Fans of Glee now have an explanation for why the series' upcoming final season will only be 13 episodes long as opposed to the usual 20 episodes or more run.

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The final season of Glee will air in one uninterrupted chunk on Fox in the coming television season but for a much shorter time than any other season of the show. To explain why Fox made the decision, the network's chairman and CEO Peter Rice explained it at the Television Critics Association press tour this week.

"I think Glee is one of the great shows in television history, and it was so hot and so big," Rice explained. "I remember being in this room, and while a lot of people assumed it was going to fail, you guys supported it. And it touched so many hearts and brought social issues to the forefront, and it burned so hot and so fast. But it's been on for over 100 episodes now in six seasons, and we want to go out in a way that celebrates it. And we thought that finding 13 episodes and compacting it and doing it in a straight run was a better way to finish the show."

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While his explanation had a positive spin, it seems like Glee's rapidly decreasing ratings were another reason for Fox's decision to shorten the final season. The fifth season ended with a dismal 1.87 million viewers, a far cry from the days when the series was receiving over 10 million viewers per episode back in the first few seasons.

Glee's final season is expected to air in early 2015 on Fox, considering the series was left off the network's Fall 2014 schedule.

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