Thursday’s announcement that the fifth season of “Person of Interest” will be its last disappointed a lot of fans of the CBS sci-fi crime drama, but it didn’t surprise the cast.
Hingham’s own Kevin Chapman , who plays Detective Lionel Fusco, told us he and others had sensed “the writing was on the wall” last year when the network ordered 13 episodes instead of the usual 23.
“It was kind of like, ‘Oh, this might be the end,’” the actor said Thursday. “Still, it’s too bad. If the show wasn’t performing [in the ratings] you could understand, but there isn’t a day that goes by when someone doesn’t say to me, ‘When’s the show coming back?’ ”
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The answer is May 3. That’s when the show, executive produced by J.J. Abrams, will begin its final run. Chapman said he’s proud of his work on “Person of Interest,” which was addressing issues of surreptitious surveillance before anyone had even heard of Edward Snowden.
“We did something that put TV on its ear,” said Chapman. “When we were first on, people were, like, ‘This is scientific.’ But then there was the stuff with the NSA and Snowden and cultivating the electronic footprint, and people were, like, ‘Whoa.’
“Do I think there’s more story to tell? One hundred percent I do,” said the actor. “But who am I to question [CBS president] Les Moonves?”
Next up for Chapman is a role on the Fox show, “A.P.B.,” a new drama developed by “Person of Interest” co-executive producer/writer David Slack about a tech-savvy billionaire who buys a troubled police precinct and takes a cutting-edge approach to solving crime. Chapman may also be Broadway bound, with a part in “Rear Window,” a production starring Kevin Bacon in the role made famous by Jimmy Stewart .
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“But I also want to be close to home because the kids are 11 and 13, and you don’t get those years back,” said Chapman.