Series creator Joss Whedon served as executive producer, now able to concentrate more on Angel as both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly ended.

Buffy writer Drew Goddard also joined the staff as executive story editor and wrote or co-wrote five episodes.

Ben Edlund was promoted to supervising producer and wrote or co-wrote four episodes, including writing and directing "Smile Time".

Co-creator David Greenwalt, who had left Angel in an official capacity at the end of season three, came back to direct the antepenultimate episode of the series, "The Girl in Question".

The one-paragraph statement indicated that the news, which had been reported by an Internet site the previous day, had been leaked well before the network intended to make its announcement.

[24] Joss Whedon posted a message on a popular fan site, The Bronze: Beta, in which he expressed his dismay and surprise, saying he was "heartbroken"[25] and described the situation as "Healthy Guy Falls Dead From Heart Attack.

"[26] Fan reaction was to organize letter-writing campaigns, online petitions, blood and food drives, advertisements in trade magazines and via mobile billboards, and attempts to lobby other networks (UPN was a favorite target, as it had already picked up Buffy).

Because our ratings were up, because of our critical attention, Joss specifically asked Jordan Levin, who was the head of The WB at the time, to give us an early pick-up because every year they [would] wait so long to give Angel a pick-up [and] a lot of us [would] turn down jobs hoping that Angel will continue – he [Joss] didn't want that to happen.

The site's critics consensus reads, "Angel's final season concludes the series with a creative resurgence that restores the show's signature blend of humor and horror, ending on a bittersweet high note that should satisfy fans while leaving them wishing there could have been more.