Forty-four episodes, gallons of blood spilled, and countless stomach-churning deaths, starting with realtor Liz (Molly Leland) and ending with PI Mel Sattem (Adam Rothenberg), is it finally time to bid adieu to the hit Netflix crime drama? Over its four-season and five-year span, Ozark has racked up a ton of accolades, including two Emmy awards for Outstanding Drama Series, as well as a die-hard fan base.
Ozark is a Netflix original crime drama series written by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams and produced by MRC Television and Aggregate Films. The series depicts Marty, and Wendy Byrde, a married couple who relocate their family to the Lake of the Ozarks to launder money. Jason Bateman is the series director and executive producer as well as a character.
On April 29, 2022, the final episode of Ozark Season 4, titled A Hard Way to Go, premiered. Ever since its Season 4 finale, the fanbase has been awaiting a Netflix renewal announcement for Season 5, given that the last season ended in a cliffhanger. It is not usual for Netflix to snip off the thread in between the knitting, but is it so in the case of Ozark?
If you are one of the viewers pondering over the future of the hit crime-thriller Netflix series, you have come to the appropriate page. We at Web News Observer have compiled all the necessary information related to Ozark Season 5 and whether it has been canceled. Read till the end because we have compelling news to share at the end!
Ozark Season 5: Has it been canceled?
Looks like the series is fated to end on a cliffhanger because Season 5 has officially been canceled. We know how disappointing this news may be for the fandom, but as you read along, you will understand why Netflix had to stop the series after Season 4. It was long reported by Deadline on June 30, 2020. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the creators of the show had long intended to end it when the plot reached this impasse in the form of the Season 4 finale.
Let us take a deeper look into why Ozark Season 5 is not happening.
Ozark Season 5: Why was it canceled?
In June 2020, it was reported that the show would return for a “supersized” fourth and final season, consisting of 14 episodes split into two halves that are now exclusively available on Netflix.
Furthermore, according to Bateman, the series creator, Chris Mundy, had always meant to finish after four or five seasons.
[Chris] kind of knew, I think, where he would like to eventually land the plane. Somewhere around here, I think there’s always been the presumed area [of] three seasons, four seasons, five seasons, something like that. Based on the sort of pitch line of what these characters are doing and the rate of escalation in danger and plot, there’s a certain pitch to that. Given the intelligence of Marty Byrde and Wendy Byrde, if they keep going at this pitch for much longer, they’re either going to be killed or put in jail. The alternative is to flatten out that pitch but then you start stalling just for additional episodes and seasons.
In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Chris Mundy, the showrunner, elucidated,
“I always want closure. I don’t want to feel messed with. I want to feel like, ‘OK, that was the end.’ So hopefully people will feel closure by the end — whether they like it or not, I don’t know. Hopefully, the back half will still be fun and exciting, but also really emotional for the Byrdes and Ruth.”
It seemed like the ending of Ozark was fated for a very long time! With several series in recent times trying to extend and outsell their plotlines, the shows seem to go off track in several instances. With Ozark, there was nothing else left to achieve, and the loop of danger and escape was slowly emulsifying into a vicious loop. How many more dangers could the family survive without paying for its consequences?
Bateman mentioned in the same interview with Collider in 2020, “I think there’s always been the presumed area [of] three seasons, four seasons, five seasons, something like that,”. “Based on the sort of the pitch line of what these characters are doing and the rate of escalation in danger and plot, there’s a certain pitch to that. And, if you keep going on that pitch for a whole lot longer, you’re going to go over the cliff, or up over the peak of the mountain and you end up jumping the shark.”
He further stated, “So, given the intelligence of Marty Byrde and Wendy Byrde [Linney], if they keep going at this pitch for much longer, they’re either going to be killed or put in jail. The alternative is to flatten out that pitch so that you don’t end up jumping the shark, but then you start stalling just for additional episodes and seasons.”
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Mundy stated: “My gut feeling is that [Netflix] has an appreciation for letting things run the right amount of time for them, and creatively. I know for us, creatively, we didn’t think it would go past five. Knowing where we wanted to end it—at least emotionally; we didn’t know all the mechanics of it—it felt like somewhere in that four-five season range was kind of perfect.”
Need more reasons why Ozark ended with Season 4? I think these are enough!
For a memory refresh, let us look at a Season 4 recap!
Ozark Season 4: What was the plotline of Season 4?
*Spoiler Alert*
The official premise of the Season underlines the following: “The official synopsis by Netflix of Ozark states, “Ozark, follows Marty Byrde, a financial advisor wrapped up in a money-laundering scheme. When the scheme goes wrong, Marty relocates his family from Chicago to Missouri, where he must work to make amends to a Mexican drug cartel, setting up a larger operation in the Ozarks.”
To amalgamate the storylines with ease, Season 4 was split into two parts:
Ozark Season 4: Part 1
S4.E1 ∙ The Beginning of the End
January 21, 2022
Marty and Wendy wrestle with a problematic offer. Ruth goes out on her own, Jonah rebels, and Omar’s nephew makes his presence known.
