Official: All Saints to end 11 year run
It's official. Seven finally confirms that All Saints will not return in 2010, to end with episode #493 at the end of the year.
- Published by David Knox
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It’s official. All Saints will end its long run on the Seven Network at the end of the year.
Seven has confirmed the end of the show after a stellar 11 year run as the country’s top medical drama, to wrap at episode #493.
Speculation has surrounded the status of the show for some time, triggered by a trimming of episodes to around half its annual slate and word that it had not yet been renewed for 2010.
Seven Director of Programming and Production Tim Worner said: “All Saints is a show which viewers and Seven have loved. However, an audience shift and increased production costs are behind this decision.
“The cast and crew deserve the highest admiration and respect for what they have achieved. All Saints has made a significant contribution to the rich history of Australian drama.”
When production ends in late August, cast and crew will wrap one of Australia’s longest running drama series, capping 12 seasons and nine Logie Awards. It is just topped by the 13 seasons of Blue Heelers. Serials Neighbours and Home and Away are now both in their third decades.
This year the show underwent a revamp with its Medical Response Unit, the second major overhaul in its long history. When it first aired in 1998 with Georgie Parker as Nurse Terri Sullivan, it featured the ‘garbage ward’ of the All Saints Western General Hospital. In 2004 it shifted the focus from Ward 17 to the emergency department.
Actress Judith McGrath remains the sole original cast member still working on the show, a terrific run in Aussie drama.
With filming well in advance of on-air episodes, the series will remain on screen until the end of the year.
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- Tagged with All Saints, Blue Heelers, Home and Away, Logie Awards, Neighbours
71 Responses
Never watched it myself, but you’ve got to be happy with a run of nearly 500 episodes. Very few American shows last that long.
I never watched it but I hope they give it a good send off like they did with a country practice in 1993 while ACP had almost 600 more episodes than all saints they should still give it a good send off
Which Country Practice finale? The one they had on Seven or on TEN?
Your quite right jake one aussie drama ends and another (9s Rescue) takes its place.
With Rush,Sea Patrol & Rescue as well as H&A & Neighbours we still have plenty of aussie drama.
And of course there’s the biggie Underbelly.
To those of you hoping for a huge finish for All Saints, given that it was scheduled to end production for the year next month anyway, it’s highly likely that the scripts for the final episodes have already been written. If these scripts featured a cliffhanger, then obviously they’ll have to be rewritten. If the producers saw the writing on the wall and instructed the writers to wrap up all of the storylines neatly (to enable a “fresh start” next year, if given the chance), then they probably won’t touch them. It’s a huge shame, though – what other Australian drama employs a core cast of about a dozen actors and also features 4-5 major guest spots each and every week? Certainly not PTTR.
The good news here is that we won’t have Tammy MacIntosh sukking up our screens. Hopefully John Howard and John Waters can find work that’s a bit more demanding.
I dont watch too many episodes of the show, so i’m not terribly bothered – but it’d have been nice for them to at least get to the 500th episode.
Is there a difference between a show getting “axed” and a show just ending it’s natural run.
Was “ER” axed? Or just came to an end?
Was “All Saints” axed, or just came to it’s natural end?
or was it just not renewed?
All Saints is coming to an end for the same reason ER did. Dwindling ratings, and cost.
I don’t think All Saints is being axed. It’s coming to an end, and I think it is its time. Dramas can not go on forever. 11 seasons is incredible.
This is a complete and utter cop out. Seven have really done it this time. All Saints is one of the great quality drama’s in this country getting 1.2m week in week out and yet Seven give it the axe? How about axing the production of Beauty and the Geek. This show is trash however you want to see it. I am sorry but this hasnt made my day at all. I did see it coming when rumours started and we were told at least another season and then they say nup this is it.
Sorry Seven but its unacceptable. I mean you can continue to show US shows getting way less than this and before people say it i know its cheaper to show them and most of them are great and i want to keep on seeing them but All Saints of all shows to axe this is bullshit. I still cant believe this decision.
The cast are brilliant and they are the ones out of pocket after it wraps up. They have lost their jobs. I feel for the entire cast, new and old. Sorry Seven but this is wrong. You could have least let it get to 500 episodes. Shame Seven Shame.
I just hope when it bows out that it doesnt end like a Mcleods Daughters or Blue Heelers did. Sure that ending was good but it wasnt how i pictured BH ending. I expected fireworks. Its gotta end with a bang.
