Here’s why Killing Eve season 5 didn’t happen (and why season 4 was a horrible final season)

Now that all four seasons of Killing Eve are streaming on Netflix, tons of fans are going back to rewatch the spy thriller series. There are even new viewers watching the show for the first time. But with this resurgence in popularity, many people are wondering about a fifth season. Some people want to know why a Killing Eve season 5 never happened. No worries! We shared everything we know about the show's ending right below.

Killing Eve was once a force to be reckoned with. A show about a British intelligence analyst becoming entangled in a fierce game of cat and mouse with a ruthless psychopathic assassin was just too good to pass up. Critics and viewers alike absolutely enjoyed the first two seasons of the British spy thriller, while the third and fourth seasons received mixed reviews. But the third season was in no way as bad as the fourth and final season. You can pretty much ask any fan, and they'd say the fourth season was a complete letdown. In fact, many fans would pretend that the fourth season never happened. It was that bad...

Why? Well, the fourth season was so horribly done and all over the place. New characters were introduced that weren't needed, there were many plot holes, anti-climatic main character deaths, characters were acting completely out of character, Eve and Villanelle were separated for most of the season, and the ending was awfully executed. A series final season is supposed to be unforgettable in a good way, but all Killing Eve season 4 did was leave fans with a bad taste in their mouths. It just doesn't make sense how a show that was once viewed highly by fans could turn into something so disastrous.

Emmy Award-winning actress and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge should've come back and written the scripts for the fourth season because Laura Neal had no idea what she was doing as head writer of season 4. I'm confident that Killing Eve season 4 would've ended with a bang with Waller-Bridge in charge, but I digress...

In January 2020, BBC America renewed the spy thriller for a fourth season, three months before the third season's premiere. However, it wasn't revealed to be the show's final season at the time. It wasn't until March 2021, that it was announced that the upcoming fourth season would be the show's last.

Here's what series stars Sandra Oh (Eve Polastri) and Jodie Comer (Villanelle) had to say at the time about the show coming to an end via Variety:

"Killing Eve has been one of my greatest experiences and I look forward to diving back into Eve’s remarkable mind soon. I’m so grateful for all cast and crew who have brought our story to life and to the fans who have joined us and will be back for our exciting and unpredictable fourth and final season."

- Sandra Oh

"Killing  Eve has been the most extraordinary journey and one that I will be forever grateful for. Thank you to all the fans who’ve supported us throughout and come along for the ride. Although all good things come to an end, it’s not over yet. We aim to make this one to remember!"

- Jodie Comer

Also, at the time of the show's ending announcement, it was revealed that AMC Networks and Sid Gentle Films Ltd (Killing Eve producers) were in the process of developing potential spinoffs. One of those spinoffs would later be revealed to be centered around MI6 spymaster Carolyn Mertens. It's unclear if that spinoff is still in the works, though. There has been pretty much radio silence since the spinoff's announcement.

Was Killing Eve canceled? No. We wouldn't say the spy thriller was canceled. It was more of a creative decision made by the show's creative team to end the series after four seasons. But some fans would've loved to see the show continue on for more seasons, including series star Kim Bodnia (Konstantin Vasiliev).

Bodnia previously spoke with Radio Times and said that the conclusion to Eve and Villanelle's relationship could've been a reason why the show's creative team decided to wrap up the show with its fourth season. He told Radio Times that the writers probably felt like the fourth season was the right time to wrap up Eve and Villanelle's story. That they had reached a point where they couldn't dive any deeper into their "complex relationship," so ending the series was the best thing to do.

However, Killing Eve co-writer Kayleigh Llewelyn spoke with Metro back in April 2022 and said that a Killing Eve season 5 was initially going to happen but was later scrapped by BBC. Llewelyn was a writer on the show's fourth season.

"Well, when I was hired, it originally wasn’t going to be the final season, there was going to be another one. That was a decision that was made during the process, so that was a big change."

- Kayleigh Llewelyn

She also spoke about how the COVID-19 pandemic repeatedly delayed production on the fourth season. She said, "A job that would normally have been eight months became kind of two years. The world kept changing, and filming constraints changed vastly, as well." Many people speculated that the pandemic played in a part in the show ending with its fourth season, but this rumor was never confirmed. However, it wouldn't be surprising if Killing Eve did in fact end because of the pandemic because we saw many shows get canceled or end because of this reason.

We may never know the reason on why Killing Eve season 5 was scrapped, and I guess it wouldn't make sense to continue to wonder because it won't change anything. We'll just continue to remember the spy thriller for all its good moments, and pretend like the fourth season never happened.

Killing Eve seasons 1-4 are streaming now on Netflix.