By Lacy Baugher for Comedy on February 4th, 2016

‘Vicious’ To End with Final Special in 2016

Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi in "Vicious". (Photo: PBS)

SVT XXXdag XX April 2013: kl.XX.XX: Programtitel: Vicious Bildtext: Derek Jacobi, Ian McKellen © Shine International Bilden får endast användas i programpresenterande sammanhang. Fotografens namn, Sveriges Television samt programmets titel skall alltid anges.

Well, there’s good news and bad news for fans of comedy series Vicious.

The show will be returning for an extended one-off special in 2016, but this extra episode will apparently also serve as the series finale.

Vicious stars acting legends Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Derek Jacobi as Freddie and Stuart, a bickering gay couple who’ve been together for over fifty years. The sitcom follows their various domestic adventures, which usually involve appearances from their upstairs neighbor Ash (Iwan Rheon) and BFF Violet (Frances de la Tour).

The new special will pick up where the Season 2 finale left off, an episode in which we finally saw Freddie and Stuart get married.

“It’s been an absolute delight to see Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi and Frances de la Tour bring alive these wonderful characters on screen for viewers,” said an ITV spokesman told UK newspaper The Sun, apparently confirming the cancellation rumor. “We’re over the moon all the cast are returning for one final special.”

The news of the sitcom’s end is not incredibly surprising, given that ratings had been falling since its premiere, and since it boasts two leads with very full schedules, it took nearly two years to produce and air a second season.

In a way, having something like official word is nice – too often fans are left hanging forever about the fate of beloved properties, until we all just assume the series must have been quietly axed while we weren’t looking. Plus, it’s always good to see shows given the chance to actually craft a legitimate ending for themselves rather than just stopping and pretending that whatever the endpoint happened to be is the same thing as an actual conclusion. This way, at least you get to say goodbye.

The Vicious finale episode was recorded in front of a live studio audience in London in December, and an airdate has yet to be determined (on either side of the Pond).

What are your thoughts on the show ending? 

By Lacy Baugher for Comedy on February 4th, 2016
Lacy Baugher

Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things Doctor Who, and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

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