Is Ozark over for good? The show’s future plans detailed

Ozark, the most interesting, boring show on television, is over. The roller-coaster ride that took us to the rural Lake of the Ozarks, where Marty Byrde thought he could set up a low-key money-laundering operation but ended up feuding with the FBI, Mexican drug cartels, and deranged locals, has come to a screeching yet satisfying halt.

Well, the jury’s out on whether the end was satisfying, but most people agree that we wanted more of Ozark. Netflix released the final batch of seven episodes in late April 2022, and as expected, the show quickly became one of the streamer’s trending productions. 

The showrunners have no plans to renew Ozark for another season

In 2020, Jason Bateman told Collider that the showrunners always presumed that Ozark would run for three to five seasons. Bateman said that there was a risk of convoluting the story by taking it too far. He explained:

“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.”

Chris Mundy, the showrunner, confirmed they perceived season 5 as the maximum they could take the series. However, after completing season 3, they perceived season 5 as too much of a stretch and a ten-episode season 4 as too little to wrap up the story. 

Netflix suggested the following compromise: an extended season 4. Mundy loved the idea as it would give enough time to bring the show to a fulfilling ending. He told The Daily Beast:

“I’ve been talking to them about trying to end it in five [seasons], and they weren’t sure if they wanted to do four or five, and Netflix is the one that hit upon the idea of doing four seasons but a longer order, with the idea always being that it would split.”

“Netflix hit upon the idea of saying, ‘We’ll do four but we’ll make it long and split it in this way,’ and that felt perfect,” Chris Mundy told The Wrap. 

There you have it: Ozark’s showrunners have no plans to create season 5. They completed the show’s story in season 4. 

We are not ruling out a spin-off series or a film in the future

At the time of writing, everyone associated with Ozark is adamant that the series has ended. However, those feelings might change with time, and given the show’s popularity, Netflix will surely feel tempted to breathe more life into Ozark. 

Production houses have tended to produce spin-off shows from popular series. Better Call Saul is a perfect example. One of the many interesting characters in Ozark might get their show or film in the future. 

Julia Garner (Ruth Langmore in Ozark) told Time that she would have remained on Ozark for as long as the showrunners wanted her on the show. She said:

“It’s really bittersweet. From an artistic point of view, I feel like ending on a high note like this is probably the smartest move. You don’t ever want to be the last person leaving the party. Personally, and selfishly, I could shoot this show until I’m 70 years old.”

Therefore, we doubt she would decline to participate in a spin-off or revival of the show. For now, the story’s complete. However, the potential for Ozark’s continuity exists.