Fox found a winner of a series in Lucifer when it debuted back in midseason 2016, and the network didn't waste much time in ordering a Season 2. The show continued to do well in Season 2, and its episode order was bumped from 13 to 22. Now, Fox has cut Lucifer's episode order from 22 to 18 for the rest of Season 2. It's unfortunate news for fans who were counting on the full 22, but there's no need to panic. We're still going to see the 4 extra episodes; we just won't see them for a while.
The full 22 episodes have already been produced, but Fox is choosing to hold on to the final four until Season 3. Those final four were always designed to be standalone installments and not at all part of any cliffhangers, so we don't have to worry about the show leaving us entirely without closure over summer hiatus. TVLine reports that the four episodes will be character- rather than plot-focused, and they'll work more to set up new plots than tie into ongoing plots.
For any wondering just what happened so late in the game for four episodes to be pushed back to a whole different season, Lucifer co-showrunner Joe Henderson took to Twitter to explain, posting this:
A big question now is whether the leftover four episodes from Season 2 will impact the episode count for Season 3. When Fox officially renewed Lucifer for Season 3, the order was for 22 episodes. The network has not clarified whether the 22 episodes will be the 4 standalones and then 18 new installments or if we're in for 26 hours in Season 3. Joe Henderson also confirmed on Twitter that Season 3 would have at least a full 22, so that at least is something to go on.
We don't know much about Season 3 at this point, although it may look somewhat different than Seasons 1 and 2. Production of the series is moving down to sunny Los Angeles for the third season after filming the first two in Vancouver. It will mark the first time that primary filming takes place in California since the pilot, which was produced in L.A. Fox hasn't announced when Season 3 will hit the airwaves, but hopefully it will be this fall.
There's still plenty of Lucifer action left this season, even if it will end sooner than anticipated. The show will return from its midseason break on Monday, May 1 at 9 p.m. ET on Fox. Check out our midseason TV premiere guide and our summer TV premiere schedule to discover all your other viewing options, and don't forget to take a peek at our rundown of all the TV cancellations and renewals of 2017 so far.
