Hey internet. I’ve got some tough news I have to deliver. Are you sitting down? Do you have a minute? Here, have this picture of a dachshund dressed as a crayon to relax:
Everyone good? Okay here goes.
There’s no easy way to say it so I’m just going to say it: Gravity Falls is coming to an end. There are two more episodes left: “Weirdmageddon II: Escape from Reality” and “Weirdmageddon III” which will be our hour long series finale. After that, Gravity Falls as we know it will be over.
I know how tough this will be for many fans, and I feel you guys. But before you start sending me .GIF’s of pitchforks and torches let me explain.
The first thing to know is that the show isn’t being cancelled- it’s being finished. This is 100% my choice, and its something I decided on a very long time ago. I always designed Gravity Falls to be a finite series about one epic summer- a series with a beginning, middle, and end. There are so many shows that go on endlessly until they lose their original spark, or mysteries that are cancelled before they ever get a chance to payoff.
But I wanted Gravity Falls to have a mystery that had a real answer, an adventure that had a real climax, and an ending that had a real conclusion for the characters I care so much about. This is very unusual in television and a pretty big experiment, and Disney for their part has been enormously supportive. I know that hits are rare in this business, and its hard to let one of them go, so I’m so grateful that this company has had the vision to let me start (and end) the show the way I always wanted to.
Why did we wait so long to announce that this was the last season? The truth is, it wasn’t up to me. Before we started Season 2, my writers and I decided that this season would be the last. I wanted to announce this to the world at large then, but I was restricted from doing so, mainly because I think a lot of people were hoping I’d change my mind.
But Gravity Falls was never meant to be a series that goes on and on forever. It’s meant to be an exploration of the experience of summer, and in a larger sense a story about childhood itself. The fact that childhood ends is exactly what makes it so precious- and why you should cherish it while it lasts.
No words can describe how grateful I am for the millions of fans who have cherished Gravity Falls for the time that it’s been on air. Running a TV show, especially one where you write, direct, supervise, and co-star, can be an incredibly grueling experience. But every hand-written letter, tweet, tattoo, piece of art, costume and creation from the fans made this enormous undertaking worthwhile. To the Gravity Falls fandom- I love you guys. You’re weird and clever and smart and curious and have been a constant inspiration to me and the crew. You’ve picked us up when we felt down and pushed and inspired us to do the best work we possibly could. I hope you enjoy watching our finale as much as we enjoyed dreaming it up.
And if you don’t, keep it to yourself, pal! Yeesh!
Anyway, I know this will still be hard for a lot of fans to digest, so here’s a few FAQ’s for you guys.
Is this a prank? You’re a real prankster, you are!
Nah man, this is real. The first stage of grief is “denial”- that’s why there are people out there who think that Andy Kauffman and Tupac are hiding in the woods waiting to drop 2016′s sickest album. But this is the truth. Besides, just bumming out millions of people for no reason would be a pretty lame prank. My pranks are a lot better than that, give me some credit!
This sucks! I want to be mad at someone! Is there someone I can be mad at?
Being mad is easier than being sad, I get it! But there really are no villains here. My team and I set out to do something and we did it, and the network supported our crazy vision. If you wanna be mad at someone, blame…I don’t know… the goat. With his shifty eyes. This is all his fault.
Are they going to make a third season without you? Will it be called “Gravity Falls Babies: The New Class: Generations?”
While that is an amazing idea, and you would make an amazing executive, there are no plans to create another full season.
What’s next for you? Are you going to ride the rails with your belongings in a sack, playing the harmonica, going wherever the wind takes you like some kind of tragic folk hero, perhaps named “Johnny Flannel-Britches?”
These questions are getting weirdly specific, guys. The truth is- I don’t know! I’ve spent the last 4 years living & breathing Gravity Falls. I’ve pulled more all-nighters than anyone I’ve ever known who didn’t work at NASA and basically holed myself up in my office to the exclusion of any sort of actual life. I already have some very exciting opportunities lining up on the horizon after I take a good vacation. We’ll see!
How can we continue to stalk follow your exploits?
You can continue to find me on twitter @_AlexHirsch. I’ll be tweeting all sorts of GF goodies leading up to the finale!
Will the last episode be exactly like my head canon? If not, can I firebomb your house?
The jokes on you, because I don’t have a house! I live in a “shire.” But seriously- my team works insanely hard to make the best series we can. Of course there’s no way to satisfy every single fan’s personal theories. But our show reflects a genuine sincere effort by some really talented folks to make the coolest thing we can (with the time and budget available.) Will every single conceivable question ever thought of about Gravity Falls be answered in the end? Of course not. But that just leaves some material for any potential Gravity Falls projects in the future…(including the canon Journal #3 that goes on sale in 2016)
Are you SURE you’ll never make more Gravity Falls?
I know that there will be many fans who will be sad to see the Pines family go, but just because I’ve finished the story I wanted to tell doesn’t necessarily mean we will never see Dipper, Mabel, & Stan again. It means that this chapter is closed, and that I, at least for now, am personally done telling their story.
I want to thank Disney, my amazing cast and crew, and most of all our fans for taking this unforgettable road trip with me through the redwoods into a place called Gravity Falls. I look forward to seeing what adventure we go on next.
Your pal,
PPS: Want to thank the cast and crew for the awesome job they’ve done? Feel free to use the #GravityFinale
