Ratings were dropping and sponsors were pulling their ads making it harder and harder to pay for the show. If you don't have the sponsors or the ratingsyour history.

"I know, and I agree. Unfortunately, they had no advance warning that they were going to be cancelled, so everything was left hanging. "
I think the ratings were down the final season. Mid-way through the final season, the show was pulled from the air and returned to a different night (Mondays) and burned off the final episodes by airing two episodes as one-hour episodes. I don't know when the final episode was actually filmed, but that should have been an indication.

The eighties were a BAD decade, bad president, bad music, bad TV. I see it as a time when the idealism of the sixties died and greed became our national religion, fueled by shows like "Lifestyles of the Rich an Famous." Suddenly, everyone wanted to live high on the hog whether they could afford it or not. Ronald Ray-guns did a LOT of damage to this country.

CBS's "Lou Grant" was cancelled (most say) due to Asner's political views :
Like his character, Asner could also be outspoken. His first brush with politics occurred when he became a labor rights activist during the 1980 strike by the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG), which delayed the 1980-81 TV season.
Asner's work on behalf of the actors helped make him a viable candidate for the SAG presidency, which he received in 1981. Asner's political agenda widened, and, in the face of a growing right-wing national sentiment highlighted by the 1980 election of Ronald Regan.
Asner became increasingly vocal against U.S. public policy, including that affecting U.S. involvement in Latin America.
Through Lou Grant, Asner's own popularity was growing, leading to appearances in the 1980 film Fort Apache, The Bronx and the 1981 TV movie A Small Killing. This level of success was soon to crumble, however, when Asner took part in a fund raiser to send medical aid to El Salvador rebels who were fighting against the Reagan-supported regime.
Most disturbing to conservative minds was Asner's direct-mail letter on behalf of the aid organization, which began with, "My name is Ed Asner. I play Lou Grant on television."
Conservative SAG members, including Charleton Heston, rose up in arms over Asner using his character to support his own political agenda.
(Of course, one can argue that Heston is so closely associated with his own on-screen persona that his links to conservative causes are just as manipulative).
In his essay on MTM drama, Paul Kerr quoted Allan Burn's assessment of the ensuing anti-Asner onslaught: "I've never seen anybody transformed so quickly from being everyone's favorite uncle to a communist swine."
Within weeks, Lou Grant was canceled. While CBS maintains the cancellation was based on dwindling ratings, Asner, and others on the Lou Grant production team, feel this was swift punishment for Asner's political beliefs.
Interestingly enough, Howard Hesseman, star of WKRP in Cincinnati, was also involved with the Asner-supported El Salvador rally; WKRP and Lou Grant were canceled the same day.
When the Republicans tok over in 1980/1981,the pretty much made the clear statement "The party is over"(the 70s that is.)
happipuppi13
arf,man!!

There is something of a urban legend that the first term Regan administration was unhappy with the tone and subject matter of several popular network television shows. SOAP and LOU GRANT were supposedly targeted. Some people think that the writers of SOAP had an inkling that they were about to be cancelled and created as many cliffhangers as they could in order to provoke a public backlash should the shows be pulled.
http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=32397724

I know, and I agree. Unfortunately, they had no advance warning that they were going to be cancelled, so everything was left hanging.
Susan Harris confirmed that Jessica would have lived had there been a season 5.
I've read info online that stated somehow the bullets in the gun would have been replaced by blanks. Not sure if
that
is 100% true, but I've definitely heard Harris confirm Jessica would have lived, so at least we have that
Wait a minute who am I here?