Is 'Leverage' packing up for good?

Could 'Leverage' be packing it in, after five successful seasons on TNT?

In the name of proper story closure, the writing staff on TNT's heist drama have been told to treat the fifth season finale as a potential series finale, as the renewal of the program for a sixth season remains up in the air.

'Leverage' Executive Producer Dean Devlin is showing a lot of respect for his staff and his audience, deciding to pull the trigger on a potentially-series-ending plot point that the series had planned since its inaugural season.

Devlin published an open letter to the show's fans on LeverageFans.com:

"As of the writing of this letter, we still do not know if there will be a season six of our show.  Just as we didn’t know when we created the last three episodes which are about to air.  Because of this uncertainty, John Rogers and I decided to end this season with the episode we had planned to make to end the series, way back when we shot the pilot.  So, the episode that will air on Christmas is, in fact, the series finale we had always envisioned.

This is not to say we would not do a season six should we get the opportunity. Everyone involved with the show, from the cast, the crew, the writers and producers, would like nothing more than to continue telling these stories.  But, in case we do not get that opportunity we felt that, creatively, after 77 episodes, we owed it to you, our fans, to end the show properly."

There are three episodes remaining in the fifth season of 'Leverage.' I consider this very promising news; far too many series last longer than they had been envisioned and, as a result, the series finale is lacking. Can't blame Devlin or 'Leverage's cast for wanting to go out on a high note.

What do you think? Should 'Leverage' be given a sixth season?