Fans of the long-running military sci-fi drama Stargate SG-1 were shocked when the series was abruptly canceled in 2007. The Syfy Channel announced the series' closure just as SG-1 aired its 200th episode, making it the first cable scripted television show to reach such a milestone. The series, which premiered on Showtime in 1997 before moving to Syfy for the remainder of the series' run, followed the adventures of SG-1, a military team traveling from Earth to distant planets using a portal called Stargate. Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner created the show, which served as a sequel to the 1994 film directed by Roland Emmerich. There are several reasons for SG-1's cancellation, and here's what we know about why the series ended with Season 10.

Throughout its 10-season run, SG-1 became a ratings success and was nominated for several awards, including seven Emmy nominations, surpassing all expectations after a lukewarm reception to its pilot episode. Several publications like Rolling Stone and Syfy Wire described SG-1 as one of the greatest sci-fi series of all time. It spawned several television series including Stargate Universe, which was canceled after two seasons, and Stargate Atlantis, which ran concurrently to SG-1.

RELATED: Stargate SG-1: Why Janet Fraiser Actor Teryl Rothery Left the Show

TV cast of stargate sg-1

Starting in Season 8, SG-1's ratings took a dive, and it competed for viewers alongside its spinoff series, Stargate Atlantis, as well as Battlestar Galactica. In Season 9, SG-1 undertook a soft reset, adding three new characters, General Hank Landry (Beau Bridges), Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell (Ben Browder) and Vala Mal Doran (Claudia Black), and introducing new villains known as Ori. These new elements didn't guarantee the series' longevity past Season 10, and Syfy confirmed the cancellation in 2006. Part of the reason for the show’s premature end seemed to be its decline in ratings combined with rising production costs and a lack of marketing. After all, Season 10 premiered to the lowest ratings in the show's history and was the most expensive to produce. That being said, Syfy has claimed the decision was not based on the show’s ratings and that the writers were enough time to conclude storylines properly.

Mark Stern, the Executive Vice President of Original Programming for Syfy, spoke about the series' end:

"There is not going to be (a season 11 of Stargate SG-1) on U.S. television. Our contract with MGM prohibits it. It's done a great job, rejuvenated with the additions of Ben, Claudia, and Beau, but we think we've come to the end of those stories. We really felt like it was the right time to segue out, for the show not to overstay its welcome."

RELATED: Cliff Simon, Stargate SG-1's Ba’al, Dies at 58

Cast of Stargate SG-1

Stern also acknowledged the decline in numbers was partially related to the DVR, saying: "‘Nielsen’s sampling is not representative of the larger universe yet. They’re sampling 3 percent and the larger [DVR] universe is something like 10 to 13 percent.”

Despite SG-1's end, producers expressed a desire for the series to continue on as a mini-series, movie or eleventh season on another network. SG-1 lived on in its spinoffs and two feature films, Stargate: Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum, which explored and concluded storylines introduced in the series. In 2008, Amanda Tapping, who played Samantha Carter on all ten seasons of SG-1, joined the fourth season of Stargate: Atlantis. The spinoff was then cancelled after its fifth season, but Brad Wright did confirm in 2020 that he is working on a new project, which could be another Stargate series.

KEEP READING: Caprica: Why the Battlestar Galactica Prequel Ended After 1 Season