Netflix’s twisted family drama ‘Bloodline’ was cut off with a cold knife after season 3 and there are no plans in place to renew it for season 4.
The Rayburns are not bad people, but they did a bad thing. Netflix’s sweat-breaking family drama ‘Bloodline’ introduced us to the dysfunctional Rayburns of Florida, headed towards doom; only they didn’t know it yet. This gripping thriller entered the world of streaming at a time when shows like ‘Orange Is the New Black‘ and ‘House of Cards’ was ruling the thriller business. However, what began as a smooth ride ended on a bumpy road. ‘Bloodline’ was cancelled after just three seasons, with no promises made to renew season 4.
Highlights —
- ‘Bloodline’ cancelled over financial woes
- ‘Bloodline’ creators had plans for more seasons
- Where did the final season of ‘Bloodline’ leave us?
‘Bloodline’ cancelled over financial woes
Created by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman, ‘Bloodline’ was one of the finest thrillers Netflix has ever produced. A toxic tale of betrayal, ‘Bloodline’ brought the Rayburn family’s skeletons out of the closet and served them on a hot plate to the audience. Intriguing, secretive, and ever so slightly dramatic, the show kept the audience engaged in a whirlwind of twists until Netflix decided to cancel it over financial problems.
The location of filming the show was Florida and the entertainment tax incentives program of the state covered the first two seasons of the show. In 2016, Florida terminated the credits program increasing the financial expenses of Netflix so much that it was not feasible to continue filming the show in the state anymore. However, Florida is important to the plot of ‘Bloodline’, making its existence mandatory for the show. It is only because financial restraints did not permit shooting in Florida that Netflix had to pull the cord before it could renew ‘Bloodline’ for season 4.
“The Hollywood Reporter” was the first to break the news of ‘Bloodline’s’ cancellation after season 3, in an exclusive where Todd A. Kessler confirmed the financial challenges for the show. He said, “… it does affect things financially for us and the show will be challenged because of that. It makes things more difficult”. According to “Vulture”, ‘Bloodline’ was costing Netflix around 7 million dollars to 8.5 million dollars per hour, which sums up to 70-85 million dollars for one season of 10 episodes. ‘Bloodline’ was popular, but it was not popular enough for Netflix to continue paying that amount, and hence the cancellation.
‘Bloodline’ creators had plans for more seasons
The creators of ‘Bloodline’ had plans to renew the show for not just season 4 but at least for 6 seasons. When the creators first pitched the show to the network partner, they began ambitiously. They had materials and plans chalked out for the show all up to season 6. Todd Kessler told “The Hollywood Reporter”,
“We’re doing a TV series, so even in our own mind, we’re asking ourselves, ‘Does this series have seasons in it? When we pitched it and we thought about it, we were thinking five to six seasons down the line because we wanted to make sure it could hold that much material. So we certainly have ideas for where everything could go and hopefully where everything will go”.
Since that went down the drain, the creators had to try and fit in as much material as they could in the final season, which is perhaps why the final season felt so lost and without a cause.
Where did the final season of ‘Bloodline’ leave us?
We might have pined for Netflix to renew season 4 of ‘Bloodline’, but it is a distant dream. ‘Bloodline’s’ cancellation was as much of a shock for the creators as it was for the audience. Naturally, the creators had to put on their thinking caps and go through all the material they had in store for the show, pulling and combining strings out of them to bring it to its natural end. All the characters seemingly met their ends as Meg fled to LA, Diana left John and moved out with the kids, Sally is still a mess, and Belle and Kevin were arrested by the FBI.
Talking about the open-ended finale of the show, which some have described as lacking clarity, Todd Kessler told “The Hollywood Reporter”, “So much of this third season is about putting the audience in the shoes of these characters, trying to align the audience with the characters’ predicament. It’s not meant to write out that whole scene and have it portrayed, because in essence, we’re watching it play out”.
What are your thoughts on the ending of ‘Bloodline’? Were you expecting more seasons of the show? Let us know in the comments below!
