‘Teen Wolf’ Series Finale: EP Talks Ending, Absent Characters, Possible Podcast Plans

“Teen Wolf” executive producer Jeff Davis just hit a big milestone. Not only did his MTV drama hit episode 100, but that episode also served as the show’s series finale.

“Teen Wolf” followed the story of Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) adjusting to life as a werewolf, but it ended after six seasons Sunday night with him mentoring new wolves and keeping them safe from hunters. Davis spoke to International Business Times about the choices he made for the open-ended series finale, which characters he was unable to bring back and the possible return of “Teen Wolf” in podcast form. Below is an edited version of our conversation.

International Business Times: How long were you planning that ending? Was that the finale you pictured from Day 1?

Jeff Davis: Not from Day 1, but there were certain ideas and moments that I had been thinking about for a while. Yes, the sort of bookend idea of going into the future and the idea that we don’t sort of finish all of the story we tell. We tell the audience that the story continues with that last shot and that last moment.

IBT: I think what surprised me most was that no one I loved died. Did you ever consider killing any pack members or was that always off the table?

Davis: You know, we talked about it in the writers room, and one of the things for me was doing a series finale that feels like the show. We have our dark moments but the show also is a bit comic book, and it’s also got a great sense of humor. We kind of felt like too many deaths at the end would just be too dark, that our show is a little more fun than that.

I looked at a lot of series finales for inspiration and there are ones that are shocking that leave the audience going “What the [expletive] was that?” Most series finales seem to leave the audience disappointed. We kind of focused on just telling a great “Teen Wolf” story, but also sending them off for sort of further adventures. After a while I love these characters, I don’t want to kill them.

IBT: We had a lot of returns in this episode, but I think the ones fans are going to be most excited about is the Derek-Stiles scene.

Davis: Yeah, they’re fun.

IBT: I know they have a very vocal fanbase.

Davis: Yes!

IBT: Was it a priority to make sure they had a couple scenes together in the finale?

Davis: It was a priority to get them together for some fun moments because I love those characters together. I think one of the most important things about doing a series finale or any episode of TV is to please yourself as a fan first. And I love writing for Stiles and Derek. I love writing those moments where they snipe at each other. Doing the FBI scene was really showing that sort of Rashomon style of everybody’s got their own perspective of how it happened moment. It was strangely easy to write for them. I fell right back into it.

IBT: You really do have all the returns in this. There’s Kate (Jill Wagner) and Jackson (Colton Haynes) and even villains like the Oni and Darach. I feel like you really paid homage to Scott’s history, but was there anyone you didn’t get to include in this last season?

Davis: There were a couple characters that I wished we could’ve had back. Although, if we did, it would’ve been an insanely long episode. I wish we could’ve had Seth Gilliam as Deaton. I wish we could’ve had Meagan Tandy as Braeden. I wish somehow we could’ve flown Daniel Sharman from Mexico…Wish we could’ve stolen him from “Fear the Walking Dead” to be back on the show for just a little bit. But I’m really thankful for the people we did get back.

IBT: The parents finally get to kick some butt in this episode.

Davis: Yes! I love it!

IBT: Was that something they asked for?

Davis: No, I said to Linden [Ashby, who plays Sheriff Stilinski], “I’m giving you a big [expletive]-kicking scene.” And he said, “Bring it on.” Melissa’s [played by Melissa Ponzio] been a fighter the whole time I think. She’s amazing. It was really an effort to give everyone sort of a heroic moment. But I love Linden’s scene. It’s awesome. He had so much fun shooting it too.

IBT: I also want to talk about the way you bookended the episode. How far in the future are those scenes?

Davis: I imagine it’s sort of indeterminate. Like a year, two years maybe, that they’ve been fighting this fight for a while, and like maybe one or two of the others went off to college and they get called when they’re needed. But Scott and Argent [J.R. Bourne] are sort of leading the fight and finding and protecting these young werewolves out there who are being hunted down. It was a fun way to say the story still goes on and that our heroes are still being heroic.

IBT: I know you have a podcast and possible reboot in the works.

Davis: Yes, we’ll see about that.

IBT: So should we expect to hear from Monroe (Sibongile Mlambo​) or the new wolf, Alec (Ben Wadsworth), in the podcast or reboot?

Davis: Could be. I really loved Ben Wadsworth’s performance as Alec, and everybody sort of sparked to him on set. They were like, “Wow, he could be the sort of next iteration of Teen Wolf.” We’ll see. There are all sorts of stories we could tell in podcast form too.

I’d personally love to see maybe Jackson and Ethan [Charlie Carver] in London, see what that turns out to be. That could make sort of a fun 8 to 10 episode podcast. If they’d be up for it.

IBT: How far are you into the process of developing the podcast?

Davis: Still just talking about it. I have another project with MTV, “War of the Worlds,” which we just handed the script in, thinking and hoping it all moves forward.

IBT: I know the idea is generally to focus on different werewolves and characters for the podcast and reboot, but would you want to revisit Scott’s pack at some point via movie or reboot?

Davis: Oh yeah, totally. It’s still hard for me — I haven’t had enough time away yet — but it’s still hard for me to imagine “Teen Wolf” without Tyler Posey.

IBT: How are you feeling at this point? You’re almost done.

Davis: I know. I now understand why so many people use the term bittersweet to describe a feeling like this. There is a sweetness to it about saying goodbye and about remembering a job you loved and the fans who gave all of their passion, sometimes a little too much of their passion. But the people I’ve worked with, the people in my crew who I helped elevate to directors, which was a gift to me to be able to do that. I’m hoping I get another opportunity that’s even nearly as good as this in the future. And at 100 episodes, you’re ready to say goodbye and ready to take on some new challenges, definitely.

IBT: Is there anything you would like the fans to know after watching the series finale?

Davis: I’d like them to know that we’re so happy they went through this journey with us.