Update on Merlin2Return!

Thnak you to ...she wrote:

UPDATE: Great news!! Anyone whose e-mailed Alex Mahon might have already seen her reply, but she's contacted fans and she is very positive about Merlin's return or if in the very least, a good quality show about Camelot in the future. Click on the link: it's what the Leader of the Merlin2Return campaign has to say about it:

www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbi…

And her email:

Hello

I apologise this has taken a few days to respond to your many emails, but it has been worth thinking to reply in more detail.

As some of you know, I’ve said before that we greatly appreciate your support for Merlin, and we really respect, and in fact admire, the way you have marshalled together in such a concerted way to try to see the series return. It is as ever humbling to see how much the show is loved, even if this comes with a clear frustration with how the series finished at season 5.

As such let me try and explain further some of the circumstances by which the show ended and where we now stand as, there is no conspiracy or cover up but rather it coming back is not down to a simple yes or no, although we at Shine would be delighted for it to continue or return.

If it were that simple, believe me, a campaign would not be necessary; after all, we as a production company were making a show that was successful, one that was rating better than any of its predecessor series for the BBC and around the world. (We are very aware, and very proud of, Merlin’s international and cross generational appeal.)

As you know, the BBC would have commissioned another series and we as the production company would have made another, but at the heart of any successful drama is the creative talent, the brilliant writers, cast and crew, that had and realised the vision and they felt they wanted to end the story when they did.

As I’ve said before it wasn’t an easy decision for them, it was one taken after discussion between them all, and not everyone may have agreed (hence you may well hear from some cast that they wanted to do another) but it was a collective one that Shine as the producers and the BBC had to respect. Creative-led decisions to end series when they are still very popular are still rare in TV; usually if you have a hit you keep making it until a broadcaster decides they no longer want to order it, but they happen and this is one of those cases.

And when they do the endings can be polarising. As a viewer I have felt that myself when shows I love have ended, and I therefore sympathise. You only need to read the different chat rooms devoted to Seinfeld, Sopranos or even Spooks endings to see that feelings are still raw and opinions divided, years on from transmission. Everyone is entitled to like or not like how Series 5 concluded.

But as a company we pride ourselves on empowering the creatives we work with, and we allow them to realise their vision without interference from beginning to end. Though I appreciate that this throws up unanswered questions like the ones you have all emailed me, this was their vision and their ending. In the same way that you wouldn’t expect the head of record company to speak about an artists’ songs, we also respect our creative and writing teams and that includes how they chose to close series five.

So where does all that leave us as regards your wishes for Merlin to return..?

Well, never say never, and we remain open minded. But as it stands Merlin in the form that you all love is not set to return for the reasons above. The creators and cast having made the decision are onto new companies, shows or films. Again, changing this isn’t in the gift of one person but we remain open minded and if circumstances were ever to change in the future though we would be happy to make it. Indeed we have a team who are looking at whether and how the series could re-launch as we do believe that there are more stories to tell from Camelot albeit in a different way. Stories that are faithful to that universe and can stand shoulder to shoulder with the last five series, but which take the concept and world of the series in a new direction. I know it is made it very clear on the page to say ‘no to a spin-off’, and let me be clear, we do not assume any support for this, and we want to be clear that any new show would not be developed at the expense of a series 6 for the above reasons. But in the montage you have on the page of shows that have been brought back, there are several examples of brilliantly executed new departures on much loved concepts or series - Battlestar Gallactica and Star Trek to name but two. Our ambitions are similar. To achieve this we need the time and the team to craft the right stories and of course a willing buyer to fund the production.

I’ve said before that we’ll release any news on any of the above on our social media sites, and if you’ll have me I’ll join merlin2return to update directly when we have any news.

We are fully aware the support for any new iteration has to be earned, but if you want us to let you know as we progress and you have my absolute assurance that we will listen to your thoughts and feedback as we develop these ideas.

Best regards and thank you for your passion and continued support – it is incredibly impressive.

Alex Mahon