It’s been a year and a half because TNT’s Animal Kingdom was renewed for a fifth season. The COVID-19 pandemic set a halt to production on the series, which was unfortunate since season 4 ended with rather a whammy. Production of the show’s fifth season started in September 2020 and ended in December of the year. Now TNT is finally gearing up for the launch of season 5, as well as the start of creation for a sixth and final season.
The TNT play, according to the 2010 Australian movie of the exact same name, starred Ellen Barkin because of the first four seasons. Janine”Smurf” Cody, played Barkin, directed the criminal and dysfunctional Cody clan until her shocking death in season 4. The Codys commit robberies to remain afloat, with Smurf often enjoying the temptations of this surgery. Here’s what to expect in Animal Kingdom’s fifth season, as well as what that season 6 news means for your Cody family.
When Will Animal Kingdom Season 5 Drop
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the fifth season of Animal Kingdom will premiere sometime in the summer of 2021. Production was halted on the series on March 16, 2020, due to the coronavirus outbreak. Production declared with strengthened health and safety protocols in September. Actor Shawn Hatosy, who plays Pope, posted on Instagram he had wrapped shooting season 5 in December.
Ahead of the fifth season premiere, TNT announced that the show was picked up for a sixth and final season. In accordance with Deadline, the show was supposed to start production on this final year in February. Animal Kingdom is one of TNT’s highest performers, with 27 million viewers watching season 4 across all platforms, per Deadline. It’s also among those network’s last scripted dramas. Claws, yet another scripted drama on TNT, is finishing as well. The series will go back for the last fourth season, which was filmed in the autumn and winter months of 2020.
The Cody Family Is In More Disarray Than Ever
According to the show’s site, season 5 of Animal Kingdom is going to be divided between the past and present of the Cody family. In the present, the family is struggling to recover from the death of Smurf. “Pope, Craig, Deran, and J are still handling the fallout from the events surrounding Smurf’s death, including relatives outside for revenge,” the website states. Smurf was diagnosed with terminal cancer. In season, she proposed an elaborate heist that could have allowed her to die on her own terms, and possibly take Pope with her. Rather than allow this to happen, her grandson J (Finn Cole) shot.
In years past we’ll observe a young Smurf raising twins Pope and Julia while additionally”leading the charge on dangerous jobs with old and new friends.” Sounds somewhat Godfather Pt. II, no? Heirs to a crime family struggle to grab power after the passing of their leader/parent, meanwhile, the viewers are treated to flashbacks as to how this leader got so vital in the first place. Hopefully, none of the Cody boys pull a Fredo Corleone. Come to think about it, that is all they do.
Who Is Returning For Animal Kingdom Season 5
The show’s website makes clear that a number of these Codys will probably be returning for season 5. Hatosy’s Pope, Ben Robson’s Craig, Jake Weary’s Deran, and Cole’s J are all mentioned by name. Meanwhile, we should expect a whole slew of younger versions of characters in the 1984 flashbacks. No cast announcements are created for young Smurf. Will a new celebrity combine the Animal Kingdom family, or will they de-age Ellen Barkin ala The Irishman?
We must also expect to see child variations of Pope and his twin Julia, who has been dead since the start of the series. J arrives to reside with Smurf and the Cody gang at the pilot after her passing.
The Cody family will also be investigating a woman named Pamela Johnson,” whom Smurf made the beneficiary of her estate,” according to the TNT website. In the season 4 finale, we heard that Pamela was a friend of Smurf in the’70s, but she has not been shown on display yet. We’ll have to watch to find out who she’s and to find out which characters will allow it into Animal Kingdom season 6.
