[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Sweet Magnolias Season 4.]

Serenity was left devastated by the sudden death of one of their own. The lives of everyone in town were changed forever. In the second episode of Season 4 of Sweet Magnolias, Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher) got an unexpected visit that would alter the trajectory of her family’s life.

Bill’s mother, Bonnie (Judith Ivey), showed up to reveal that Bill (Chris Klein) died of a heart attack. Maddie, her kids, and so many others were stunned by the sudden loss. TV Insider spoke with showrunner Sheryl J. Anderson about the decision behind Bill’s death.

“We were looking for a cataclysmic event that would shake up everybody in Serenity because the ripple effect of his death makes everybody question where they are, what they’re doing, whether they’re on the right path, professionally, spiritually, whether they’re with the right person romantically, how they’re spending their time and their talents,” Anderson said.

She continued, “We love Chris Klein, and we miss him. When I called him to tell him, because I wanted him to hear it from me, he was so gracious about it. He agreed that we had let Bill achieve his redemption, but we were also showing how much people in Serenity still loved him. We were able to just shift the boat 45 degrees and have everybody look deep within themselves and say, ‘If tomorrow is not promised, am I where I should be today?’”

Anderson acknowledged that it was tough for the cast to say goodbye to Klein, who had been with the show since Season 1. “But I think everybody understood what we were doing dramatically and appreciated that, and also appreciated that we had given Bill and Kathy a send-off at the end of Season 3. It wasn’t like Bill was crossing the street and got run over by a bus before he could come to terms with all the various relationships he had in town. Everybody misses him, but he was so gracious and understanding about it.”

Bill’s death marks a major departure from Sherryl Woods’ Sweet Magnolias book series. Anderson revealed that Woods gave the OK to alter the source material for the series. 

“Miss Woods is so lovely about the changes that we’ve made,” Anderson said. “She understands that TV has different criteria than novels do. She reads every outline, she reads every script. If she has a question or a concern, she tells me right away, but she’s been a great partner in all this.”

Sweet Magnolias, Season 4, Streaming Now, Netflix