‘The Killing’ Cheats Death A Second Time With 6-Episode Final Season On Netflix

It’s déjà vu again for The Killing, which refuses to live up to its name. The mystery drama, which was cancelled by AMC last year only to be resurrected with a third-season order, is staging another comeback after being cancelled by the network again in September. This time, the series was picked up by Netflix, which was its exclusive digital partner for the first three seasons and still carries them worldwide. Now The Killing will become a Netflix original for a six-episode final installment. The series’ second resurrection is a testament to series producer Fox TV Studios’ tenacious efforts to keep it alive. The Killing‘s stars, Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman, are under long-term deals and set  to return. Creator/executive producer Veena Sud is assembling a writing team, which is expected to begin work shortly. She will be joined by The Killing veterans, exec producers Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin, who had been on the show since the first season, and two other writers. “It’s a true testament to Veena Sud, and the stellar cast led so compellingly by Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman, that fans remained so passionate about the show,” FtvS president David Madden said.

The Killing‘s third season opened with an OK 1.8 million viewers and drew largely positive reaction from critics and fans. But it ended with 1.5 million for the season finale, up only slightly from the 1.4 million viewers of the second-season ender. Season 3 overall was essentially flat with Season 2 — ratings that had triggered the series’ first cancellation. However, the serialized drama’s strength always has been the digital/binge viewing play. “The rich, serialized storytelling in The Killing thrives on Netflix, and we believe that it is only fitting to give Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder a proper send-off,” said Cindy Holland, VP Original Content for Netflix. Based on the Danish series Forbrydelsen, The Killing follows various murder investigations led by homicide detectives Sarah Linden (Enos) and Stephen Holder (Kinnaman). Sud exec produces with Mikkel Bondesen of Fabrik Entertainment.