Netflix has canceled its drama series Sweet Magnolias after five seasons, but its showrunner and one of its lead actresses are also involved in a new show at the streamer.
The cancellation of Sweet Magnolias, based on novels by Sherryl Woods, comes three months after season five premiered on Netflix. The show’s audience, both worldwide and in the United States, had fallen off in the fourth and fifth seasons. Season five spent three weeks in Netflix’s worldwide top 10 for English-language series (based on the streamer’s internal data) and four weeks in Nielsen’s U.S. charts.
The show stars JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Brooke Elliott and Heather Headley as three long-time best friends who rely on one another through the ups and downs of their lives.
As for the new series: Sweet Magnolias showrunner Sheryl J. Anderson and Garcia Swisher are executive producing Ladies of the House, based on a novel by Lauren Edmondson. Garcia Swisher may also have an on-screen role.
Ladies of the House centers on a family that owns a winery. When the 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 logline reads.
Anderson will serve as showrunner and executive produce with Garcia Swisher and Kate Gordon via their Rolling Clover company and Black Label Media.
“I’m thrilled to be embarking on this new adventure with JoAnna and Netflix,” said Anderson. “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.”
Added Garcia Swisher, “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.”
Deadline first reported the cancellation.