Season 4 of Sweet Magnolias is still looming large in Netflix’s Top 10, but fans — and a certain TVLine editor who shall remain nameless (me) — are already eager to find out what’s next for the good people of Serenity.
The feel-good drama hasn’t technically been renewed for Season 5, but given the show’s continued success on the streamer, it’s basically a foregone conclusion that we will be seeing Maddie, Dana Sue, Helen and the rest of the gang someday.
But where will we be seeing them? And what will their lives look like when we finally reunite? Those are the questions I’m tackling today. Let’s start with Maddie, who began the season by surprise-marrying Cal, then ended it by accepting a book marketing job in New York City.
“It was really exciting,” JoAnna Garcia Swisher tells TVLine of figuring out Maddie’s next steps, though she does admit: “I think a lot of people saw that happen and thought, ‘Oh God, is this the end of the show? Maddie’s leaving town. What does that look like?!’” To ease those concerns, she reminds us that “you can never turn the lights off in Serenity. You never know the twisted ways that we’ll find out way back.”
Still, Garcia Swisher thinks it’s “important for Maddie and her journey to flex those muscles and really gain her confidence back. She has this real knack for marketing, which is what she went to school for, and it’s helping her get her groove back.” She firmly believes that “Maddie would thrive in New York,” though margarita night might have to be replaced with a round of cosmos.
As for Helen, who finally got engaged to Erik in the Season 4 finale, Heather Headley says she’s already in wedding planning mode — you know, just in case. “The Helen Decatur wedding has to be the wedding of all weddings,” Headley tells TVLine. “When she’s at the front of the church, I want her train to still be coming out of the car.”
Because she’s the last of the Magnolias to settle down, Headley believes that the town views Helen as “that lady in town, the spinster who everybody wonders, ‘How is she not married?’” For that reason, Headley foresees Helen and Erik’s nuptials as a town-wide celebration, adding, “I think it would be quite a grand wedding.”
And while Dana Sue’s life didn’t shift quite as much as Maddie’s and Helen’s did this season, Brooke Elliott is still excited for all the possibilities that lie ahead for her character, whose latest journey led her out of Sullivan’s kitchen and into the community to serve a greater purpose.
“I just want her to keep exploring herself,” Elliott tells TVLine. “I want her to understand herself better, and then that expands outward to her friends and family.” She’s also willing to take whatever showrunner Sheryl J. Anderson decides to throw her way. “I like that she doesn’t always know how to do the thing, but she’s trying, she’s figuring it out and I like that about her a lot.”
OK, let’s talk: Which of the Magnolias’ storylines surprised you the most in Season 4? And if the show gets renewed for Season 5 (fingers crossed!), what do you hope to see in the future? Grade the season below, then drop a comment with your thoughts.
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