NBC Sends 3rd Rock Hurtling

April 6 -- It's official: NBC's 3rd Rock From the Sun will disintegrate in orbit on May 22. The network has finally confirmed the space sitcom's demise, following months of buzz about the Emmy-winning show's fate.

"We're grateful to the 3rd Rock producers and the out-of-this-world cast who provided NBC with so many seasons of sheer lunacy," NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker said in a statement. "Their loopy and creative humor will make this one of the classic series of the 1990s."

But not classic enough to earn a sixth season. The final episode will be a one-hour show featuring British funnyman John Cleese and pop singer Elvis Costello, who flew over to the States to tape a performance of "Fly Me to the Moon."

3rd Rock, which stars John Lithgow as the father figure in a quartet of aliens living among Earthlings, has been off the NBC schedule since Feb. 27 but will return to the airwaves on April 17. It will then run each week until the May 22 finale.

Reuters contributed to this story.