F is for Family – Picture: Guamont/Netflix
F is for Family is planning its fourth season to come to Netflix over the summer, but that hasn’t stopped the writers from planning future seasons. As revealed on Twitter, they’ve already set up a cliffhanger for a potential fifth season and beyond. They’ve also provided some insight into Netflix’s renewal process.
To catch you up in case you’re not familiar. F is for Family is a Netflix Original animated series featuring Bill Burr and comes from one of the former head honchos at The Simpsons, Michael Price. The series has three seasons on Netflix, with a fourth due out imminently.
The news of the show’s creators planning beyond season 4 comes from their writer’s Twitter account. That Twitter account is possibly one of the best for following along with show development, so if you’re looking for insight into the production process, follow it.
They were asked by a fan of the series, “Are you planning on ending the series after this season?” and responded with “Absolutely not!”.
They then added that “Season 4 ends (like all of our seasons) with a cliffhanger, so the answer is we better get renewed!”.
When asked whether they had a contingency plan for wrapping up the show, they clarified:
“No contingency plan (because) we won’t know if we’re not coming back until after the new season starts on Netflix. If they tell us well in advance that we’re canceled then we can write a proper ending. But that’s not the case. We intend to keep on going. It’s up to (Netflix) to pick us up.”
What’s the likelihood of cancelation vs renewal?
At this point, it’s impossible to say. We’ll be able to track the global top 10s to see how the show is performing for season 4, but we’ll probably not get the verdict until a month or two after the release.
Quite often, Netflix gives final season orders nowadays instead of simply canceling shows. This allows writers to adequately wrap up storylines rather than letting the show go unfinished.
Animated series have had long runs on Netflix. Bojack Horseman ran for six seasons, and Disenchantment also has two more seasons planned. Quirkier animated series like Tuca & Bertie fared less well, however, after being canceled after season 1.
Season 4 is due out on Netflix sometime in late Spring or Summer 2020. You can find everything you need to know about the new season here, including that Jonathan Banks has joined the cast as Bill Murphy’s father.
