The series has earned both strong ratings and plenty of awards love, with Julia Garner winning two Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and Bateman taking home Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. Whenever a show that manages to straddle the line between prestige and popularity comes to an end, it’s always a safe bet to assume the ending will be highly scrutinized. That’s even more true when a series hinges on a simple question, the way “Ozark” does.
Star and frequent director Jason Bateman appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” this week to promote the show, and he seemed well aware of how much pressure there was to stick the landing.
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“With the final season, the whole thing was like, ‘Well, how are we gonna end it?’” Bateman said. “Should the Byrde family pay a bill, you know? Like, should they get away with it? Should they not?” He went on to say that the show has something resembling “a happy ending, but there’s got to be a little of a, Well, is it happy for them?’”
In the end, Bateman believes the finale will satisfy both viewers rooting for the Byrde family and those rooting against them.
“Hopefully the audience will think, ‘Ah, they’ve kind of threaded the needle between a happy ending — but they’re limping,’” he said.
While Bateman’s remarks are likely to raise more questions than they answer, they still offer more clarity than previous remarks he has made. When he spoke to IndieWire about the finale, Bateman said that he was “interested in the big question [showrunner Chris Mundy] has the opportunity to answer: Are they going to get away with it, or are they going to pay a bill?”
Based on his “Tonight Show” appearance, it sounds like the answer will be a little bit of both.
“Ozark” Season 4, Part 1 is currently streaming on Netflix. The final batch of episodes will be released on Friday, April 29.
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