Netflix has announced it will renew fan-favourite romantic drama Sweet Magnolias for a fourth season. The show, which first debuted in 2020, is based on the books of the same name by Sherryl Woods.
Starring JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Heather Headley, and Brooke Elliott as a trio of longtime friends in the small Southern town of Serenity, Sweet Magnolias has been a hit with Netflix subscribers, with each new season consistently landing in the list of Netflix’s most-watched shows.
While a release date hasn’t yet been announced, Netflix has confirmed that season 4 of Sweet Magnolias will consist of 10 50-minute episodes and will see the return of Sheryl J. Anderson as showrunner and executive producer alongside Dan Paulson.
The show falls into the category Netflix has deemed “comfort/lean back” – effectively lighter, low-scale dramas which provide a more relaxing viewing experience. Other shows in this include Virgin River (recently renewed for season 6), The Lincoln Lawyer (which has been renewed for season 3), Ginny & Georgia (renewed for seasons 3 and 4), and the recently-finished Firefly Lane.
Touching on the third season, which premiered in July 2023, lead actor Swisher told Netflix, “Even though this season ended with a nice button, it almost feels like it was a necessary button to really dig in deep for the future,” she said. “There’s still so much to be told, so it almost feels like a cliffhanger in itself.”
The last season did indeed end without its usual cliffhanger. Yet, there are plenty of storylines still awaiting exploration, like potential romances involving Ty, Annie, Helen, and Erik. Helen might continue to chase her motherhood dream, a theme since season one, and Maddie and Cal’s relationship could evolve.
For the fourth season, fans can hope to find out whether Isaac will continue to conceal his parentage secret: his parents are Peggy and Bill, which makes him half-sibling to Rebecca, Ty, Kyle, and Katie. Bill’s unawareness of this link threatens the peace in Serenity.