S4.E2 ∙ Let the Great World Spin
January 21, 2022
Maya pushes back on Marty’s plan for Omar. Ruth pursues the hipster heroin market. Wendy tries to raise $150 million. The new sheriff causes problems.
S4.E3 ∙ City on the Make
January 21, 2022
Maya and Omar meet face-to-face. Wendy has a contentious business meeting. Ruth goes behind Darlene’s back. Jonah finds a new place to set up shop.
S4.E4 ∙ Ace Deuce
January 21, 2022
Wendy’s claims about Ben anger Ruth. Mel the P.I. tracks down Wendy’s father. Ruth’s trip to the Missouri Belle with Kerry doesn’t go as planned.
S4.E5 ∙ Ellie
January 21, 2022
The Senator extends an olive branch–with a twist. Ruth and Marty scramble to rebuy the drugs Darlene sold. Charlotte ponders life after high school.
S4.E6 ∙ Sangre Sobre Todo
January 21, 2022
Marty is tasked with proving Omar wasn’t involved with a bombing. Wendy pays a visit to the Lazy-O Motel. Ruth and Wyatt make a plan.
S4.E7 ∙ Sanctified
January 21, 2022
The FBI’s long-awaited meeting with Omar takes place. Wyatt shares some news with Ruth. Feeling betrayed, Javi gets aggressive.
Ozark Season 4: Part 2
S4.E8 ∙ The Cousin of Death
April 29, 2022
Devastated by a tremendous loss, Ruth heads to Chicago to enact revenge as Marty tries to talk her out of doing something she might regret.
S4.E9 ∙ Pick a God and Pray
April 29, 2022
Their deal with the FBI is now dead, and the Byrdes desperately search for more solutions to their growing problems. Wendy’s father comes to town.
S4.E10 ∙ You’re the Boss
April 29, 2022
Marty travels to the Navarro estate, Ruth asks Frank Jr. for a favor, a new acting sheriff makes waves and Wendy tries to bring Jim back into the fold.
S4.E11 ∙ Pound of Flesh and Still Kickin’
April 29, 2022
Ruth makes a play for the casino with some help from a familiar face. Wendy cozies up to Omar’s sister and arranges a meeting with Clare.
S4.E12 ∙ Trouble the Water
April 29, 2022
Nathan angers Wendy by making Charlotte and Jonah a surprising offer. Ruth tries to erase her own past with an assist from Charles Wilkes.
S4.E13 ∙ Mud
April 29, 2022
Omar pressures Marty to launder more money, but Ruth wants to keep her casino clean. Wendy goes to extremes to keep her children.
S4.E14 ∙ A Hard Way to Go
April 29, 2022
Every desperate deal. Every broken promise. Every bloody murder. Eager to leave their murky past behind, the Byrdes make a final bid for freedom.
To keep the memory of the four-season series fresh in mind, we urge the viewers to sit through the sour seasons and reminisce about the long ride from 2017 to 2022 with the Byrdes. All the seasons are available to stream right now on Netflix. All you need is a subscription!
Ozark Season 4: Cast
The main cast of the series includes:
- Jason Bateman as Martin “Marty” Byrde
- Laura Linney as Wendy Byrde
- Sofia Hublitz as Charlotte Byrde
- Skylar Gaertner as Jonah Byrde
- Julia Garner as Ruth Langmore
- Lisa Emery as Darlene Snell
- Charlie Tahan as Wyatt Langmore
- Felix Solis as Omar Navarro
The recurring cast of the series includes:
- Alfonso Herrera as Javier Elizonndro
- Darren Goldstein as Charles Wilkes
Ozark Season 5: Is There A Possibility?
Finally, the moment you have been waiting for. We promised some compelling news at the end, so we are here to deliver:
Throughout the four seasons of the hit crime thriller, the storyline stretched beyond the realms of Missouri Ozarks, with the Byrdes facing down perils from federal agents, Kansas City mobsters, Mexican cartels, and local heroin dealers at every turn. Yet, they somehow managed to surpass these grave life-and-death situations and remain intact. We’ve watched rom-com stories losing more main characters than Ozarks!
However, the series finale seemed more of an open ending than the fans anticipated, and usually, in these cases, the story may be revived!
According to Bateman — who also served as executive producer and sometimes director on “Ozark”, “A return would certainly not be out of the question, because he enjoyed working on the show so much. “Any job or work environment that was positive, and where you loved the people you were working with and you loved the product you were creating, you’d love to return to it,” the actor told Variety. Bateman went on to add, “And we had that with ‘Ozark.’ So I’d do it again in a second, because what we had just doesn’t happen often.”
However, it seems like there is a bleak window of possibility for this story to continue given that the showrunner and creators of the show are completely satisfied with the way it ended, so we urge the fans to not overthink it!
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