“I cannot wait to share the Richardson women and their world with Netflix’s global audience,” showrunner Sheryl J. Anderson said
Credit: Courtesy Netflix
NEED TO KNOW
- Sweet Magnolias is ending after five seasons, the show’s writers confirmed in a statement on Sept. 18
- JoAnna Garcia Swisher will remain with Netflix, starring in and executive producing Ladies of the House, based on Lauren Edmondson’s novel
- The new series follows a family navigating relationships and challenges while running a winery after a sudden loss
Sweet Magnolias is reportedly ending after five seasons, but Netflix is still staying in business with star JoAnna Garcia Swisher by ordering her new project, Ladies of the House.
In a press release on Friday, Sept. 18, Netflix announced that Garcia Swisher, 47, would continue to work with Sweet Magnolias showrunner Sheryl J. Anderson to adapt Lauren Edmondson’s novel of the same name for the streaming service.
“I’m thrilled to be embarking on this new adventure with JoAnna and Netflix,” Anderson said in a statement to Netflix.
Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty
“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,” she added.
Deadline was first to report that Sweet Magnolias would end after five seasons.
PEOPLE reached out to Netflix for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
The show followed lifelong friends Maddie (Garcia Swisher), Helen (Heather Headley) and Dana Sue (Brooke Elliott) as they lifted each other up while juggling relationships, family and careers in the small Southern town of Serenity. Jamie Lynn Spears also appeared in the series, which was based on the books by Sheryl Woods.
Writers for Sweet Magnolias seemingly confirmed the cancellation by posting a lengthy joint statement to the fans on the show’s Instagram account, saying “All grand adventures must eventually end.”
The post ended urging viewers to “Keep pouring it out!”
Credit: Courtesy of Netflix
Although Garcia Swisher is leaving Serenity, she’s excited for her new role on Ladies of the House.
“From the moment I read Lauren Edmondson’s Ladies of the House, I fell completely in love with Daisy, Cricket, and Wallis: their relationships, their messiness, their strength, and most of all, their heart,” Garcia Swisher told Netflix’s Tudum.
“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. 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,” her statement continued.
Credit: Courtesy of Netflix
Garcia Swisher and Kate Gordon will also executive produce via their company, Rolling Clover.
The cast for Ladies of the House has not been announced.
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“So what’s being poured at this family winery? When its charismatic owner dies unexpectedly, 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,” the show’s logline reads. “Good friends and good wine will aid in the journey to hang on to the winery, but what matters most is that they find a way to hang on to each other.”
Ladies of the House joins Netflix’s growing slate of feel-good comfort entertainment, which already includes Virgin River, Little House on the Prairie, Leanne, The Hunting Wives, America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and more.
A premiere date for the new series has not yet been announced.
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