From the “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” file: “The Killing” has been resurrected once again.
Netflix announced on Friday (November 15) afternoon that a fourth season of “The Killing” has been ordered as a streaming exclusive.
Described as a “fourth and final limited season,” the “Killing” return will be six episodes and will, again, be produced by Fox Television Studios.
“The rich, serialized storytelling in ‘The Killing” thrives on Netflix, and we believe that it is only fitting to give Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder a proper send off,” blurbs Cindy Holland, vice president of original content for Netflix. “We are looking forward to offering fans – both existing and new – a series that we know is perfectly suited for on-demand viewing.”
The first three seasons of “The Killing” are already available to stream on Netflix.
Yesterday, AMC renewed the Seattle procedural’s former stablemate “Hell on Wheels,” giving it an extended fourth season just months after the drama was sent to the perceived graveyard of Saturday and I commented that it was one of the strangest progressions for any series in recent years.
“The Killing” comes pretty close.
Between its April 2011 premiere and the first season finale in June, “The Killing” went from critically revered to critically reviled, but AMC brought it back, which made sense since the central Rosie Larsen mystery needed to be resolved. AMC cancelled “The Killing” in July of 2012, but reconsidered in January (and in March, Netflix reached an agreement to air episodes three-months post-premiere). For much of the season, “The Killing” had something of a critical renaissance, but AMC cancelled the show again in September, one month after the third finale.
In its first season, “The Killing” earned six Emmy nominations including nods for writing, directing and for the performances by Mireille Enos and Michelle Forbes. The two subsequent seasons were ignored.
It sounds as if all of the core pieces will return for the six-episode Netflix “Killing” season.
“It”s a true testament to ‘The Killing” creator Veena Sud, and the stellar cast led so compellingly by Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman, that fans remained so passionate about the show,” states David Madden, president, Fox Television Studios. “We”re gratified that our partners at Netflix recognized this, and are giving us the opportunity to complete the story in a way that will be satisfying to our loyal audience.”
So… Yay? Are you excited to have “The Killing” back? Are you at least impressed with its resilience?