Ozark<\/em> was actually at the top of Nielsen’s 2020 top 10 streaming lists for original series, acquired series, and feature films with 30.46 billion minutes of viewing. So, why is the show ending? Was Ozark<\/em> cancelled? No, the Emmy-winning drama series is just ending on its own terms. HollywoodLife<\/strong> has rounded up all the latest updates about Ozark’s<\/em> final season.<\/p>\n “Money is, at its essence, that measure of a man’s choices,” Marty Byrde says in the season 4 teaser, which dropped on October 19. Wendy also says, “Sometimes, if you don’t move forward, you die.” There’s a glimpse of Marty and Wendy walking out of Navarro’s mansion at the end of the teaser.<\/p>\n The words he said to Marty and Wendy after killing Helen echo in the final moments: “Today is a beginning.” Marty and Wendy look scared, to say the least. But they have to look forward… or else.<\/p>\n The show starts out with Marty Byrde, a financial planner, who decides to relocate his family from Chicago to the Ozarks. Marty and Wendy have to move after a money-laundering scheme goes awry. Marty has to pay off debts to a Mexican drug lord to protect his family. The Byrdes must come together in order to survive.<\/p>\n Season 3<\/a> featured a number of jaw-dropping twists. In the finale, Helen Pierce (Janet McTeer<\/strong>) is killed by Omar Navarro. Helen’s death happens just after she arrives at the baptism of Navarro’s son with Marty and Wendy. “Thank you for coming. I hope you had a pleasant journey,” Navarro says just before one of his henchmen shoots Helen in the head. Marty and Wendy witness the whole thing, and they’re left covered in Helen’s blood. “Today is a beginning,” Navarro says as he embraces Marty and Wendy. The Byrdes are now working directly with Navarro.<\/p>\n Wendy Byrde also allows her brother Ben, played by Tom Pelphrey<\/strong>, to be killed. After going off his bipolar medication, Ben reveals his sister’s involvement with the cartel at a family fundraiser. When he’s released from the mental hospital, Ben confronts Helen and her daughter. After this confrontation, Wendy gives away Ben’s location to Helen, who then has Ben killed offscreen by one of her hitmen. The decision devastates Wendy, but she doesn’t try to stop it from happening. She knew what she had to do to protect her family.<\/p>\n Jonah also discovers the truth about his parents. He initially believes that Helen is responsible for Ben’s death, but Helen is the one to tell Jonah that Wendy approved of Ben being killed. “You need to understand something. Your mom is the one who OK’d it,” Helen says to Jonah. “You’re a smart kid, but you know your mom did this.”<\/p>\n The fallout of Ben’s death is immense. Ruth, who had started a romantic relationship with Ben, quits working for the Byrdes and goes work for Darlene Snell and her heroin empire. “You f***ing murdered him,” Ruth tells Wendy after Ben’s death. Ruth and Wendy’s relationship is shattered. While Ruth blames Wendy for Ben’s death, Wendy blames Ruth for letting Ben out of the mental hospital, which caused the chain of chaos in the first place.<\/p>\n The official synopsis for the fourth and final season reads, “The new season will mark the final chapter in the Byrde family\u2019s journey from suburban Chicago life to their criminal enterprise in the Ozark<\/span>s.”<\/p>\n Three months after the release of Ozark<\/em> season 3 in March 2020, showrunner Chris Mundy<\/strong> revealed that Ozark<\/em> would be ending after a fourth and final season. “We\u2019re so happy Netflix recognized the importance of giving Ozark<\/em> more time to end the Byrdes\u2019 saga right,\u201d Chris told Variety<\/em><\/a> in a statement in June 2020. \u201cIt\u2019s been such a great adventure for all of us \u2014 both on-screen and off \u2014 so we\u2019re thrilled to get the chance to bring it home in the most fulfilling way possible.”<\/p>\n Jason Bateman<\/strong> added, “A super-sized season means super-sized problems for the Byrdes. I\u2019m excited to end with a bang(s).”<\/p>\n Mundy revealed in 2019 that the Ozark<\/em> creative team initially had a 5-season plan. “We\u2019ve always talked about it as five seasons. It could be four, it could be seven \u2026 but that always seemed like a good number to us,” the showrunner said on a panel<\/a> at the Milken Global Conference.<\/p>\n Season 4 will consist of 14 episodes. The final season will be split into two parts, with each part consisting of 7 episodes. The first 3 seasons were 10 episodes each.<\/p>\n The fourth and final season began filming on November 9, 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As of June 2021, Ozark<\/em> was still filming season 4 in the Atlanta area. Bateman was spotted by a Reddit user<\/a> filming a scene for Ozark<\/em>.<\/p>\n Unlike previous seasons, Bateman will not be directing the first two episodes of season 4 due to COVID-19 complications. “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\u2019s just not responsible to have one of the actors direct the first two, given that we\u2019re still going to be getting our perimeter safe,\u201d the actor IndieWire<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n He added, “Because if one of the actors gets sick, we all have to go home for weeks. If one of the crew members gets sick \u2014 while I\u2019m making sure their salary is protected while they\u2019re in quarantine \u2014 we can hire a replacement. So it just didn\u2019t seem smart for me to [direct] the first two [episodes].”<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n A post shared by Robin Wright (@robingwright)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n![\"Ozark\"](\"https:\/\/hollywoodlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/ozark-evergreen-embed3.jpg?resize=620%2C413\")
‘Ozark’ Final Season Teaser<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Show So Far<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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‘Ozark’s Final Season<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Season 4 Filming News<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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