Justified came to a satisfying end this recent week, even if we all might have wished it could go on being great a few more years. We reached out to Graham Yost, showrunner of Justified, for a few burning questions after watching the finale, and he was kind enough to give us his thoughts. Enjoy!

Justified had a very satisfying ending... but I know plenty of fans would have loved to see it go on. Was there ever any consideration to doing one more season? What made this feel like the right time to end the series?

Graham Yost: We were asked by Sony and FX to shoot 20 episodes in our fifth year, divide them into two seasons, then do a final season of 13, which would then have been our 7th.  But we just didn't think we could play out the story of Raylan, Boyd and Ava that long.  So doing six seasons seemed right.  Basically, we didn't want to overstay our welcome.

In addition to the many Leonard-esque villains this season like Choo-Choo or Boon, Justified had specific nods to characters with Carla Gugino and Stephen Root... were there any other familiar Elmore Leonard character faces you considered, or wished you could have worked in?

Graham Yost: We thought for a moment of asking Michael Keaton to reprise some version of Ray Nicolette, but never got the story to go that way.

And in reference to Carla Gugino, was that always meant to be a one-off appearance or were there possibilities to bring that character back that just never materialized for one reason or another?

Graham Yost: We thought of bringing Carla back this last season toward the end when Raylan went rogue in 612, but we decided we wanted to keep the focus on Art.  In an outline we did have Root's Judge Reardon help Art in his hunt for Raylan, but found we didn't need it.  Which was too bad on both counts because we dearly love both Carla and Stephen.

Justified was famously loyal to its Elmore Leonard roots, but it also felt very much like its own show. Did you ever consider any kind of back-door pilot for a spinoff featuring another famous Leonard character? Jack Foley comes right to mind.

Graham Yost: We really kept our eyes on Raylan, Boyd and Ava and our other regulars.  I sure do hope that someone else picks up the Elmore mantle and develops something else with his amazing characters.  And yeah, something with Foley (and Sisco) would be great.

Boon had a pretty significant role, but he was dropped in fairly late in the season. Was there ever thought to bringing him in earlier, or were you all confident that he'd establish himself well enough for that last gunfight to have the resonance it needed?

Graham Yost: I wouldn't say we were confident.  In fact, we were nervous.  But then we got Jonathan Tucker, saw what he was doing and breathed a huge sigh of relief.

I'm going to miss all these characters, but especially Loretta, Constable Bob and Wynn Duffy. I know those actors are busy, but if they weren't, which one of those could you see giving a spinoff? 

Graham Yost: Any and all.  Not just because of the characters, but because we loved working with Kaitlyn, Patton and Jere.

Along related lines... any favorite guest characters or supporting characters that you're especially going to miss writing for?

Graham Yost: Those three would be a good start.  But the list is long.  Limehouse and Quarles were a blast to write.  And then there's Mags.

You had a nice acknowledgement at the end of the finale to the people of Harlan County and to the US Marshals Service. What has been the feedback you've received from them over the years?

Graham Yost: I have said that the best review we ever got was that Elmore got a kick out of the show.  Next in line was the encouraging feedback from the people of Harlan and the men and women of the US Marshals Service.  They all had a terrific sense of humor and told us wonderful tales.

You've previously discussed reversing the decision to kill Boyd in the pilot because of the chemistry between his character and Raylan. Were there any other particular characters you regretted killing off and would have loved to explore further?

Graham Yost: We regretted killing off Mags because Margo was so much fun to write for.  But we didn't know what else we could do with Mags that wouldn't diminish what was achieved in that season.  We couldn't just accumulate bad guys.  

How differently has the series played out from your initial vision when you shot the pilot? Did you have an idea back then of how you might have wanted to conclude that version of the show?

Graham Yost: I honestly wasn't thinking about the end when we started.  But over the years, sure.  I thought about the end a lot.  As for my vision, it was clear from the beginning: Do Elmore Leonard as best we could for as long as seemed right.

'Justified' concluded it's sixth and final season on April 15, 2015. Graham Yost is currently an Executive Producer on 'The Americans', also on FX.