I NEVER thought this would happen!

Last week brought a welcome treat for anyone with a Netflix subscription who adores romance, as fans were finally able to enjoy Sweet Magnolias Season 4 during the 2025 TV schedule. I know I had high hopes for the fourth outing of the small town-set romantic drama, and not only did the show deliver some welcome twists, it also gave viewers a major surprise by the finale that I doubt many saw coming. Now, star JoAnna Garcia Swisher has opened up about why she believes that Maddie’s next move is going to be “invigorating.”

What Did Sweet Magnolias’ Joanna Garcia Swisher Say About Maddie After The Season 4 Finale?

I will admit, the first two episodes of Sweet Magnolias Season 4 (which became one of the 2025 Netflix movie and TV show releases recently) had me questioning whether or not I am actually a good person, because I was quite bored of nearly everyone in Serenity being so nice, complementary and helpful to everyone they encountered.

Luckily, it wasn’t long before the surprises started to roll out, with the season finale delivering the biggest one: Maddie took a job in the big city and told her besties about it. And, we’re not talking Charleston, which would make it relatively easy for her, Dana Sue and Helen to keep up their in-person margarita nights at least once a month, but Manhattan, all the way in New York City. Maddie’s portrayer, JoAnna Garcia Swisher, recently spoke with TV Insider about her character’s decision to take the job and what she hopes it means for her going forward, and said:

There’s something really invigorating and exciting about being able to be good at your job if that’s what you love to do. I think she got away from that and convinced herself that she maybe didn’t need that. I love the idea that she’s going to get to step into those shoes and see what that looks like for her and how that feels for her…I’m excited to see Maddie in New York City.

Not, of course, that Maddie wasn’t good at the work she was doing at the spa she runs with Helen and Dana Sue, or the Magnolia foundation. But, for her to embrace a position in marketing (which is what she studied in college) and take on a big adventure by moving away from home to do it could lead to her experiencing a completely different level of career fulfillment.

While Sweet Magnolias Season 3 was a bit of a letdown for me in terms of drama, I can’t help but commend everyone this time around for giving us a life-changing scenario to end the season. All of the Magnolias have spent the time we’ve known them as very committed Serenity stans, with all of their roots being firmly planted in town. Never in a million years did I expect any of them to even honestly consider living somewhere else, much less go ahead and do it! Of Maddie’s next chapter, Garcia Swisher also said:

I am excited for her. I love the idea that we can continue to discover new things about ourselves. To me, there’s a coming of age at every moment in life. I think that so much of Maddie’s existence over the past few years, since her and Bill split and discovering Noreen and that she’s pregnant and all of these things, she’s really had to reconcile a lot of things in her life and part of that was how she let that side of her go.

With Maddie and Cal having surprised all their friends and family with Halloween party nuptials to wrap the first episode of the season, and then having to come to terms with a lot of things when it came to Bill, his legacy and what’s next for her own kids, Garcia Swisher seems to think that now was the right time for Maddie to begin focusing on what she needed for herself.

And, even though there were a few times during the season when Dana Sue and Helen were disappointed that Maddie hadn’t shared something with them, all that friendship breakup stuff from Season 3 was forgotten when she told them she’d accepted the job. Her buddies immediately started working on ways for them to fill in for her at the spa and continue their friendship with Maddie in New York.