AceShowbiz -

There's only one more episode of "Leverage" before the series closes the door for good. TNT has decided not to renew the drama/comedy series for a sixth season and will air the upcoming Tuesday, December 25 episode as the series finale.

"Leverage has thrilled audiences with its delightfully intricate plots, its stand up for the little guy attitude and its terrific performances from stars Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Christian Kane, Beth Riesgraf and Aldis Hodge," a TNT spokeswoman said in a statement. "But after five wonderful years, it's time to say goodbye. Leverage will come to a close on Christmas at 9 P.M., with a series finale that stands as one of the show's best episodes."

The network also said, "We also want to thank the passionately devoted fans of Leverage, who have been the driving force behind its success."

Executive producer Dean Devlin had actually hinted the end of the series last month in a letter posted on a fan site. He said the team started to scramble on a story that will craft the series finale starting the fifth season's episode 10 onwards. "We knew there were only five more [episodes] to go [in the season], and we had to make a decision," he said. "We decided to make the decision. We knew it was risky, so we thought, 'Let's go for it'."

As the fate had been decided, Devlin personally delivered the news on a letter posted Friday, December 21. "It has been decided today that this Tuesday's episode of Leverage 'The Long Goodbye Job' will be the series finale as TNT has decided not to renew the show for a sixth season," he wrote, adding it will be "bittersweet".

In "The Long Goodbye Job", the team embarks on their riskiest con yet when Nate takes a case linked to his son's death.