This past weekend was the series finale for Orphan Black. It was one of the best dark science sci-fi shows on television and it will most definitely be missed. It amassed quite a fan following over it’s five-year span and it’s easy to see why. It had some great writing, an engrossing plot and some of the best acting to be seen in years, primarily from Tatiana Maslany who played the five primary clone characters plus any additional clones that popped up along the way. But as good as it was, Orphan Black was a show with a plan in place – the series was intended to span five years and it did, providing a full story arc and satisfying ending for viewers. 

Not many tv series get to do that these days. Often, you can tell the creators of a show are unsure of its future by the way they end the first season – there’s enough to wrap up an arc, answer a few questions and maybe leave one or two points dangling that can be answered if a second season comes around. Then there are the ones that get renewed before the season ends, so a cliffhanger of some sort is bound to happen in the final episode. Of course, there are also those shows that get cut before a single season is over, leaving viewers clamoring for resolution (and hoping for at least a wrap-up tv movie at some point).

Multi-season story arcs are one way popular shows can get around the concern of ending. Have some detailed plot that continues for two or three years and, as long as it’s well-written, you’ll keep your fanbase interested and wanting more. Look at Supernatural, for example – producers didn’t think it would get more than five seasons, so they created a five-season story arc. Then when it reached the end and the show was more popular than ever, they had to come up with another arc to keep things going (which it has, considering season 13 is starting in October). It’s also a method followed by the superhero shows now – once they make it through their first season, the story line is fleshed out and followed through for a couple more (check out Arrow for the best example in that realm).

Personally, I like long story arcs because they keep me interested beyond single episodes. When they are thought through, well-written and acted, and provide something a little unexpected every once in awhile it’s much more engrossing and lends itself more easily to create fandoms. That’s why Orphan Black worked so well – it went deep into all sides of the story, connected characters and elements that seemed completely unrelated, and threw in a chunk of crazy on a regular basis that somehow worked. After a couple of episodes viewers became so involved in the story that, like a page-turner of a novel, you had to find out what happened next. And as much as fans would have loved to see the show continue, it went out on top and ended things in the right way.

Long live Clone Club!