Ozark Season 4 is currently filming, and fans are excited to find out how Netflix's American crime thriller will wrap up its story. Netflix already confirmed that Season 4 will be split in two parts, and the release date for Part 1 has already been announced.
While Netflix is still keeping major details about Ozark Season 4 under wraps, we already have some information regarding the confirmed cast members, plot teasers, and more.
Here's everything you need to know about Ozark Season 4.
Table of Contents
- Why was Ozark Season 4 Split in 2 parts?
- Ozark Season 4 Release Date: When will the new episodes be released on Netflix?
- Ozark Season 4 Episode Count: How many episodes in each part?
- Ozark Season 4 Cast: Who will reprise their roles and who are the newcomers?
- Ozark Season 4 Plot: What is the final season about?
- Ozark Season 4 Trailer: Is the trailer for the final season out already?
Why was Ozark Season 4 Split in 2 parts?
During an interview with TheWrap, showrunner Chris Mundy explained why the final season of Ozark was split in two parts:
"We always thought five [seasons] was the outside number,” Mundy told TheWrap. “It just felt like after that – we didn’t want to repeat ourselves, we didn’t want the show to feel like it was continuing because it was a TV show and it had to continue. So really the decision has always been between is it four [seasons] or is it five [seasons], and then 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.”
As Mundy and the writers started working on Ozark Season 4, they realized that they needed more than 10 episodes to wrap up the story.
“We could make these seven [episodes] feel complete and make the second seven feel complete, even though it’s all one continuum. I think 10 wouldn’t have been enough to tell the story in the way we wanted to. So any number over 10 and under 20 was gonna be good in my book.”
Ozark Season 4 Release Date: When will the new episodes be released on Netflix?
On Oct. 1, star Jason Bateman told SmartLess podcast that he thinks Ozark Season 4 will premiere on Netflix in January 2022, but it didn't sound like he was 100% sure that Netflix confirmed it yet.
On Oct. 19, Netflix has confirmed an official release date for Part 1 in a new teaser. The first seven episodes (Part 1) will be released on Jan. 21, 2022. It's expected to release at 12 a.m. PST. For release times, based on your region, check out the list of times based on your region here.
While Netflix hasn't confirmed a release date for Part 2, it's expected to release sometime in 2022.
With the filming complications due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it's hard to predict when exactly the new episodes will be released, but Jason Bateman previously said that the production started in Fall 2020.
"We're going to start November 9,"Bateman told IndieWire. "Everything is moving well toward that, and we're very confident in the guidelines and protocols we're going to be following. We've got tons of consultants, [and] we're learning a lot from other productions."
Bateman previously told the Collider that the production process of a season of Ozark, from initial writing to the end product, usually takes a minimum of 12 months: "I think the fastest we can turn around a full season, from starting the writers room to having Netflix push it out (because then Netflix also has to dub all the episodes and all the different territory languages so it can go out on the same day), is basically 12 months. There's just no way to do it any quicker." He then added that it's, "more like a 14-month thing."
In an interview with W Magazine, actress Julia Garner said that Ozark Season 4 is set to wrap filming in October 2021.
In September 2021, director Amanda Marsalis shared a production update on Instagram, revealing that she's almost done with the four episodes she's directing for Ozark Season 4.
Ozark Season 4 Episode Count: How many episodes in each part?
Bateman previously revealed that Ozark Season 4 will be split into two parts. Previews seasons of Ozark consisted of 10 episodes each, but the entire season will have a total of 14 episodes. However, similar to the final season of Money Heist (Last Casa de Papel), Ozark Season 4 will be released in two seven-episode segments. Considering the difficulties the COVID-19 pandemic introduced, it's hard to tell if the production of Ozark Season 4 will stick to the same timeline as previous seasons.
The second part will most likely premiere a few months after the first, just like how Money Heist Season 5 Part 2 will be released just a few months after the September 2021 premiere of Part 1.
Ozark Season 4 Cast: Who will reprise their roles and who are the newcomers?
Expect the familiar faces to return in Ozark Season 4, but Season 3 saw some major deaths: Tom Pelphrey's Ben Davis and Janet McTeer's Helen Pierce.
Jason Bateman will be back as Marty Byrde, and Laura Linney will return as Wendy Byrde. It's likely that their children Jonah and Charlotte will return, played by Skylar Gaertner and Sofia Hublitz respectively.
Julia Garner, who recently landed a lead role for the upcoming psychological thriller movi Apartment 7A, will also be back as Ruth Langmore, and Charlie Tahan will also return as Ruth's brother Wyatt. It's likely that Lisa Emery as Darlene Snell will be back as well.
Kevin L. Johnson's Sam Dermody, who was arrested by Jessica Fraces Dukes' Special Agent Maya Miller, will likely show up again along with Dukes' character. Lisa Emery will likely return as Darlene Snell, and Josepph Sikora's Frank Cosgrove Jr. and his father Frank Cosgrove Sr., played by John Bedford Llloyd), could return.
Netflix also confirmed several cast members for Ozark Season 4. Felix Solis, the actor behind the cartel boss Navarro will return as a series regular for Season 4, as well as Damian Young, who plays Jim Rattelsdorf.
As for the newcomers, Adam Rothenberg and Alfonso Herrera will join as cast regulars, with CC Castillo, Bruno Bichir, and Katrina Lenk recurring.
