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'MacGyver' Season 4: Codex storyline may not get messed up despite shortening of season

Usually, when a surprise shortening like this happens, it ends up messing up the season's plotline but there is still hope for 'MacGyver'

Close on the heels of yet another thrilling episode, it has been announced that 'MacGyver' Season 4 has shut down production and will be shortened to 20 episodes from the initially planned 22. That's bound to cause some amount of heartbreak for the fanbase and indeed, quite a few of the fans are already taking to social media to air their frustration, but the situation might not be all that bad.

The show's stars Lucas Till and Levy Tran announced the surprise end of production on Till's Instagram page with a video in which they thanked the crew for all their hard work. Usually, when a surprise shortening like this happens, it ends up messing up the season's plotline but there is still hope that 'MacGyver' Season 4 might end satisfactorily, even if it doesn't end up being as great as the cast and crew would have hoped. 

Season 4 was initially supposed to wrap up in 13 episodes before being extended to 22. Earlier in an interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), Henry Ian Cusick, who joined the cast of the show this season, had spoken about the extension saying, "we initially were given 13 episodes and then got picked up for another nine. So we had Terry Matalas who was there for the first 13, and it was all really about Codex so we had a serialized as opposed to procedural." 

"And now all of them, the writers, have to come up with another back nine, which can be tricky," he continued. "But so far the ones I've read, they're still fun and really great and they still allude to Codex."

"I don't know what happens in the season finale," he said before cryptically adding, "I know who's turning up."

So yes, even though the season will be wrapping up a little quicker than we expected, it might not necessarily be a bad thing and quite a few of the fans have the same opinion. One fan, in particular, said more or less the same thing tweeting, "While I'm saddened @MacGyverCBS Season 4 will be shortened 2 episodes when I think how we were originally just going to get 13 ep's I'm thankful for what we are getting and look forward to watching and enjoying the rest of this awesome season!"

Other fans are still a bit skeptical with one tweeting to address Peter M. Lenkov, the series showrunner, asking, "Are you going to reorganize #macgyver so it looks like a real season finale even tho we all know it's "rushed" and due obviously to unexpected circumstances? Or are you gonna leave it as is ?"

Lenkov for his part has assured fans that "We're certainly gonna try to work magic" so maybe it might just all work out in the end. 

In the meantime, there won't be an episode of 'MacGyver' Season 4 airing next Friday thanks to March Madness but the next episode of the season will instead be airing on March 27, exclusively on CBS.