🎬 Will Ozark Season 5 Happen? Everything We Know About Netflix’s Crime Drama

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When Netflix’s Ozark premiered in 2017, few could have predicted how quickly it would climb into the pantheon of prestige crime dramas. Across four tense, emotionally searing seasons, the series followed Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) as their family became entrenched in the deadly web of the Navarro Cartel.

With its finale in 2022, Ozark seemed to close the book for good. Yet the show’s immense popularity — and the chilling ambiguity of its ending — has left fans clinging to one question: will there ever be an Ozark Season 5?

📺 Ozark Ended With Season 4

The showrunners always intended Ozark to run four seasons, and Season 4 was expanded to allow Chris Mundy and the creative team to tie up every storyline. In the end, the Byrdes survived — but at great moral cost:

Marty & Wendy Byrde secured political protection via the Byrde Family Foundation.
Ruth Langmore was killed by Camila Elizondro in retribution for Javi’s murder.
Omar Navarro was arrested and assassinated.
Jonah Byrde shocked audiences by pulling the trigger on detective Mel Sattem in the final, haunting shot.

The finale cemented the Byrdes as the show’s true villains — a family who escaped the Ozarks with blood on their hands and influence in Washington.

🧭 Could Season 5 Happen?

Officially, Ozark Season 5 is not planned. Mundy has said the story is complete, explaining:

“I love this world. But it was really important to have it be complete and not tilt it toward staying in this world just to keep going.”

Still, there are intriguing possibilities if Netflix ever revisits the saga. Mundy has mused about the Byrdes’ future five years down the line — envisioning them using their foundation to wield political power across the Midwest. This shift from cartel money laundering to political corruption would expand Ozark’s scope while keeping its themes of moral decay intact.

🍿 Spin-Offs, Prequels, and an Ozark Movie

While a Season 5 seems unlikely, both Mundy and Jason Bateman have teased the possibility of a movie or spinoff series. Bateman himself has said:

“Any job or work environment that was positive … I’d do it again in a second. What we had [on Ozark] just doesn’t happen often.”

Ideas floated include:

An FBI-focused story, exploring loose ends from the Bureau’s cartel investigations.
Character spinoffs, giving more depth to figures like Ruth Langmore, whose story ended tragically.
A prequel or flashback-driven movie, allowing “ghosts” of dead characters to return, as Bateman suggested.

Given how Better Call Saul expanded Breaking Bad’s universe, Netflix may see value in following that playbook.

🏆 Critical & Fan Reception

Ozark’s reputation grew steadily over time. Season 3 hit a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with Season 4 closing at 85% and praised for delivering a tense, morally ambiguous ending.

Fans, however, were divided: many admired the performances and closure, while others felt the final season stretched believability. Still, reviewers like Nick Hilton (The Independent) called the finale “some of the best event TV we’ve seen,” while Empire praised it for joining Breaking Bad at the top tier of crime dramas.

The clamor for more underscores Ozark’s lasting impact: the Byrdes may have won, but viewers aren’t ready to let them go.

While Ozark Season 5 isn’t happening, the show’s DNA — power, corruption, family, and survival — remains fertile ground. With talk of a movie or spinoff, Netflix may yet return to the murky waters of the Missouri Ozarks.

For now, fans can only rewatch the four seasons on Netflix and imagine where Marty and Wendy’s dark empire will spread next. If the Byrdes taught us anything, it’s that power never stays buried for long.