In 2010, after five seasons, CBS announced the cancellation of the supernatural drama ‘Ghost Whisperer,’ giving high production costs and low ratings as reasons. Shortly after, CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler explained the decision in a statement to E! Online:
“It’s sad, but shows don’t stay on the air forever. […] Ultimately, it’s all about ratings for the network – that’s where we have to continue to improve and succeed. It was personally very tough – [Jennifer Love Hewitt] is a friend, the producers are friends, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus is someone who’s done very well for us.”
‘Ghost Whisperer’ began its first season with an average rating of 2.9 among the adult US viewership. While there was a rise after its debut, ratings saw a marked decrease by the fifth season, bottoming out at 1.9.
So, CBS revealed its decision to end the series shortly before the release of its season finale on May 21. As the news came up after the filming was finished, the show couldn’t wrap up Melinda Gordon’s story.
Speaking of the unfinished storyline in a Zap2it interview in 2011, ‘Ghost Whisperer’ main lead, Jennifer Love Hewitt, said:
“I was bummed for Melinda because I didn’t feel the series ended the way that she deserved for it to. We left the audience sort of hanging, and I hate that. When you’ve taken people on a journey for so long, the least you can do is give them a goodbye. For a show that was about unfinished business, we didn’t get to finish.”
Following the show’s cancellation, news about ABC’s interest in renewing it for season 6 arose. But the plans didn’t work out due to financial disagreements. Still, Hewitt shared her wishes for a reboot in an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 2018:
“That part just meant too much to me, and it was so much of who I was, I worked really hard to make Melinda who she is. So if they wanted to do a 10-episode revival on Netflix, like finishing the series or something, I’m happy to do that. But giving it over to somebody would crush me.”
Currently, there are no other plans to reboot ‘Ghost Whisperer’ in the near future.