From Good Housekeeping
The only thing that is always consistent on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day is Syfy The Twilight Zone marathon. It started this year on December 31 at 6 am, and fans of the show can watch all episodes of the series until the new year. But when tuning in, many people wonder why a classic cult program like Twilight Zone it would go down after just five seasons.
Before we get into the real reason for the end of the program, it is important to note that the original Twilight Zone anthology had 156 episodes. It aired once a week, from September to June, during 1959-1964, and the program was nominated for several awards. Creator and host Rod Serling won three Emmy’s and a Golden Globe during that time. Because of the show’s niche nature, its five-season streak was an incredible feat.
Why was it O Twilight Zone canceled?
Believe it or not, the Twilight Zone it was canceled more than once – well, more or less. Before the fourth season aired in 1962, the show was unable to find a sponsor. While Serling and other producers struggled to get one, the Twilight Zone he was abruptly removed from CBS’s fall program by executive James T. Aubrey, who was apparently not a fan of the science fiction program. O Twilight Zone was then replaced by a comedy series called Fair trade. However, in January 1963, Serling was asked to return to his original schedule as Fair trade it was considered a failure, and the network needed a program to fill its place.
During that time, Serling, who wrote 92 colossal episodes for the entire series, was experiencing severe burnout. “I never felt so out of ideas as at this moment … I wrote so much that I’m dizzy,” said Serling at the end of season 2, according to the book The Twilight Zone, a critical television story.
What didn’t help is that the show’s format went from half an hour to an hour when it was renewed for its fourth season, only exacerbating Serling’s exhaustion. “I was writing so much that I felt I had started to lose my perspective on what was good and what was bad,” said Serling.
Although the half-hour format returned in season five, it was met with tepid reviews. That, along with Serling spending less and less time in the artistic direction of the show, Aubrey ended up deciding to cancel the series forever. Many blogs and stories note that Serling was frustrated and too tired to fight for renewal. “You argue, you fight, you try to protect what was written, but you are fighting networks, advertising agencies, sponsors and pressure groups. I was forced to make concessions in every piece of television I wrote,” Serling said in 1961, of according to the book In the Zone: Rod Serling’s Twilight World.
After the end of Twilight Zone, Serling sold his rights to CBS, but continued to create and produce other programs and films. Although his experience with the program may have had its ups and downs, his dimension of imagination has become legendary.
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