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The Sweet Magnolias could be down one of its three members when the Netflix show returns for season 5.

Sweet Magnolias Season 4 ended on a cliffhanger as Maddie Townsend (JoAnna Garcia Swisher) seemed to have left Serenity (and the show) forever to accept a marketing job at a publishing house in New York City, despite her career as a successful children’s book author in South Carolina.

And while Maddie is hesitant to leave Serenity and everything she’s known, the Sweet Magnolias, Helen Decatur (Heather Headley) and Dana Sue Sullivan (Brooke Elliott), and other Serenity residents encourage her to make the make the leap, which gives Maddie the confidence she needs to accept the job in the Big Apple.

Is Maddie leaving Sweet Magnolias?

So is Maddie leaving Sweet Magnolias for good? While Swisher, who has played Maddie since Season 1, hasn’t confirmed her exit from Sweet Magnolias, she hinted in an interview with Us Weekly that Maddie’s move in the Season 4 finale was more of a way for her character to develop than a vehicle to write her off Sweet Magnolias permanently.

“I think it’s important to get out of the bubble a little bit and test the waters,” she said. “And I think that’s sort of a whole part of Maddie’s journey. She was living this one life for so long and doing it really capably, but it backfired, it blew up. And she really dedicated herself so wholeheartedly to be this wife and this mother and it’s not really all that noble. It was a huge lesson for her where she was like, ‘You know, I definitely sacrificed myself and who I was and experiencing great love and all of those kind of things.’”

Swisher also called Maddie’s move a “cool angle to explore,” especially after the death of her ex-husband, Bill Townsend, in the Season 4 premiere. “It feels like a long time because Sweet Magnolias has been around for a while. But when you really look at the timestamp of our show, it’s pretty rapid fire,” she said. “I think it’s inevitable that she’s gotta get her groove back. And a part of that is reconnecting with her roots and the things that she’s good at and the things that she dedicated herself to at one point in her life. So I love the idea of it.”

Swisher further confirmed that the Season 4 finale wasn’t the last fans have seen of Maddie on Sweet Magnolias by hinting at the chance of Helen and Dana Sue joining Maddie in New York City in Season 5.  “I think that it’s safe to say that no matter where Maddie is, where there’s a will, there’s a way,” she said. “I think it’d be really cool to see the Magnolias in Central Park strolling around like the Southern Sex and the City gals.”

At the time of writing, Sweet Magnolias Season 5 hasn’t been confirmed by Netflix. However, it’s typical for the streaming service to not greenlit the next season of a show until a few months after it’s most recent season’s premiere. That means that fans likely won’t know whether Sweet Magnolias is renewed for a fifth season until at least the spring or summer of 2025. If Sweet Magnolias is renewed for a fifth season, it also likely won’t premiere until 2026 at the earliest.

There are a lot of reasons for Sweet Magnolias to return for Season 5, however. For one, the show is based on Sherrl Woods’ book series of the same name, which consists of 11 novels, giving the show plenty of storyline to cover for seasons to come.

Along with Maddie, Season 4 also ended on a cliffhanger for several other characters, including love interests Ty Townsend (Carson Rowland) and Annie Sullivan (Anneliese Judge), who finally got together in Season 4 only to be ripped apart when Annie got accepted to her dream college. The season also ended with Helen and her ex, Erik Whitley, reuniting before getting engaged. Whether Maddie stays on Sweet Magnolias or not, there’s certainly plenty of drama in store for Season 5.

Sweet Magnolias is available to stream on Netflix.