Ozark season 4 will throw the Byrdes to the wind for one last time. The Netflix crime drama is currently filming its swan song, making it one of the biggest shows getting canceled or ending in 2021. The Ozark cast and crew have been sharing production updates via set photos, such as a glimpse of a casino scene from episode director Robin Wright.
Ozark season 4 will conclude the story that began with Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) relocating his family to the Lake of the Ozarks region in Missouri. In trouble with a Mexican cartel, he sets up a money laundering scheme for them; later, he and wife Wendy (Laura Linney) become entangled with local criminals and the Kansas City Mafia.
Ozark followed in the mold of great crime dramas of the past, like Breaking Bad, with its premise of an average family man turning antihero. The show became a perennial awards nominee (and winner). Bateman recently won a SAG Award, while Garner took home her second straight Supporting Actress Emmy last fall.
The final season will get extra episodes to tie up the Byrdes’ story, with a total of 14 divided between two halves.
Here’s everything we know so far about Ozark season 4.
Ozark season 4 release date
Netflix has not set a release date for Ozark season 4.
Netflix first announced Ozark would return for a fourth and final season last June. The final season will be divided into two parts; the first part could be released in late 2021. The second part is likely to debut next year, possibly spring 2022.
That said, in an earnings letter to shareholders Netflix didn’t list Ozark among its most anticipated projects of 2021 (including the new season of Sex Education and The Witcher season 2), so it may be arriving later than anticipated.
Ozark season 4 cancelled rumors
Netflix didn’t cancel Ozark, per se. Rather, the streamer gave the show’s creative team a fourth and final season to wrap everything up on their terms.
“We’re so happy Netflix recognised the importance of giving Ozark more time to end the Byrdes’ saga right,” showrunner Chris Mundy said in a statement. “It’s been such a great adventure for all of us — both on screen and off — so we’re thrilled to get the chance to bring it home in the most fulfilling way possible.”
Bateman has previously said he believed Ozark would run for just a handful of seasons.
“If you keep going 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 noted. “So, 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 so that you don’t end up jumping the shark, but then you start stalling just for additional episodes and seasons. So, I’m not sure where and when it’ll end, but given their intelligence, it doesn’t feel like it’s a 12-season show.”
Ozark season 4 filming
Filming on Ozark season 4 began in November 2020, following strict coronavirus pandemic safety protocols.
Jason Bateman may not direct any episodes in the final season, due to those protocols. He has directed the first two episodes of all three previous seasons.
“As normal, I was going to do the first two episodes, but as we were looking through the protocols, the guidelines, all the complications with COVID, [and] the producer side of me made me think it’s just not responsible to have one of the actors direct the first two, given that we’re still going to be getting our perimeter safe,” Bateman told IndieWire.
“Because if one of the actors gets sick, we all have to go home for weeks. If one of the crew members gets sick — while I’m making sure their salary is protected while they’re in quarantine — we can hire a replacement. So it just didn’t seem smart for me to [direct] the first two [episodes].”
Ozark season 4 set photos
With Ozark season 4 filming underway, cast members been sharing behind-the-scenes set photos. Skylar Gaertner posted an Instagram story (now expired, but can be found at Daily Express) featuring co-star Julia Garner.
Robin Wright (yes, the star of House of Cards) is directing an episode this season. “I’m so thankful for all of you,” she wrote in the caption, referring to the cast and crew. The photo reveals she was directing a scene in the casino.
Ozark season 4 trailer
There are a bunch of videos on YouTube claiming to be Ozark season 4 trailers — but they’re all fan-make fakes. This season is still in production, so it’s too early for a full trailer.
Netflix did release a short teaser when it announced Ozark season 4 would be the last. It featured a cool, transforming graphic that changed from crosshairs to a dollar sign to the number four.
But when might we see an Ozark trailer with actual season 4 footage? Other Netflix series, like The Witcher, have posted a teaser video at the conclusion of filming, so perhaps fans will get their a sneak peek then.
Another possibility is that Netflix debuts an Ozark trailer during the 2021 Emmys, which are set for September 19, 2021. The show is a perennial nominee, so it’s the perfect opportunity to remind viewers that the final season is on its way.
Ozark season 4 episodes
Ozark’s final season will comprise 14 episodes, divided into two parts of seven episodes each. That’s more than the previous seasons, which had 10 episodes.
Netflix hasn’t revealed much info about them, but we do know the title for season 4, episode 1: “The Beginning of the End.” Very apt!
Bateman said in a statement, “A super sized season means super sized problems for the Byrdes. I’m excited to end with a bang(s).”
Ozark season 4 cast
The cast of Ozark is led by Jason Bateman as Marty Byrde, a former financial advisor turned money launderer, and Wendy Byrde, a former political PR manager turned realty stager and lobbyist.
Also returning for season 4 are Julia Garner as Ruth Langmore, a member of a local crime family.
They will be be joined by:
- Sofia Hublitz as Charlotte Byrde, Marty and Wendy’s daughter
- Skylar Gaertner as Jonah Byrde, Marty and Wendy’s son
- Felix Solis as Omar Navarro, head of a Mexican drug cartel
- Lisa Emery as Darlene Snell, a member of a local crime family
- Charlie Tahan as Wyatt Langmore, Ruth’s cousin
- Jessica Frances Dukes as FBI Special Agent Maya Miller
- John Bedford Lloyd as Frank Cosgrove, head of the Kansas City mafia
- Joseph Sikora as Frank Cosgrove Jr, a mafia member
- Robert Treveiler as John Nix, a local sheriff
- Kevin L Johnson as Sam Dermody, a real estate agent
- McKinley Belcher III as FBI Agent Trevor Evans
Cast members who will not be returning, because their characters died in season 3, include: Janet McTeer as cartel attorney Helen Pierce; Tom Pelphrey as Wendy’s brother Ben; and Marylouise Burke as therapist Sue Shelby.
Some new faces will grace Ozark season 4. Bruce Davison is joining the cast as retired Illinois Senator Randall Schafer. More new cast members include: Alfonso Herrera as Javi, a member of the Navarro cartel; Bruno Bichir as Navarro’s priest; Adam Rothenberg as private investigator Mel Sattem; CC Castillo as Sheriff Leigh Guerrero; and Katrina Lenk as Clare Shaw, the CEO of a biopharmaceutical firm.
Ozark season 4 plot
Ozark season 4 will pick up right where the third installment left off, moments after Marty and Wendy witnessed Helen Pierce get shot and killed at the hands of Navarro.
During a Deadline panel, Bateman said, “The next season, the first episode, is Laura [Linney] and I looking in the mirror just after that moment, cleaning Janet [McTeer] out of our hair. It’s a nice 10 minutes later pick-up from it.”
The Byrdes were already in deep with the cartel, but now they’re truly bound to Navarro. As he told them, “Today is a beginning” — the question is, can they survive the ending?
Marty and Wendy have other problems besides Navarro, now that Ruth has turned against them and is now working for Darlene Snell’s heroin operation.
Showrunner Chris Mundy told EW.com, “I think [season 4] will be about whether or not Ruth really can create something of her own that she wants and is sustainable, or if she wants something else. And I think it will be about if the Byrdes can they turn the biggest mistake of their lives into this huge advantage, and how much will karma catch up with them if they do?”
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