Inasmuch as Hangin' with Mr. Cooper did not return to the ABC lineup in the fall of 1996, everyone assumed that the series had been cancelled with its 88th episode at the end of Season Four, leaving fans to ponder whether or not high school teacher Mark Cooper (Mark Curry) had finally persuaded his longtime platonic roommate Vanessa Russell (Holly Robinson Peete) to accept his marriage proposal. However, the producers needed to turn out a full 100 episodes in order to ship out the series for local syndication; thus Hangin' with Mr. Cooper was brought back in June of 1997 for 12 additional half-hours, in which it was revealed that, yes, Mark and Vanessa were officially engaged. And in a parallel development, the couple's third roommate, Geneva Lee (Saundra Quarterman) was seriously considering tying the knot with her boyfriend Ken (Kevin Jackson). However, just hours before the wedding of Mark and Vanessa in the series' 100th installment, actors Mark Curry and Holly Robinson Peete) abruptly drop character, turn to the camera, and cheerfully wave goodbye to the audience--and that's the end of the series! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi