Jane Espenson

The upcoming fourth season of Sci Fi Channel’s "Battlestar Galactica" will be its final one after all.

After months of speculation, the show’s producers will make the announcement at a press conference Friday.

Ending "Battlestar" with the upcoming 22-episode fourth season was a creative decision made by the show’s executive producers Ronald Moore and David Eick.

"This show was always meant to have a beginning, a middle and finally, an end," Eick and Moore said in a statement Thursday. "Over the course of the last year, the story and the characters have been moving strongly toward that end and we’ve decided to listen to those internal voices and conclude the show on our own terms. And while we know our fans will be saddened to know the end is coming, they should brace themselves for a wild ride getting there - we’re going out with a bang."

The fourth and final season of "Galactica" will kick off in November with "Razor," an extended two-hour episode, with the rest of the season slated to run beginning in early 2008.

Sci Fi’s executive vp original programming Mark Stern said the channel’s brass "respect the producers’ decision to end the series."

"We are proud to have been the home of this groundbreaking show," he said. "We have always known that Ron and David had a plan for ’Galactica’ and trust that fans can look forward to a truly amazing final season."

For months, Sci Fi had dispelled rumors about "Battlestar" ending its run after the fourth season.

A couple of weeks ago, the show’s star Edward James Olmos was quoted saying that the upcoming batch of episodes were definitely the last ones. (HR 5/14) Sci Fi issued a statement denying such a decision had been made. "I promise you that when Ron and I make a decision about ’Galactica’s’ future, we’ll let you know," Eick said at the time.

"Battlestar," which stars Olmos, Katee Sackhoff, Mary McDonnell and Jamie Bamber, is produced by NBC Universal TV Studio.