In news that seems to make about as much sense as the magical properties of a kiss from your true love, ABC has decided to renew fairytale drama Once Upon A Time even though star Jennifer Morrison just announced that she’s leaving that show. That means the series will go at least another 22-episode season without the person who is essentially its main character, and according to the Hollywood Reporter story that announced the renewal, fellow stars Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas are also considering leaving the show. At this point, only Lana Parrilla, Robert Carlyle, and Colin O’Donoghue are confirmed to be returning.
Based on comments that creators/showrunners Adam Horowitz and Eddy Kitsis have made, the show is looking to shift its focus for season seven, which is looking more and more like a necessity at this point. Also, while the loss of a main character would’ve seemed like a good reason for ABC to cancel the show, THR says ABC recently landed a “massive” deal for Once Upon A Time with Netflix, and it renegotiated some of the licensing deals to make it cheaper overall. Plus, the show has a “strong presence on social media”—to put it mildly—and ABC sees it as an “important extension of the Disney brand.”