Speaking at a Comic-Con panel Friday, the cast and producers of Orphan Black discussed the decision to end the BBC America sci-fi drama after the conclusion of the upcoming fifth season.

“We sort of had five seasons in mind, and the thing that we just didn’t want to do is get kind of soft around the middle,” said executive producer and co-creator Graeme Manson. “We think that it’s better to cancel yourself than to get canceled, than to peter out.”

Manson and fellow co-creator and executive producer John Fawcett said there is a set ending that they and the writers are working toward.

“As much as planning the final season is bittersweet, the fun is knowing the ending, because we’ve known it for a really long time,” Fawcett said.

Series star Tatiana Maslany — who was nominated last week for an Emmy Award for best actress in a drama — said she doesn’t know what the ending will be.

“I sat in the writers room for a day early on in the season to hear a little bit about how it’s starting, but I have no idea how it ends,” she said.

Maslany also announced that the show will hold a contest in which the winner will be cast for a walk-on role in season five. Details of the competition will be announced.

Orphan Black will return to BBC America for its final season “sometime in 2017.”