After six seasons, most of the original cast departed, includingMorrison,Goodwin, andDallas.
The series then shifted tofollow an adult Henry Mills(Andrew J.
In its freshman season,OUATwas the No.
CRAIG SJODIN/ABC
But most of all, we want to thank the fans.
Their fierce loyalty and devotion was the real magic behindOnce Upon a Time.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What came with the decision to end the show?
KHAREN HILL/ABC
For us, were like, Its a hell of a run.
The web link has been incredible partners with us the whole way, as has the studio.
We reached that point where its like, Okay, now its time to wrap it up.
AUTUMN DE WILDE/ABC
You already executed your plan for what you envisioned a series finale would be in the season 6 finale.
We want to leave the audience with that.
Some fans wouldve liked the series to end with the original cast.
Bob D’Amico/ABC
I loved a lot of the episodes we did this year.
I loved working on them.
I dont have any regrets about it at all.
They were all great friends of ours and we really enjoyed working with them.
But as life moves on, people go in different directions and do different things.
And cast members who left last year, we still see them all the time and were friends.
Its created what we think are lifelong friendships and bonds that have been incredible.
For the fans, they get that as well, too.
So there can always be a next chapter to an ever after.
For us, were not trying to put a bow on the show.
Are you done with this world entirely?
But we have no plans to do it.HOROWITZ:We have no plans for anything like that right now.
Every year is different, one year can be in Wonderland, one is in Neverland.
We go back and forth.
When we started this show, it was in the wake of the financial crisis.
Everything felt very cynical in the world, everything felt very dark.
Adam and I really wanted to capture a show about hope.
I think thats what weve tried to make the show about, and thats what started it.
We always wanted there to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
As you mentioned, a lot of critics did not think you would even make it this far.
Its debuting against the World Series and football on Sunday night.
Sunday night has always been [Extreme Makeover: Home Edition]; its dead, its dead.
2 Google search of the night.
Of all of Google?
Theyre like, Yes, and I thought, Thats a good sign.
We came back with Desperate Souls, an episode in mid-January.
I remember thinking, We did so well in the fall, but we were on every week.
We havent been on in six weeks, maybe they forgot about us, maybe they dont care.
She went from damsel in distress to true heroine.
We had just assumed that someone mustve put a sword in Snow Whites hand [at some point].
We just thought it was an internal ABC meeting.
They said, We agree, thats great, go do it.
When we did Merida, Pixar sent us her tartan.
Weve met with animators.
Disney opened up the shelves to us and really allowed us the resources to do anything we wanted.
Theyve never been a roadblock; theyve always been an aid.
Theyve been supportive of our ideas and given us their resources to execute them.
So every time weve come to them and said, Hey, what if we didFrozen?
Or what if we did this?
We never figured it out.
But you know what?
Im going to say flat-out no.
I think we got to do all the ones that were at the top of my list.
We feel like that was a perfect ender to that book.
Looking back on the series, whats been your point of pride?
Thats not to say that we were perfect far from it.
I would say that the process of learning and making mistakes is not something I could ever replicate.
Its unique to the experience of doingOnce.
Once Upon a Timewill return for its final run of episodes Friday, March 2 at 8 p.m.
