Bummer news for fans of the TNT drama as tonight it was announced that Tuesday’s episode of Leverage will be the show’s last.  The series will conclude with its fifth season finale which will air on Christmas Day–something that is relatively unexpected, but also should not come off as too shocking.  This was a series which featured some very low ratings as of late relative to the network’s other scripted content, so consider this a bit of clean-up before the channel moves on to more widely watched programming.

On the renewal front today, How I Met Your Mother has been awarded a ninth season following some last-minute deal making behind the scenes.  Up until now, no one knew for sure if this would be the long-running comedy’s last year on the air, but general consensus says that next year will definitely be the end as the series’ stars will look to move onto greener pastures.  Of course, the downside of all this might be than many people suspected ABC’s S.H.I.E.L.D. drama to potentially feature a role for Cobie Smulders as the TV actor plays Maria Hill in The Avengers movies.  Shame.