Why was Star Trek: The Next Generation cancelled?

Question

The standard reason for a TV show to get cancelled is when the ratings drop. Was that the case for "The Next Generation" too? What exactly is meant by "low ratings": is it absolute numbers, or relative to other shows, or relative to the production costs?

Ratings are not the only conceivable reason for cancellation. Sometimes a show just loses steam, or the people behind the scenes lose interest. (For instance, "Seinfeld" ended because Jerry Seinfeld wanted it to end, despite it being enormously successful at that point.)

If ratings were the reason, does anybody have any insight as to what the the actual viewer numbers were? And how strong they would have had to be in order for the show to continue? Wikipedia has a section on the cancellation, but it's quite vague, I'd like to know some actual numbers.

(I personally think TNG never jumped the shark, I thought the longer it ran the stronger the show got, but who's asking me :-))

Answer 1

From Star Trek: The Next Generation - Cancellation:

Although the cast members were contracted for eight seasons, Paramount ended The Next Generation after seven, an unusual decision for a successful television show. Although doing so let the studio begin making films using the cast, the main reason was that additional seasons would likely have reduced the show's profitability, due to higher cast salaries and a lower price per episode when sold for stripping. The cancellation also encouraged viewers to watch Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the forthcoming Star Trek: Voyager, both of which were much cheaper to make than The Next Generation. The show's strong ratings continued to the end; the series finale was ranked #2 among all shows that week, between fellow hits Home Improvement and Seinfeld.

This explanation seems pretty logical to me. Cancel this high cost show so fans will want movies and newer shows, which in turn will have a higher profit margin as well as drive the franchise forward.

Answer 2

I was a big fan of Next Gen from the beginning and read everything I found in print about the show during its run. The rumor during season 5 was that Patrick Stewart had asked to end the show after season 6 so that he could do other projects. I seem to remember that Sterwart's contract was for only 6 years (his request), and the producers briefly considered doing a last season without him. Some time later (before season 6 began filming) Stewart agree to continue for a 7th and final season.

This isn't to say that Stewart had final say on how many seasons the show would continue. The producers didn't want to continue filming a series with an unhappy lead actor, and they felt Next Generation would suffer without Picard.

All the other things were in play too, increasing salary costs (maybe they had to bump Stewart's to get him to stay on), moving the audience focus to DS9 and freeing up resources to create Voyager. Yes, the cast of Next Gen wasn't happy about losing their jobs, except for Stewart.

A minor point. The show ended. It wasn't really cancelled. When a tv show is cancelled, usually the decision is made by a small number execs after the season has finished filming. The cast and crew get a call that they don't jobs anymore. Occasionally a series is cancelled (or might be) mid-season and the writers are given a couple months to decide how to end it, or at least write a story that can function either as an end of season show and a series finale. In Next Gen's case, the end was negotiated among key players over a long period of time. The producers and writers had the chance to map out how they would finish off the final year. Of course, many of the cast and crew weren't given a vote in the matter, but they had advanced warning and a chance to say their goodbyes.

Answer 3

Adding addendum to the excellent answers already presented.

Paramount’s answer: ”It’s always tough to cancel a series that’s doing as well as Next Generation,” says Joel Berman (no relation to Rick), the studio’s executive vice president of domestic television. ”But the bottom line is that a successful feature-film franchise can be more profitable than a TV series. We thought it was time to launch Next Generation as a movie franchise, and we didn’t think we could do the television series at the same time. Why would people go to movie theaters to see Next Generation if new episodes were available on TV every week? The movie wouldn’t be as special.”¹

¹Source

As usual it came down to profitability.

Answer 4

The problem, also, was that after 7 seasons, there were too many episodes in syndication. All of the local stations showing TNG reruns stopped buying new ones, because they had plenty.

This is the reason given in that BIG, coffee table-sized TNG book The Continuing Mission, which is a brilliant book btw.