Sweet Magnolias is coming to an end with a shocking cancellation — but Netflix has already ordered a new series with JoAnna Garcia Swisher.
News broke on Friday, September 18, that Netflix chose not to renew Sweet Magnolias for a sixth season. Instead, the streaming service ordered a new drama series from Sweet Magnolias’ showrunner Sheryl J. Anderson — with Swisher, 47, set to executive produce and potentially star in.
“All grand adventures must eventually end,” read a post from the show’s official Instagram account. “And here, dear friends, is where ours goes. Sweet Magnolias is now complete with five seasons streaming on Netflix.”
Anderson, for her part, teased their next chapter with Ladies of the House.
“I’m thrilled to be embarking on this new adventure with JoAnna and Netflix,” Anderson said in a statement. “When Jo shared the novel with me, I immediately saw the foundation for a series centered on three women grappling with the complexities of family, friendship, and romance — the kind of stories Jo and I most enjoy telling. I cannot wait to share the Richardson women and their world with Netflix’s global audience.”
Swisher also weighed in on the decision to adapt Ladies of the House, which is a modern retelling of Sense and Sensibility.
“From the moment I read Lauren Edmondson’s Ladies of the House, I fell completely in love with Daisy, Cricket and Wallis: their relationships, their messiness, their strength, and most of all, their heart,” she said. “I am beyond excited to continue to tell meaningful, female-driven stories alongside the incredible Sheryl J. Anderson, and to bring this to life through our production company Rolling Clover and with our wonderful partners at Black Label. Netflix has been my creative home for the past seven years, and I couldn’t imagine a better place, or a better team, to tell this story.”
Based on Lauren Edmonson’s novel of the same name, Ladies of the House follows three women. When the charismatic owner of a winery dies unexpectedly, his wife and two adult daughters “must battle through their issues with each other in order to confront challenges with the business, their extended family, and the men in their lives,” according to the official synopsis.
The description continued: “Good friends and good wine will aid in the journey to hang on to the winery, but what matters most is that they find a way to hang on to each other.”
Sweet Magnolias, which premiered in 2020, is based on Sherryl Woods’ novels about three women who have been best friends since childhood as they navigate their romantic lives, careers and family.
According to Deadline, Netflix had a choice between renewing Sweet Magnolias for a sixth — and final — season or picking up Ladies of the House, with Anderson and Swisher focusing on the next show. After options were up for the Sweet Magnolias cast on Thursday, September 17, Netflix opted to cancel Sweet Magnolias and order Ladies of the House.
Sweet Magnolias is currently streaming on Netflix.
