With the news of the impending end to the series, the crew members decided to wrap up long-running plots. "Jump the Shark", the final episode to feature the Lone Gunmen, served as a "de facto" series finale for the cancelled "X-Files" spin-off series "The Lone Gunmen". Executive producer and co-writer Frank Spotnitz had to fight to get the episode made; the studio informed Spotnitz that they did not want to bring the characters back in any capacity, as Fox reportedly "hated characters". Similarly, "Release" was written to create closure to the story of the murder of Doggett's son.