[UPDATE]: For some thoughts on how it will end, check the updates at the at the end of the post.

Yes, you read the headline right, Battlestar Galactica, one of the best shows on television no matter the genre, will end after just 4 seasons. This is according to star Edward James Olmos himself in an interview with iF Magazine.

“This is the final season as we speak. All of us are very saddened by that, but we always knew there was going to be a conclusion…”

So the initial rumors were true. This is awful news.

Though the middle of last season got a bit off course, the beginning and ending episodes were great. It’s still unclear if this is a network decision or a creative one but the fact that the show will not even get to its 100th episode is sad.

If there is a silver lining to this it’s that season 4 will have a very definitive goal (finding Earth) for the story arc. They had better not waste a single of the 20 remaining episodes on some side story for one of the characters – there is no more need for that.

Olmos says he wish he could have done the show for 10 years. So say we all indeed.

[via Ain't It Cool]

[UPDATE 5/12]: There may be hope after all. Producer David Eick is now saying that despite Olmos’ comments there hasn’t been a decision made yet on the show’s future beyond next season:

“I promise you that when [executiuve producer] Ron [Moore] and I make a decision about Galactica’s future, we’ll let you know.”

Excellent news.

[UPDATE 6/1]: It’s true. Battlestar Galactica will be ending after next season. The producers confirmed it today. Sad news, but at least they have 22 episodes to wrap up a truly great series.

[thanks Webomatica for the confirmation news]

[UPDATE 6/2]: As I see Yahoo was kind enough to give me the #1 ranking for its ‘How Will It End?’ link, I figured I’d add my thoughts. [SPOILER ALERT] When last season ended with “All Along the Watchtower” being a central plot point I immediately thought of the original series which ended with Galactica picking up a signal of the Apollo lunar landing.

I think heading into season 4 the Galactica is obviously close enough to Earth to pick up Earth radio transmissions from the past that have been traveling through space. Likewise Starbuck tells Lee she saw Earth and would show him the way. Then of course there was the final shot zooming in on Earth.

My thought is there will be a twist on the finding of Earth. What if they find it, but it turns out that the “humans” now inhabiting it are actually all human-form Cylons. Perhaps this is why our 4 new Cylons were getting the “All Along the Watchtower” signal – maybe the Cylons are now on Earth and sending out Earth music to awaken the newest ones.

The fact that the show is now for sure ending also reinvigorates the possibility that Starbuck is in fact a Cylon – the 5th and final one. Before this seemed too obvious to me, and unlikely as fans out the show would have a hard time accepting her from now on as a Cylon when she was such an integral part of the show up until now. But since it is definitely ending, it gives the producers more freedom in this regard. They can make a pretty interesting story for Kara as a Cylon – one that can play out over the entire season.

Remember when she somehow knew how to fly the Cylon raider? Maybe we’ll see her learning that. Yeah, I think she is in fact the 5th Cylon. If she is now returning to lead Lee (and the rest of Galactica) into a trap on Earth, that would be a pretty cool ending in my mind.

I hope they go with the dark ending. Those are always so much more interesting than the happy ones. It certainly better not be that the humans and Cylons decide to look past their differences and live together on Earth – in peace. That would be pretty lame.