What Happened on the Last Episode of ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’?
If you thought that working at a radio station would be the coolest job in the world anytime from 1978 to 1982, there’s a good chance that your interest came from one particular sitcom: WKRP in Cincinnati, which recently became available for digital purchase on Apple TV, after years of being totally unavailable.
Set at a struggling rock music station, the show’s premise revolved around the everyday mishaps and antics of the eccentric staff, including bumbling station manager Arthur Carlson (played by Gordon Jump), well-meaning but naive program director Arthur “Andy” Travis (Gary Sandy), fast-talking sales manager Herb Tarlek (Frank Bonner), popular disc jockeys Dr. Johnny Fever (Howard Hesseman) and “Venus” Flytrap (Tim Reid), and blond bombshell receptionist Jennifer Marlowe (Loni Anderson).
MTM Television/Courtesy: Everett Collection
WKRP in Cincinnati quickly became known for its witty dialogue, sharp satire of the radio industry and memorable characters. While it never achieved huge mainstream success during its original run (although it gained a bigger fanbase in syndication), the show earned a dedicated following over the years, scored a total of 10 Emmy nominations and remains fondly remembered to this day… so why did it get canceled?
Why did WKRP in Cincinnati get canceled?
Many have speculated that the hidden reason behind WKRP’s cancellation was mounting friction between the show’s creative team and CBS, pointing to the show’s penchant for tackling controversial topics and veiled drug references over the course of its four seasons. However, the common consensus is that there is one much more important reason why the show came to an end: ratings.
Robert Phillips/Everett Collection
As we mentioned earlier, WKRP was never a ratings hit, scoring good (but not great) numbers in Season 1 before dipping downward throughout the rest of its original run. Seeing the show as more of a utility than an anchor for any given night of programming, the network began moving it around the schedule — a factor that likely caused even more of a ratings decline. With salaries and production costs rising, the decision was finally made to pull the show’s plug after four seasons.
7 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’
What happened in the WKRP in Cincinnati series finale?
Everett Collection
The grand finale of WKRP in Cincinnati, titled “Up and Down the Dial,” wasn’t actually produced as a series finale (the decision to cancel the show hadn’t been made at the time of filming), but the episode served as a fantastic wrap-up of the show nonetheless.
As we’ve seen earlier in the series, Andy calls a meeting to discuss the station’s recent ratings … only this time, he announced that the station is finally making money after years of struggling. Everyone is celebrating the success until a new news director, Charles von Sanker (Nicholas Hormann), shows up at the station. His arrival turns out to be bad news, as it’s revealed that Mrs. Carlson (Carol Bruce) plans to overhaul WKRP’s format to all news, citing that the station’s audience has peaked with its current Top 40 format. Even worse, Andy learns that Charles wasn’t hired to replace Les but to take his own job as general manager.
MTM Television/Courtesy: Everett Collection
Throughout the finale, all of the characters we know and love take turns pondering their future and whether WKRP will be a part of it. In the midst of the chaos, an opportunistic Herb somehow becomes convinced that the station’s new success means he can coast even more, leading to some fantastic comic relief as he spends his time bothering the on-air DJs.
As tension rises, the episode culminates in a final confrontation between Mama Carlson and an unlikely hero — Dr. Johnny Fever, who manages to get her to admit that WKRP was never intended to be successful, just a tax write-off for her larger corporation. Fever points out that she’d essentially manipulated her own son to helm a radio station that she wanted to see fail, and threatened to expose her lies. In the end, Mama Carlson relents and agrees to keep WKRP’s rock format – for now, anyway.
Fittingly, WKRP’s final scene takes place in Andy’s office the next morning when the staff throws him a party to congratulate him on turning the station around. Of course, it all ends in chaos, with Herb accidentally throwing a cake on Andy, symbolizing the mess that WKRP has always been. Each member of the crew grabs one final moment in the spotlight by taking some of the cake now covering their boss, finally leaving a stunned Andy alone to reflect on the wonderful, weird world of life at WKRP in Cincinnati.
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1970s Fall TV
September 2023
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