It's been three months since “Sweet Magnolias” premiered its third season, and fans have been jonesing for news about a potential Season Four ever since.
Luckily, Netflix has finally granted their wish. The streaming service just revealed that the hit series will indeed be returning for another season, much to the delight of viewers.
Dying to learn more? Here's everything we know so far.
When did Netflix announce a new season?
Netflix announced that "Sweet Magnolias" was renewed for Season Four Oct. 19, months after the third season premiered in July. After debuting in the third place of the streamer's Top 10, per Variety, it rose to No. 1.
Who's returning for Season 4?
With the SAG-AFTRA strike still in effect, Netflix has not specified which stars will return for Season Four. However, we'd expect that most (if not all) of them will return, since they've been pretty vocal about their desires for another season.
Earlier this year, JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Maddie) told Parade she was hopeful the show would live on.
“It was really a fun season and it’s setting up — I’m just gonna manifest Season Four because the story has to continue!” she said.
Swisher also spoke to Netflix’s Tudum in June about a potential fourth season.
“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. There’s still so much to be told, so it almost feels like a cliff-hanger in itself,” she said.
Brooke Elliott (Dana Sue) also expressed her hope for another season in an interview with TVLine.
“The (Season Three) finale did have some closure, but if you dig in, you can see that there are still stories to come. There are other pieces that could be revealed. Hopefully we get more (seasons). That would be great,” she said.
Sherryl Woods, the author of the book series “Sweet Magnolias” is based off, told Parade that she’d love to see the characters she created come to life once again.
“I’m certainly hopeful that the decision-makers at Netflix will be looking positively at us (for a Season Four), because we’ve had such a nice strong start,” she said.
While announcing Season Four, Netflix did reveal that Sheryl J. Anderson will return as showrunner and executive producer. Dan Paulson will also return as an executive producer.
What will Season 4 of ‘Sweet Magnolias’ be about?
Season Three of “Sweet Magnolias” ended on a positive note, with Dana Sue and Ronnie (Brandon Quinn) renewing their vows in front of their loved ones. Maddie and Cal (Justin Bruening) were all smiles at the reception and seemed to be in a solid place in their relationship.
As for the stories Elliott teased "could come" in the next season?
Season Four could focus on the romantic tension between Helen (Heather Headley)and Erik (Dione Johnstone), who briefly dated before Helen's ex Ryan (Michael Shenefelt) came back into the picture and swept her off her feet. The pair's romance unfolded in Season Three, and Helen and Erik share a few sweet moments in the season finale. The only caveat? Erik is currently dating someone new.
Season Four could also dive deeper into Maddie’s mother Paula (Caroline Lagerfelt) and her new romance withJimmy (Jon Briddell).
After her breakup with Jackson in Season Three, Annie grew closer to Ty, so a new season could finally give fans the chance to see a romance blossom between the longtime pals.
Bill (Chris Klein) and Kathy (Wynn Everett) temporarily left town together at the end of SeasonThree. Something tells us they’d be eager to return to Serenity and stir up lots of drama.
How will the actors' strike affect Season 4?
Now that the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has approved a new contract and ended its ongoing strike, scripts for Season Four of "Sweet Magnolias" can theoretically be produced.
However, SAG-AFTRA actors are still on strike, so production will be delayed until they reach an agreement.
In late July, several members of the "Sweet Magnolias" cast and crew gathered in solidarity on the picket lines. Allison Gabriel, who plays Mary Vaughn on the show, shared a photo of the group on Instagram and the following caption: "Loved seeing the Sweet Magnolias writers and actors out at the Amazon picket!"
Showrunner Sheryl J. Anderson shared several photos from the picket line and thanked everyone for their continued support.
“I didn’t get pictures of everyone (friends, feel free to add!), but we are grateful for the solidarity, the warmth, and the joy y’all brought. It was an honor to have writers, actors, our EP, one of our directors, and our costume designer, as well as many friends join us,” she wrote.
Gabriel shared another photo from the picket lines in September.
"We’re still out here! Best part of a picket is the frands! My husband calls this 'fighting the man and seeing frands,'" she captioned the post.
Chrissy Callahan
Chrissy Callahan covers a range of topics for TODAY.com, including fashion, beauty, pop culture and food. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, watching bad reality TV and consuming copious amounts of cookiedough.