Netflix has canceled Sweet Magnolias after five seasons, closing the book on the drama three months after its fifth season premiered on the streamer.
The series, based on novels by Sherryl Woods, starred JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Brooke Elliott and Heather Headley as three longtime best friends who lean on each other while navigating the highs and lows of their lives. The cancellation follows a decline in the show’s audience in both the worldwide and U.S. measures during its fourth and fifth seasons.
According to Netflix’s own internal data, season five spent three weeks in the streamer’s worldwide top 10 for English-language series. In the United States, the season appeared for four weeks on Nielsen’s streaming charts.
While Sweet Magnolias will not continue, two key figures from the series are already connected to another Netflix project. Showrunner Sheryl J. Anderson and Garcia Swisher are executive producing Ladies of the House, a new series based on a novel by Lauren Edmondson. Garcia Swisher may also appear on screen in the project.
A new female-driven drama at Netflix
Ladies of the House centers on a family-owned winery thrown into upheaval after the unexpected death of its owner. Per the show’s logline, “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.”
Anderson will serve as showrunner on the series and executive produce alongside Garcia Swisher and Kate Gordon through their Rolling Clover company, as well as Black Label Media.
“I’m thrilled to be embarking on this new adventure with JoAnna and Netflix,” Anderson said. “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.”
Garcia Swisher also framed the new project as a continuation of the kind of storytelling she has been pursuing at Netflix.
“I am beyond excited to continue to tell meaningful, female-driven stories alongside the incredible Sheryl Anderson, and to bring this to life through our production company, Rolling Clover, and with our wonderful partners at Black Label,” Garcia Swisher said. “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.”
The move keeps Anderson and Garcia Swisher in business with Netflix even as Sweet Magnolias comes to an end. Deadline first reported the cancellation.