To sum it all up, here are the confirmed cast members for Ozark Season 4 so far:
- Jason Bateman
- Laura Linney
- Julia Garner
- Sofia Hublitz
- Skylar Gaertner
- Charlie Tahan
- Adam Rothenberg
- Jessica Frances Dukes
- Lisa Emery
- Felix Solis
- Damian Young
- John Bedford Lloyd
- Joseph Sikora
- Alfonso Herrera
- Bruno Bichir
- CC Castillo
- Katrina Lenk
Ozark Season 4 Plot: What is the final season about?
The official plot synopsis of Ozark Season 4 reads: "The new season will mark the final chapter in the Byrde family's journey from suburban Chicago life to their criminal enterprise in the Ozarks."
At the finale of Ozark Season 3, Navarro orders Marty, Wendy, and Helen to attend his son's second baptism in Mexico, but things take a bloody turn when Nelson executes Helen, and Navarro tells Marty and Wendy, "today is a beginning" of their increased cooperation.
Bateman also shared a brief teaser for Ozark Season 4: "A supersized season means super sized problems for the Byrdes. I'm excited to end with a bang(s)."
He also said that he knows how the series will end. Speaking to Indie Wire, Bateman said, "I do know where everything is going to end… I was interested in the big question [Chris Mundy, showrunner] has the opportunity to answer: Are they going to get away with it, or are they going to pay a bill? What does he want to message to the audience about the consequences of what the Byrdes have done – or lack thereof?". He continued, "We had some great conversations about that, and he's got really good ideas about that. Specifically, what kind of happens at the end of the last episode: I know, and it's great."
Ruth, who's now part of Darlene's team, will likely do something dangerous after Wendy allowed Ben to be killed. This could mean trouble for the Byrdes. Her decision to quit and distance from the family, she is now running the day-to-day production of Darlene's business, ensuring the heroin manufactured on-site gets to the Kansas City mob for distribution.
In an interview with IndieWire, Julia Garner said that in the final season, "she [Ruth] wants that independence back that she had before the Byrdes came in."
Netflix already released the first full trailer that reveals the conflicts of Byrdes, and their mission to escape Navarro. It looks like Ruth's relationship with Marty continues to get worse, and the Byrde children are stepping into their own in the family business.
Ozark showrunner Chris Mundy told Entertainment Weekly: "Well, if we're lucky enough to get a season 4, I think it 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?"
Mundy also previously told Deadline that the new season would find the Byrdes trying to find their “out.”
“You’re going to learn what they want their end game to be, and they’re going to have to reckon with it a little bit …” he said. “If they’re trying to look to see if there’s an out, they’ve got to figure out if that’s what they want, and if so, what’s the version of it that they want. Then reckoning with that after so much chaos — that’s going to bubbling under the surface.”
Navarro is also expected to have a bigger presence in Season 4. Mundy also detailed what's coming for Navarro and the Byrdes: "Marty kind of said it in the speech that he gives to try and get Wendy out of bed, which is that we have to burrow all the way into the center of this thing. To us, it's that. It's, you're a vital part of this enterprise now and you're completely on his radar, to the point where he's commingling his or someone else's blood with yours, you're sharing in that. And so, for better or worse, you're completely in this game, and now it's yours to see if you have another play left in you."
Season 4 plays out like a clash of the titans between the Byrdes, the Navarros, the Langmores, the Snells, and the Kansas City mob, as each party struggles with their turf and business.
The Byrdes are also expected to work more as a team moving forward. "Part of what they've come to understand in season 3 is that they've each tried to do it completely on their own and the whole thing doesn't work unless they're actually doing it together," Mundy added. "They're both smart and capable and willing to do some things, but it's not enough until there's the two of them. The end of season 3 brought that into sharp relief, so that's where they are, and I think they both feel it – and not just as an intellectual thing, it's finally sort of an emotional realization."
Early reviews have also revealed more spoilers for Season 4: Ruth wins 14-year-old Jonah Byrde (Skylar Gaertner) over to her side to help launder cash for her business. The Byrde couple venture into big pharma in anticipation of the future, and are affected by the arrivals of Javier and private investigator Mel Sattam (Adam Rothenberg) in town.
The seventh episode of Season 4 is titled Sanctified.
Related: Ozark Season 4: Ruth Langmore Star Shares Heartfelt Farewell Message
Ozark Season 4 Trailer: Is the trailer for the final season out already?
Netflix hasn't released an official trailer or teaser for Ozark Season 4, but now that we know that filming is set to wrap up by October 2021, expect Netflix to release it soon. Hopefully, it will be out by November. It's likely that the first trailer will also reveal the release date of the first part of Season 4.
On Sept. 25, during Netflix's TUDUM global fan event, star Jason Bateman shared our first look at Ozark Season 4, which is a clip featuring Marty and Wendy Byrde wiping the blood off their bodies after Navarro killed Helen in the Season 3 finale.
On November 17, Netflix released a new trailer for Ozark Season 4, but it didn't give away any major spoilers about the final episodes of the show. The teaser features a devastating automobile accident shown in reverse and slow motion — with Bateman’s Marty commenting on how decisions are made and people have to live with them.
You can watch the teaser here:
On Jan. 6, 2022, Netflix released a full trailer for Ozark Season 4, Part 1, revealing the tensions that the Byrdes will experience as they try to free themselves from the obligations of their crime boss. You can watch the trailer here:
We will update this article with more details as we get close to the release of Ozark Season 4, so feel free to bookmark this page and follow our Netflix Rocks My World page on Facebook for the latest news, trailers, memes, and other updates about the best movies and TV shows on Netflix.
On January 15, Netflix released a new video summing up what they can reveal about Ozark Season 4. It looks like Navarro's nephew will be involved, and a private investigator has his eyes on the Byrdes. The video also teased deaths of characters in the show.
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