As Killing Eve's popularity grows following its recent addition to Netflix in April 2024, does the possibility of a Season 5 renewal for the series exist, or will the powers that be let sleeping dogs lie?
Killing Eve was a massive critical darling until it wasn’t. The spy thriller, which starred Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer, saw its two leads embroiled in a continual cat-and-mouse game as Eve and Villanelle tried to outwit each other in their deadly feud.
Viewers everywhere couldn’t get enough of the pair’s vicious byplay, but the show’s final episode, featuring a fatal gunshot from an offscreen assailant, eradicated much of the goodwill fans had for Killing Eve. And so, the series entered the pantheon of good shows with arguably bad endings.
Could Killing Eve Continue Into Season 5?
Despite Killing Eve’s immense popularity, there are no plans to return the show for a fifth season, even in this age of relentless Hollywood revivals and reboots.
There are many new sets of eyes on Killing Eve. It was recently added to Netflix, but the show’s 2022 Season 4 was intended to be its last.
The reasoning behind that decision is that it was apparently quite difficult to maintain Killing Eve’s central dynamic for any extended time.
Sandra Oh spoke on that complication to Digital Spy, remarking that it was “felt in our bones” that the time had come to end things:
"It's actually a very tricky dynamic to continue on for multiple seasons, and so that has always been a challenge after the first season to sustain truthfully and sustain how they're gonna grow… It just felt in our bones that this was the right time to bring them to a new place of growth, but it was time to close it."
Kayleigh Llewellyn, a writer for the series, admitted to Metro that there were plans for a Killing Eve Season 5, but things changed during the development process:
“Well, when I was hired, it originally wasn’t going to be the final season, there was going to be another one. ‘That was a decision that was made during the process, so that was a big change.’”
Actor Kim Bodnia, who played Konstantin in the series, questioned the logic behind wrapping things up during an interview with Radio Times:
“I mean, like everybody else watching this show, [I'm thinking] ‘Why end [the show]?’,” before continuing: ‘[The series] is working is fine, and is new. And it's like, 'Why don't we keep on going?’”
Bodnia, however, ultimately conceded that it was the right time to finish Killing Eve, acknowledging the “complex relationship” between the two leads:
“And I think that the writers and everybody must have agreed that it is [a] complex relationship, and where to go with it, and when it's time to end it and when it's time to say that we can't go deeper into all this complexity of these feelings. So probably they have that in mind and [are] saying, ‘Okay, it's time’. But for me, as I kind of miss this family, you know, so it's easier for me to say, ‘Let's keep on going’.”
Shortly before Killing Eve’s series finale, Oh discussed the prospect of reprising Eve Polastri for a fifth season but dispelled any such notions:
“I don't think so. I think they're kind of keeping their options open, like who knows what the future holds. But for sure the thing I will miss the most is not having to apologise – all the mischief I get away with, there's something so fun about that.”
She also shot down the idea of doing a Killing Eve movie, stating that she didn’t “really need to go back:”
“I don't know, because for me, when I close something, I close it… For me, just how I work, I do and I don't really need to go back."
Oh additionally noted that Season 4 was “just the right time to explore the end of this relationship,” referring to the romance between Eve and Villanelle.
In 2021, before Season 4 premiered, Deadline confirmed that multiple Killing Eve spin-offs were in the works.
This reportedly included a prequel series about Fiona Shaw’s Carolyn Martens (via Deadline in 2022). Still, there has seemingly been little movement on this spin-off since the initial announcement, leading some to believe it was canned.
Would Killing Eve Season 5 Be Worth Doing?
Many audience members would agree that given the way Killing Eve concluded, more of the show would be a non-starter.
Villanelle is dead, struck down by a bullet from an assassin’s gun. This shocking turn of events occurred after she and Eve emerged victorious and defeated the Big Bads.
The two shared a well-earned kiss before Villanelle sunk to the bottom of the River Thames. It was revealed shortly afterward that Carolyn Martens ordered the hit.
So, with Villanelle having been unceremoniously killed off, it stands to reason that Killing Eve’s fanbase would have little interest in watching a show where one-half of the duo that made the series interesting is no longer involved.
All four seasons of Killing Eve are streaming now on Netflix.
