Buffy creator Joss Whedon is coming to terms with the prospect of ending Buffy, as well as a cancellation threat to his new show, Firefly.

"I'm beginning to suspect that it may be [Buffy's] last season," he told TV Guide Online. "Nothing's official, but it's starting to feel possible. The way people are talking, there's a finality to it."

Although Buffy's US ratings for season seven have tailed off, compared to the those for the show's much-hyped season six network transfer, Joss insists that this isn't a factor.

"I never check Buffy's ratings," he says. "It doesn't really affect me. It may affect the network."

A UPN spokeswoman added: "Buffy is an extremely important franchise to UPN. There are a lot of options, whether it be bringing the show back, bringing it back in a different form, possibly doing a spinoff... But really, it's just way too soon to say what's going to happen. We just started our conversations with the producers and the studio."

Over on the Fox network, however, ratings are more of a factor in deciding the fate of Joss's new show, Firefly.

Despite having commissioned three more scripts, the network has yet to commit to a full season of the show, which is reportedly struggling to attract viewers.