After three seasons, “Under the Dome” on CBS will be go off the air permanently. CBS announced that the season finale will also be the last in the entire series.
E! Online reported that on August 31, 2015, CBS made the announcement that the upcoming Season 3 ending of “Under the Dome” will also be the series finale. The episode provides answers to the strange dome that wraps around the quiet Maine town of Chester’s Mill. The final episode is set to air on Thursday, September 10, 2015.
The series is based on a novel by Stephen King of the same title. King himself wrote the Season 2 premiere and even appeared in a cameo role during the episode. The story revolves around the residents of a small town that was isolated from the rest of the world after giant transparent dome covers the city limits. The people only had to deal with unreliable radio communication. There was no cellular or internet service in any part of the place.
CBS also assured fans during a press release, saying that several questions regarding the source and power of the dome will finally be put to rest in the final episode. Two groups of residents will be embroiled in a last conflict, with a number of characters dying, based on the same E! Online report.
"Two years ago,Under the Dome broke new ground in the summer and became an instant hit on CBS, as well as with viewers around the world. ... We're excited to present the final chapter in Chester's Mill as the story comes full circle, with the Dome coming down as dramatically as it went up.", Nina Tassler, CBS Entertainment chairman, stated during a press release.
Variety wrote that “Under the Dome” first premiered in June 2013. The summer series was well-received by viewers, although numbers started to go down in the past two years. In live plus same-day, the show had 11.2 million viewers and averaged a 2.7 rating in adults, ages 18 to 49, in the first season. In Season 2, the viewership dropped to 7.2 million and further to 4.9 million in the third season.
“Well, what I’ll tell you is the dome is coming down at the end of this season, but that opens up a host of other storytelling opportunities,” she said. “You just don’t know what will happen when the dome comes down. So we are not making a decision just yet,” Tassle said at the Television Critics’ Assn. summer press tour in August.