‘Mythbusters’ Cancelled: ‘We Get To Pay Homage To This Thing That’s Changed Our Lives’

Mythbusters has been debunking some of pop culture’s greatest myths and urban legends since the series debuted on The Discovery Channel in 2003, but it seems the time has come for the show, hosted by Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, to come to an end. While Mythbusters creators are working with The Discovery Channel to ensure that the series will live on in syndication with the entire Mythbusters library being available through the network’s sister channel, there will be no new episodes after next season.

Mythbusters Will Be Available For Future Generations

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Rich Ross, who serves as the group president of Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and Science Channel, says that Mythbusters has earned a permanent place in Discovery’s history and credits Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman with bringing learning and science to the public in an entertaining way. He adds that the Mythbusters legacy will endure, as the show will be moved over to The Science Channel, where the entire series will be available to fans and new audiences.

John Luscombe, who is the general manager and executive vice president for Beyond Productions, which is responsible for producing Mythbusters, responded to news of the cancellation, adding his own insight into the effect Mythbusters has had.

“For 14 years Adam and Jamie have given blood, sweat, tears and more to Mythbusters,” Luscombe said of Mythbusters’ cancellation, according to Variety. “Their unique personalities and extraordinarily diverse skill sets have literally redefined science television. It has been an absolute pleasure to be part of their time at the helm of Mythbusters.”

Adam Savage Responds To The End Of Mythbusters

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In general terms, television shows rarely get advance notice of cancellation, which often prevents many beloved series from providing a sense of closure for fans with a series finale. Adam Savage admits he often thought Mythbusters would end with such a whisper, without being given the opportunity to say good-bye to the fans that have made Mythbusters such a huge success for so many years.

Instead, there is the time granted by The Discovery Channel for the Mythbuster’s cast and crew to put together a final season that will really impress audiences and give that big sendoff for which Mythbusters fans must be hoping. Savage credits Discovery for giving them this opportunity, recognizing that the cable network could have just easily dropped Mythbusters without much notice at all.

Adam Savage told Entertainment Weekly that the Mythbusters cancellation wasn’t completely unexpected, though he was still taken by surprise upon learning of the news.

“Every show has its bell curve. We’re cognizant of our ratings. It’s not like they were terrible but we could see them changing. Three or four years ago we started wondering more if we were going to be renewed. It’s not like it’s unexpected. Still it was kind of amazing that it happened. The thing that really makes me happy is most cable shows like ours just end. They get past their freshness date, you finish a season and then you hear you’ll never see another one. I truly thought that’s the way Mythbusters would end. We’ve been filming the last season this year and we get to send it off. We get to pay homage to this thing that’s changed our lives.”

For that final season, Adam acknowledges that a few of the planned episodes are already underway. A list of episode ideas includes blowing up a cement truck with 10,000 pounds of ANFO and crushing a 60-ton train tanker with steam implosion. Savage says that the Mythbusters team want the final season to be representative of the categories that fans most likely feel should be covered.

Mr. Savage adds that, while the series finale might not compete with Bob Newhart waking up to Suzanne Pleshette, the Mythbusters series finale will still be pretty impressive.

As for the future, Adam Savage sees more television beyond Mythbusters, though he’s conflicted about whether he’d prefer to be on screen or behind the camera. Perhaps he’ll do both.

[Featured image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Discovery Communications]