Teen Wolf had a loyal following, and fans were shocked when MTV suddenly pulled the plug on it. Here’s why Teen Wolf ended after season 6.
MTV canceled Teen Wolf instead of Teen Wolf season 7 happening. The supernatural series was inspired by the 1985 film of the same name starring Michael J. Fox. Set in the fictional Beacon Hills, it debuted in 2011 with Tyler Posey playing the main character, Scott McCall. Teen Wolf garnered generally positive reviews, amassing a loyal following, and fans were dismayed when it was revealed Teen Wolf season 7 wouldn’t happen. The second half of Teen Wolf season 6 showed the cast in their respective new lives — until they’re called back to Beacon Hills for one more team-up.
When MTV renewed Teen Wolf for a 10-episode sixth season in 2015, no announcement named it the final season. Both creator Jeff Davis and MTV executives claim they mutually agreed to end the show after six years. There was no indication for fans, however, that Teen Wolf was wrapping up storylines before the announcement. The storytelling format of Teen Wolf season 6 — two narrative arcs — implies that the show might have crammed two arcs into the last episodes. However, Teen Wolf: The Movie’s release has made up for the lack of Teen Wolf season 7.
Why MTV Canceled Teen Wolf
There’s never been an official reason given for why Teen Wolf was canceled, other than the series “ran its course,” but chances are that Teen Wolf was canceled primarily due to low ratings. But that’s not the only reason Teen Wolf season 7 never aired. In 2016, MTV started to shift its content to unscripted programs.
In April of that year, the cable network ordered 11 unscripted shows, including a music competition from Mark Burnett, the producer behind popular shows like The Voice, Survivor, and Shark Tank. It also greenlit reality competitions to take advantage of its growing audience, as well as some docuseries. MTV did pick up a few scripted shows to balance it out, but it’s clear that they were putting more focus on their unscripted content — which was bad news for projects such as Teen Wolf.
It also likely didn’t help that Teen Wolf’s ratings had been steadily dropping since it peaked in season 3 with an average of 1.97 million viewers. Teen Wolf season 4 saw a slight drop in audience share with 1.61 million viewers, which was still sustainable, but by season 5, Teen Wolf saw a significant decrease to only an average of 1.07 million tuning in.
By its final season, the number fully tanked with only less than half a million viewers on average. It’s possible that the public was starting to lose interest in Teen Wolf and where it was headed, but the departure of several main cast members over the years may have also had something to do with it.
Tyler Hoechlin, Colton Hayes, and Arden Cho, who played prominent characters Derek Hale, Jackson Whittemore, and Kira Yukimura, respectively, left their posts for various reasons. Teen Wolf also had to work its way around O’Brien’s injury, incurred while filming Maze Runner: The Death Cure, which forced them to use Stiles sparingly in season 6. This was disappointing for a lot of long-time fans who were hoping that season 7 would see some Teen Wolf characters return, as well as increased interaction between certain figures like Stiles and Scott.
