It has now been nearly three months since the Sweet Magnolias Season 2 ending on Netflix, and we still don’t know whether or not the show has been renewed. After its first season, it took roughly two months for the streamer to announce that we would get more episodes, so the delay does have me (and surely other fans) slightly worried that Season 3 is not yet a foregone conclusion, and the small town romance might still land on the Netflix cancellations list.
I think that viewers who love the drama can agree that Sweet Magnolias left us with a number of big questions that we want answers to, as well as leaving major Serenity romances in surprising places, so I’d like to offer a plea in the hope that the streaming gods hear it and make Netflix renew this dear show. Here, now, are my four reasons why Sweet Magnolias needs Season 3 on Netflix.
Sweet Magnolias Has Hit The Netflix Top 10 In Both Seasons
OK, this is purely for the bigwigs at Netflix, but I imagine that every show the streamer backs does need to keep them happy in as many ways as possible, and ratings are one way to do that. It would be pretty easy to ding Sweet Magnolias for not being even remotely edgy, or for being just a few steps above what you’d get from a Hallmark made-for-TV movie (I’ll get to those points more in a bit), but the fact is that people clearly enjoy it.
Each season has hit the Netflix Top 10 shortly after its debut. While the reason for the freshman installment becoming popular could have been simple curiosity (Who doesn’t try to check out as many new things as possible on Netflix once they drop?), that isn’t so for the second season. Season 2 came along just a bit before Valentine’s Day in 2022, and made it into that Top 10 very quickly. Sure, it was smart of the streaming giant to give one of its romance-focused scripted shows the boost of hitting right before that particular holiday, but if people didn’t actually like what they saw, it wouldn’t have been able to stick around on the chart, even after Inventing Anna and Love Is Blind Season 2 took it out of the top spot and knocked it down to number three.
It's A Feel-Good Drama And We Need More Of Those
I will readily admit that I was surprised by the fact that I enjoyed Sweet Magnolias as much as I did, but by the time Season 1 came out I had already discovered my softer side with Hallmark movies and another Netflix-based small town romantic drama, Virgin River. But, I think one of the reasons so many people do love watching Dana Sue, Helen, and Maddie live, laugh, love, and drink margaritas in Serenity, South Carolina is because we get a lot of soapy, dramatic goodness without all of the intensity of a prestige drama.
Sometimes you want the drama without having to worry about which of your favorite characters will suddenly be set upon by zombies and have their assorted body parts eaten right in front of you. The stakes for every TV drama don’t have to be as high as on Game of Thrones, Ozark, or Better Call Saul, alright? Maybe I don’t want to sit down, after a long work week that was also filled with terrible real-world news, and watch a basically decent-ish dude get his face crushed in by someone’s bare hands!
What I, and lots of people, want at least sometimes is a show that feels like it’s wrapping me in a warm, soothing hug. Sweet Magnolias is like a tiny light at the end of a tunnel, showing that life absolutely sucks more than we’d like, but it usually isn’t the absolute end of the world. The show might make you angry or tearful every now and then, but you won’t feel totally destroyed after watching humanity’s worst instincts play out during the course of a 50 minute episode. There’s nothing wrong with a feel-good drama, and that’s what we get in Sweet Magnolias.
The Series Also Has Lots Of Intriguing Twists
I can totally understand why Sweet Magnolias has been referred to as a slightly sexier, Hallmark-style show. Like I said above, it’s got the feel-good romantic drama aspect down. But, something that Sweet Magnolias excels at even more is making sure that viewers feel like they have to keep watching by throwing intriguing twist after intriguing twist at us. Speaking of which…
Sweet Magnolias Cannot End With So Many Cliffhangers!
Look, this really is the biggest reason of them all when it comes to why Sweet Magnolias needs to be renewed for Season 3 on Netflix. Remember, way back in the opening of this article, when I talked about all of the questions that the sophomore effort left fans with? Well, by my count, the series ended with roughly 40,000 cliffhangers if you count all of the complicated romantic plots, and, you know…THAT’S TOO DANG MANY!!
What is Helen going to say to Ryan’s surprisingly sudden proposal now that she’s newly dating Erik (but clearly still has big feelings for Ryan)? What’s the deal with that surprising new character who accosted Annie and also slashed the tires on Dana Sue’s delivery van? Is Maddie going to stick with Cal after witnessing how out of control his anger can be? Will Mary Vaughn ever not be a dick? Who’s going to challenge Trent in the mayoral election? Can Jackson really be trusted with Annie’s heart? Will sweet farmer Jeremy ever find love? I mean, the big questions just go on forever, you guys!
Listen, Netflix bosses. I know you’re paying attention. There are scores of completely dedicated fans out here who want to know the answers to these and many more Sweet Magnolias questions, and we will all have to take to our fainting couches if we don’t get a chance to explore more of what these characters have to offer in Sweet Magnolias Season 3.
You’ve got a really popular show on your hands, and while it might not be the buzziest drama that ever buzzed for you, you can bet that a renewal will eventually net you another Top 10 season of television. So, get to it, y’all!