I can understand why Seven decided to stop the show. It had strayed too far from it’s original premise and the audience has not adapted. My mum used to love this show since the beginning, she liked the first revamp with the move to the ER, but she was totally put off by the whole “search and rescue” revamp. I just hope Seven replace it with another excellent drama. PTTR and C-Ho (on Monday Nights) do great things for the network.
Where we lose one, we gain one. We’ve gained ‘Rescue’ and lost ‘All Saints’.
I am so disappointed. I have watched it since series 1. Ok it didn’t rate well when it was on at 8:30 but keep it on at 9:30 after packed to the rafters. Cut back on episodes don’t do the MRU storyline anymore but I just wish you didn’t axe it.Or just do what you do with City Homicide. Show it for 1/2 a year. My god it’s good Australian drama. Its a show our country made.
Where are the stars going to go. Overseas now I guess where America will take them. I am really sad about it. Hey it’s alright though they will keep on showing the Ghost Whisperer.
Thanks for nothing 7. Now that you have axed it you better bring out the rest of the series on DVD. So we have something to watch next year.
Though I never got into this show it’s a sad day when an Aussie drama ends. It means once again the Aussie way of life isn’t being shown on our TV. Hopefully a quality drama will replace it. I also hope that if another network picks it up they give it a better outing than Ch10 did with their revising of ‘A Country Practice’.
I’m actually not all that surprised; All Saints was a bit of an anachronism with its washed-out lighting, shaky soapie sets and pulp dialogue.
Australian drama has (thankfully) moved on, as Seven’s own City Homicide and Packed To The Rafters, as well as Ten’s Rush, have shown.
The last new “cardboard drama” we saw on TV was “Canal Road”, and look how long that one lasted. The viewers have spoken.
All saints had run its course
Very sad news indeed. Judith McGrath will be a sad loss from our TV screens. Brilliant actress.
Its sad to see a aussie drama end. IMO this is justified. There are only ao many stories u can tell before u become like a soap. Hopefully seven will use the budget for another drama for the beginning of next year otherwise there aussie drama shows will be bare until june 2010.
Home and Away will be next.
Yamn, the passing of a glorified soap opera that used to pass as drama here in Australia.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Seven make another foray into local drama, as they’ve found some good success with it so far (Packed to the Rafters being a prime example). As far as potential programs go, the hospital/medico, as well as the crime drama seems pretty well tapped (Rush and City Homicide seems to be all that we can take), unless Ten tries for a L&O localised syndication deal, which while unlikely, is not unheard of (L&O: London). The fluffy drama also seems to be stretched, so maybe this is the chance for some darker, HBO/Showtime Aussie drama to make an appearance. We’ll see.
Maybe it’s my bitterness that’s made me so anti-All Saints, it’s just I hated seeing a quality actor like John Howard being forced to do a poor Greg House impersonation. Hopefully now he can get back into a role that commands some respect.
Yep very disappointing. 1.2 million isn’t enough at 9.30 obviously….I was all for seven trying to save $$ by trimming its episode order from 40 to 22 which meant the show would still remain on air yet Seven would be saving half the amount of money per year. Plus it would keep production crew and cast employed in a difficult market in this country.
Perhaps now is the time to bring back Always Greener!
I will miss it muchly.
I just hope Seven don’t make another cop drama. We have enough.
Yes, very sad. I love my aussie drama and I was an extra on that show so will miss it in more ways than one. Hope they replace it with something just as good. Still, a very good run. Something to be proud of. All hail Judith McGrath! What a champion!
Just did a quick check of the ratings. This show rates quite well in my opiopion, its up there with Home and Away. Channel Seven has only them selves to blame, shifting the time to suit DWS was very annoying. Also why cant Rafters be shifted to another night, this show would do well any where. That way all saints could be kept in the 8.30 slot. I imagine a lot of older people like this show so switched off as was too late. Shame on you channel 7. We need more aussie dramas. No yank rubbish please and please no more reality.
This is f%$#ed…. every week this Aussie TV icon gets consistently good numbers (better than 70% of those yank crap cop dramas we are bombarded with) and obviously has a very loyal following.
Perhaps if they axed Todd McKenney from DWTS they could use his pay packet to cover extra costs??
Was never really a fan of All Saints, though did watch it on the odd occassion. Shame it’s gone, but it’s production costs, and the fact Seven have higher rating Australian drama (and meet their quota without it) ultimately led to it’s doom.
Let’s just hope Seven invest in another drama, and not some reality or factual wankfest.