If you have a Netflix subscription, then you likely know something about Sweet Magnolias. The warm-hearted, small-town romantic drama is coming to the 2025 TV schedule for Season 4 on February 6, and while this is one of several shows like Virgin River, there are some major differences. For one thing, not only is the series earlier in its run, but the Season 3 finale left me with much to be desired, to the point where I was surprised that the streamer renewed the show for a fourth go-round.
Having said that, I’m definitely planning to watch what Dana Sue, Helen and Maddie get up to this time around, but there are some things I really need to see in Sweet Magnolias Season 4. Let’s get into them!
The Sweet Magnolias Season 3 Finale Had Zero Cliffhangers
Overall, while I was very excited to watch Sweet Magnolias Season 3, I was, unfortunately, left disappointed. The bulk of the problem for me was that the season lacked drama, though it took me a while to realize that’s what I was missing. Then, we got to the finale, which I was fully expecting to leave me with a number of questions and big cliffhangers to think about like the previous two season finales, but… it didn’t.
No, pretty much everything was left either tied up or with the denizens of Serenity, South Carolina headed down much better paths than they had been previously. Which is great... but only in real life! It’s hard to keep romantic drama viewers invested when there is very little drama and basically all the romances seem set when you end a season. So, you know, Imma need them to do better this time around.
But, I'm Still Intrigued By Season 4, As Long As They Deliver Certain Things
The first two seasons of Sweet Magnolias were filled with will-they-won’t-they tension, people causing all kinds of trouble for the Magnolias and their loved ones, and several surprises that I doubt anyone saw coming. The show will need to come bursting out of that third season finale to up the tension, drama and stakes on several levels for it to reach the crescendos of Seasons 1 and 2 as far as I’m concerned. I have several ideas of how the team behind the show should do that.
I Need To See A Full-On Romance With Helen And Erik
My goodness. I know that we’re not following a full year in these people’s lives with each season or anything, but that actually makes it much worse that Helen has basically broken up with sweet chef Erik TWICE (I say “basically” because they weren’t really a couple the first time) over the course of three seasons to go back to her dumb on-again-off-again ex-boyfriend, Ryan.
By all that is holy, I need these two, who are clearly drawn to one another, to finally get together and, yes, get it on! And, I don’t want that at the very end of the season, either. By the time Season 3 wrapped, it was obvious they were on their way to being solid friends again, so let’s put some speed on this romance like it’ll literally explode the whole town if it doesn’t happen, mmmkay?
Everyone Else Can't Stay So Comfortably Coupled Up
As we all know, the romantic prospects of our favorite characters is the main point of a romantic drama, but one thing that disappointed me by the end of the third set of episodes was that nearly everyone was comfortably coupled up. I mean, even Pastor June and Maddie’s mom have men now!
Again, great for real life if that’s what your circle of friends and family want, but it’s no bueno for a series, especially when those couples don’t seem to be facing any future challenges. Someone needs to break up, cheat, consider cheating, start a bad habit, realize they’re actually related to their significant other or… something! If their lives don’t seem to be more stylish AND more romantically confusing than ours, why are we watching?!
I Hope We Get Some Shocking Reveals
Remember the mystery about who Isaac’s parents are? Oooooooh, boy! When that info was finally revealed in Season 2, it had a ripple effect for Maddie (Bill’s his dad, of course) and also went a long way toward explaining why Peggy (Isaac’s mom) had always been so snotty toward the Magnolias, especially Helen. Season 4 needs that kind of revelation; something that will shock viewers and either change things in Serenity or for our Magnolias.
Small towns are supposed to be filled with secrets (that’s what TV and movies have taught me, anyway), so there have to be some more intriguing nuggets about the relationships between the townspeople that can be teased and then found out by just the right folks (or just the viewers) to keep all us fans talking.
The Series Needs A Good Trouble-Making Character
One of the things I’ve loved about this series is that we got some adversaries for our leads who eventually showed different sides of themselves, and turned out not to be one-dimensional baddies. Mostly, they either made bad choices because they were stressed or because they just didn’t know how to do better, and I was cool with that because it’s very reflective of real life.
However, this means that by the end of the third season we were mostly without people to cause trouble in Serenity. Bill and Kathy got together and left town, CeCe is well on her way to being a properly studious and responsible young woman who can do what’s best for herself without hurting others, and even Noreen has been forgiven enough for having an affair with Bill while he was married to Maddie and having his love child that she can now call all the Magnolias friends!
If the hated Mary Vaughn isn’t back in some capacity to cause trouble (her family moved away from town in Season 3), then we’re going to need at least one trouble-maker who will not be redeemed!
Please, Give Us Drama, Drama, Drama!
Finally, all of this boils down to Season 4 needing to deliver a lot of drama to keep us invested. Take us back to the near-soap opera levels of twists, turns, deceptions and surprises. We need some potentially life-threatening situations, dirty town politics, little white lies that spin out of control, relationship setbacks, and maybe a cold-case mystery involving stolen money or a missing child that can be solved, OK?
Alright! I don’t want to have to have this conversation with you before Season 5, Sweet Magnolias, so I’ll be watching!
