'The Haves and Have Nots' Is Coming to an End, and Fans Are Not Happy About It
Published June 8 2021, 4:21 p.m. ET
After seven strong seasons, it was announced that OWN’s The Haves and the Have Nots is ending, and fans are distraught. Throughout its now eight-season run, there’s been drama, mayhem, and murder in the Tyler Perry show based on a play he wrote by the same name.
And now, The Haves and the Have Nots is coming to an end. But why? When it was announced that its eighth season would be its last, fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts and feelings and to commiserate with one another.
But now, as the last block of episodes airs on OWN, we can’t help but wonder what must have happened to cause this show of unpredictable twists and turns to say goodbye.
Why is ‘The Haves and the Have Nots’ ending?
Well, there seem to be a few reasons. For one, it’s rare for a show to continue as long as The Haves and the Have Nots. Most successful shows tend to wind down the plot any time after the fifth season, so the fact that The Haves and the Have Nots made it this far is extremely impressive.
Not only that, but despite its popularity, especially within the Black women demographic, the show’s ratings have continued to decline. Its Season 7 finale saw a 30 percent drop in ratings from its premiere.
The other main reason seems to be that Tyler Perry, who created and writes The Haves and the Have Nots, ended his contract with OWN in 2019. Tyler moved over to the ViacomCBS network, which houses BET and BET+. Despite this, Tyler was instrumental to OWN’s success by bringing The Haves and the Have Nots, which was the first scripted show on the network.
Oprah Winfrey shared her reaction to ‘The Haves and the Have Nots’ ending.
Tyler Perry changed the future of OWN by bringing in scripted television in 2013 and making the network what it is today. For this, Oprah has said she is forever grateful. When it was decided that The Haves and the Have Nots would be ending, Oprah even released a statement.
"The Haves and the Have Nots was the first scripted drama we aired on OWN, and to say it took off from the first day it hit the air is an understatement,” Oprah explained to Deadline.
“It’s all due to one man’s creativity and very vivid imagination, a man I refer to as my ‘big little brother,’ Tyler Perry. I thank Tyler, the incredible cast, the tireless crew, and every single viewer who watched with bated breath each week and tweeted along with us these past eight years."
Oprah continued, "I will be watching alongside you all during this final season.”
Fans were extremely disappointed when they learned that ‘The Haves and the Have Nots’ would be ending.
Oprah wasn’t the only person who was grieving when OWN announced that this season would be the last. Many fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts and feelings when it came to their favorite soap opera's cancellation. One fan has been watching The Haves and the Have Nots for eight years — saying goodbye to it will be like saying goodbye to an old friend.
Other fans aren’t so convinced that it’s actually ending. One Twitter user pointed out that every year, it’s the final season of The Haves and the Have Nots, so maybe this time is another fakeout (although that seems unlikely).
The supposed series finale of The Haves and the Have Nots is set to air some time in July or potentially August 2021. Maybe we won’t know the whole truth until the actual series finale airs so that the show can give its viewers the proper soap opera shock value they deserve.
Watch the final episodes of The Haves and the Have Nots Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on OWN.