MacGyver showrunner Monica Macer discussed how the show reshot its series finale, after learning that its Season 5 finale would be the show's very last episode.
Macer recalled to TVLine, "I got the call from the network execs, the head of the network, and I was surprised. I don't know if I can quantify it. I guess I was shocked."
Macer added that she planned for the series to reach seven or eight seasons, meaning they had to rethink Season 5's end when the show received the cancellation news from the network. "I knew that in the past, MacGyver had been a bubble show, but we were so proud of the work that we did this season and so hopeful, really hopeful, that we were going to get another shot," she said. "But I also understand that there are so many decisions, high-level decisions, being made at the network and studio level that factor into this type of decision."
She continued, "We're saddened but also really grateful that we had the opportunity to finish the [nine] episodes that were outstanding from last season and incorporate them into this season -- which was no small feat on a storytelling level -- and be able to finish production."
The showrunner discussed how her perspective of Season 5's end shifted, noting, "We got the news right as I was getting ready to go into a second edit session on what was supposed to be our season finale, and I had to switch gears and make all the calls, so we stopped. There's a moment in the finale when Mac is coding on the table and we go into his subconscious mind state, and that was where I was like, 'We need to give something to the fans,' because now this is a series finale, and we shot a season finale."
Ultimately, MacGyver decided to show flashes of the team and the people that were closest to Mac across the five seasons. "And there's a very clear nod to the fans with the Riley flashes," she continued. "If you count the number of flashes and how that sequence starts and ends, Mac knows, in his heart, who he's supposed to be with ultimately. And that's Riley."
MacGyver stars Lucas Till, Tristin Mays, Justin Hires, Meredith Eaton, Levy Tran and Henry Ian Cusick. The fifth and final season wrapped on April 30 on CBS.
Source: TVLine