Fans know Sweet Magnolias Season 4 will happen along with its likely cast, but when it will release remains unknown.
The Netflix drama originally debuted in May 2020, telling the story of three South Carolinian women who help each other navigate the throes of adulthood.
After becoming a streaming hit, Seasons 2 and 3 would go on to be released in 2022 and 2023, respectively, with an upcoming fourth season having already been announced.
When Will Sweet Magnolias Season 4 Be Released?
When it comes to its release, Sweet Magnolias Season 4 finds itself in a fascinating place.
The fourth season of the romantic drama was announced in October 2023 mere months after Season 3 came to an, yet no release information has been made public.
All fans know (according to a report from Deadline) is that Sweet Magnolias will not return in 2024, with the series expected to come out sometime in 2025 instead.
Word of the series' delayed release came after 2023's writers' and actors' strikes in Hollywood, as Netflix (among other studios) reprioritized projects coming out of the extended work stoppage in the entertainment industry.
Filming for the fourth season commenced in January 2024, with series showrunner Sheryl J Anderson posting on Instagram she was "happy to be back home:"
"We are [Norman Buckley] official! The first on-set picture of the season. So happy to be back home in Serenity!!! Season 4, here we go!"
Production on Season 4 is expected to last until late May or early June.
Typically Sweet Magnolias seasons have been released somewhere between six and twelve months after its filming start date. If Season 4 follows suit - and Netflix sticks with its promise for the series not to come back in 2024 - then an early 2025 release date feels doable, coming sometime between January and March of next year.
Who Is Cast in Sweet Magnolias Season 4?
Heading into Sweet Magnolias Season 4, fans can expect much of the core cast to return as they have since the beginning of the hit Netflix series.
Leading the cast will, of course, be the series' central trio of longtime best friends. JoAnna Garcia Swisher's Maddie Townsend, Brooke Elliott's Dana Sue Sullivan, and Heather Headley's Helen Decatu will all be back, helping each other work through the ups and downs of adulthood.
Joining them will likely be several members of their extended families and social circles including Maddie's son Kyle (played by Logan Allen), Dana Sue's daughter (Annie Sullivan), and Maddie's ex-husband Bill (Chris Klein) among others.
Below is a full list of characters expected to return for Sweet Magnolias Season 4:
- JoAnna Garcia Swisher - Maddie Townsend
- Brooke Elliott - Dana Sue Sullivan
- Heather Headley - Helen Decatur
- Logan Allen - Kyle Townsend
- Anneliese Judge - Annie Sullivan
- Carson Rowland - Tyler "Ty" Townsend
- Justin Bruening - Cal Maddox
- Chris Klein - Bill Townsend
- Jamie Lynn Spears - Noreen Fitzgibbons
- Dion Johnstone - Erik Whitley
- Brandon Quinn - Ronnie Sullivan
- Chris Medlin - Isaac Downey
What Will Happen in Sweet Magnolias Season 4?
Fans eager to know what will happen in Sweet Magnolias Season 4 can look to the series of novels by Sherryl Woods that the show is based on.
While the series has not been a straight adaptation of Woods' literary world, it has remained fairly close to its source material, pulling elements of across the books for each season.
On Season 4, Woods teased in a conversation with Parade, "There are many storylines that leave room for discussion," so Season 4 will have no lack of narrative fodder to pull upon:
"There are many storylines that leave room for discussion – Cal and Maddie, Helen and Erik, Noreen and Jeremy, and Bill and Kathy, to name a few. There are so many things that could be done and there are so many things [where you think], Wait, what happens next in this? And you always hope that people are wanting more and wanting the next stage of things."
She specifically pointed to the "older generation" as something Season 4 could (and should) focus on, hopefully diving into the exploits of the likes of Maddie's mom like Paula:
"I don't think we’ve explored the older generation, Paula's generation, in any depth yet. But then also the teens have very relatable stories, too."
Showrunner Sheryl J. Anderson was a little more clear in her explanation of the fourth season, telling Tudum in October 2023 that Season 4 will follow "the twists and turns of romance, the complexity of friendship, the surprises that pop up in life, and how all these things make us more grateful for the people who love us:"
"The twists and turns of romance, the complexity of friendship, the surprises that pop up in life, and how all these things make us more grateful for the people who love us, the people who fight for — and with — us, and the people who can make us laugh, whatever we’re going through."
What that means remains to be seen, but some have interpreted Anderson's comments to say that the series is set to get even messier in Season 4.
This could see some of the show's complicated romances get even more convoluted, as well as secrets (like the parentage of Isaac) being revealed to characters who have had information hidden from them.
Season 3 was one of the first times in the show's nearly four-year run that audiences saw its central trio of best friends pitted against one another as tempers flared amongst Maddie, Dana Sue, and Helen.
Things were not completely mended between the three at the end of the last season, so one can assume Season 4 will see the longtime friends deal with the consequences of their conflict.
Sweet Magnolias Seasons 1-3 are streaming now on Netflix.
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