30 Rock Ending After Season 7, Given A One Hour Series Finale

In many ways, getting picked up by NBC is a bit of a tough gig. NBC often falls pretty low in the network ratings, oftentimes even earning last place (if one does not count the CW). This can make it difficult for freshman shows on the network to find viewers, and can make it increasingly difficult for the network to decide what will stick around and what will eventually get the axe. However, there is a little bit of a silver lining in the low ratings cloud, one 30 Rock will get to see when the program reaches its conclusion.

When 30 Rock was renewed for a seventh season last week, TV Blend rather expected the upcoming episodes to be the last hurrah for the struggling Thursday show. As it turns out, NBC head Bob Greenblatt weighed in today to confirm our hypothesis; regardless, here’s where that silver lining thing comes in.

According to E!, in Season 7’s 13th and final episode, NBC is giving 30 Rock a full hour to send the show off with style. Sitcoms are no stranger to elongated finales—both Seinfeld and Friends were given entire hour send-offs on the peacock network—but it is rather a big deal for 30 Rock, which has only been averaging around 3.5 million viewers an episode. Allowing the critically acclaimed but little watched show to go out with a bang is kind of a testament to how much NBC will stand behind its programming and how much the network cares about letting its best shows end with a little grace. Just don’t tell Greg Garcia I said that.