HBO’s Silicon Valley might have a fan in Bill Gates, but the tech mogul’s endorsement isn’t enough to make creator Mike Judge and showrunner Alec Berg want to prolong the series’ past its sixth season, which they’ve long hinted would be the series’ last. This was confirmed today by The Hollywood Reporter, who shared a statement from the pair announcing that the show’s upcoming seven-episode season would serve as a send-off for the boys of Pied Piper.
“Silicon Valley has been a career and life highlight for us. We’ll miss it desperately, but we’ve always let Pied Piper’s journey guide the way, and Season 6 seems to be the fitting conclusion,” Judge and Berg said in a statement. “We are forever indebted to our incredible cast, crew, and partners at HBO. At a certain point, there’s only so much we can do to make the world a better place.”
The time is most certainly right. Silicon Valley’s satire has consistently been hilarious and vital, but, as we’ve noted in our reviews, the plotting’s felt redundant for a while now. The show’s behind-the-scenes scandals haven’t helped, either—T.J. Miller, who previously starred as wannabe mogul Erlich Bachmann, left the series a few months before being accused of harassment, physical and sexual assault, and making fake bomb threats. Judge later accused Miller of unprofessionalism, but Alice Wetterlund, who played punk coder Carla on the series, said that the show’s male cast members “enabled [Miller] and were complicit in his unprofessionalism.” She added, “They can fuck off forever.”
Silicon Valley’s final season will air this year, but a release date has yet to be announced. Judge, meanwhile, is developing a pair of science and tech-focused comedies for HBO, while Berg is currently overseeing the excellent Barry with Bill Hader.