Why won’t there be a Snowpiercer season 5?

While the series struggled with delays in getting the fourth season out, the final outing is set to be quite the explosive ending for the series. Based on both the 2013 Bong Joon-ho film of the same name and the 1982 French graphic novel Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette, UK fans will have to wait a little while longer for the final instalment to land on their screens.

But why exactly is Snowpiercer ending with season 5? Read on to find out.

Why won’t there be a Snowpiercer season 5?

It was announced back in June 2022 by Deadline that Snowpiercer would end with season 4 on TNT.

In a statement to Deadline at the time, a spokesperson for the network said: “We can confirm that Snowpiercer will end after a successful, multi-season run on TNT.

“Its talented writers, actors and crew took an extraordinary premise and brought it to life in thrilling ways. It was critically acclaimed, had a significant impact on the post-apocalyptic genre and now remains in the hearts and minds of fans forever.”

It was announced in January 2023 that TNT would actually not air the fourth season of Snowpiercer and so, the show found a new home over on AMC in the US.

“Snowpiercer is an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride with a loyal fanbase — similar to the passionate fandoms we serve across our biggest franchise series — and a welcome addition to AMC and AMC+,” said Ben Davis, executive vp original programming at AMC Networks and AMC Studios. “We look forward to giving viewers an opportunity to binge the first three seasons later this year, in anticipation of the arrival of a remarkable fourth season helmed by Paul Zbyszewski and this stellar cast.”

As for a UK release date for season 4, that has not yet been confirmed so we'll just have to wait and see.

In terms of reasoning for the cancellation of the series, there's been no concrete reasons given for the lack of continuation. But over the years of the series airing, there have been criticisms around the way the show has made changes to the source material on which it is based, as well as the limitations of being released in weekly episodes.

It certainly seems as though there was more in the Snowpiercer pipeline as series star Mike O’Malley was asked by TVLine whether season 4 was written as a final season or not.

He said: “We were actually hoping that we’d keep going, but I think there’s an ending to that where it could be the end, and it’s very hopeful…. So I really, really can’t wait for that show to get out there and for people to see it, because it’s awesome.”

Snowpiercer season 4 is available to watch on AMC in the US – with a UK release date still unconfirmed.

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