On a day that most everyone knew was going to come at some point, but never wanted to admit, comes the news that Spooks (MI5 in the States) will come to an end after, what producers call, a ‘thrilling finale’ for series 10. Known for its propensity to kill off both major and minor characters at an alarmingly regular rate, Spooks was, without question, one of the most brilliant television series ever.

Contrary to the laundry list of series that have been given the axe recently by the BBC in cost-cutting measures due to the mandated license fee freeze, it was Kudos chief executive and Spooks executive producer Jane Featherstone who made the initial decision, saying: “I feel very sad about it. It was a very difficult decision to make. But we didn’t want to get to the point where the BBC said we don’t really want another one, we wanted to kill it off in its prime.”

While producers promise a high-octane final series full of surprises, there is speculation that viewers might see some friendly Section D faces from past seasons. Any thoughts on who? Keeley Hawes (Zoe) maybe? She is still alive, you know. Matthew Macfadyen (Tom), perhaps? Decommissioned, but he, too, is still alive. Might be just a bit difficult for the likes of Richard Armitage (Lucas), Rupert Penry-Jones (Adam) or Hermione Norris (Ros) to re-enter The Grid unless it’s in flashback fashion.

Though very little has leaked about the 10th and final series, it will focus on Harry Pearce (Peter Firth), head of the counter-terrorism unit of MI-5 and the only remaining original lead character. Nothing official yet from a broadcast standpoint but, most likely, the final series will premiere in the early Fall in the UK and in April 2012 in the U.S. on public television stations nationwide.

Sadly, I guess with S10 being the last season, I have come to the realization that my hope of seen DCI Gene Hunt taking over as head of Section D just isn’t going to happen.

In case you’ve forgotten the greatness of Spooks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfWrfyywdCA