz, thankfully, really stuck by the show, and they really wanted it to be told all the way to the end. They didn’t want to cheat the viewers and just suddenly pull the plug. So they gave us this opportunity to wrap up the story, and we’re certainly taking that opportunity and running with it. This is by far the biggest season we’ve ever attempted.”

“There was a lot of conversation. We knew towards the end of making the last season — we were 90 percent sure that we would be wrapping it up. And then there were a lot of questions and back and forth about do we do ten episodes, do we do 12, do we do 16, do we do 20? Ultimately, when we looked at it from all angles both financially and creatively, we decided, ‘Let’s do ten. Let’s take history, take the best parts of the story and really just try to end this as strong as possible.’”

While I disappointed that one of my favourite shows will be ending after just one more season, it’s difficult to be upset with the studio or the showrunner’s decision in the matter. DeKnight’s right: most shows would’ve cancelled the series after Andy’s sad passing. At least they’re able to finish the story and least it won’t be long and drawn out like so many other shows out there.

The third season of Spartacus will air in January 2013 and I can’t wait. Check out the trailer below:

What do you think of this? Are you glad the network are letting the show finish in a non-watered down way? Or would you like to see the show continue? Please let me know in the comments section below – I’d love to hear from you!

Have you missed the Spartacus TV series? Just want to catch up on the series? Check out the totally awesometastic DVD deals below:

• Get Spartacus: Blood and Sand – The Complete First Season on DVD for just $23.01!
• Get Spartacus: Gods Of The Arena – The Complete Collection on DVD for just $15.89!
• Get Spartacus: Vengeance – The Complete Second Season on DVD for just $44.98!