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Add the andPOP Facebook Application(andPOP) - The O.C. is coming to an end. Once the hottest show on television, The O.C. has been struggling in the ratings this season and on Wednesday, Fox decided to pull the plug.
The show's fourth season finale on Feb. 22 will also be the show's series finale.
"This feels like the best time to bring the show to its close," the show's creator and executive producer, Josh Schwartz, said in a statement. "Thanks to the hard work of our cast, crew and writers, we have enjoyed our best season yet, and what better time to go out than creatively on top."
When The O.C. debuted late in the summer of 2003, it drew close to 10 million viewers a week. However, in its fourth season, the audience turned into about a third of that number.
The diehard fans – those that were left, at least – saw the move coming. Fox only ordered 16 episodes this season (all 16 will air), though in past seasons, they aired at least 24. An online petition to save the show attracted close to 300,000 signatures.
Adam Brody, who played Seth Cohen on The O.C., told andPOP last year that he expected the show to last at least six seasons.
"We all have six year contracts, so there's at least that. Then who knows," Brody told andPOP, just before the launch of the show's third season.
Beyond its sixth season, Brody wasn't as sure. "I don't know. I'd have to see when we get there."
For Brody and the rest of the cast – which also included Rachel Bilson and Benjamin McKenzie – they won't have the chance to get there.
Schwartz said that the show's finale would bring "closure" to the series.
"It will be fun and emotional and I think really satisfying," he said in the statement. "It is the finale we always planned to do."
