Eve and Villanelle's cat-and-mouse hunt isn't over yet—the series is set to return for a fourth chapter later this month. Here's what we know so far.
Season 4 will be the show's last.
In January 2020, BBC America announced that Killing Eve will be getting a fourth chapter, just as the show's second season was racking up award nominations.
“How could we not have massive confidence in Killing Eve? It has won big in every major award show and is the highest growing show on U.S. television for six years,” Sarah Barnett, the president of AMC Networks Entertainment Group and AMC Studios, said in a statement.
“The reason for this series’ emphatic embrace is the brilliant women who breathed it into being: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Emerald Fennell, Sandra Oh, Jodie Comer, Fiona Shaw and it’s fairy godmother, executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle. Season 3 lead writer Suzanne Heathcote takes Eve, Villanelle and Carolyn to places more thrilling, twisted and surprising than ever. Our addicted fans will not be disappointed.”
Since then, Jodie Comer picked up another Golden Globes nomination for her performance in season three.
But season four will be the show's last. “We look forward to what is sure to be an unforgettable final season and to exploring potential extensions of this compelling universe,” Dan McDermott, president of original programming for AMC Networks said in a statement in March 2021.
Watch a trailer for season four below:
Expect to see a big change in Villanelle.
Season three's finale ended with our leading ladies in reversed roles. Villanelle, after an emotional trip back to her hometown in Russia, has come to the realization that she doesn't want to be an assassin any more, while Eve is hellbent on finally taking down The Twelve. Season four picks up with Villanelle having seemingly turned over a new leaf—as the trailer above shows, she's in therapy, and has maybe become a born again Christian.
"I think what we really played around with this season was this question of, can she change? Can we change?" Jodie Comer said during a Television Critics Association press tour panel for the show. "We see Villanelle putting that into action, we see her trying." But the actress also hinted that at least at first, there's a lot of subterfuge involved (as you'd expect from Villanelle).
"I think there’s a lot of lessons Villanelle learns that I don’t think she’s actually aware of," she continued. "I think she’s so desperate to change at the beginning [of the season] and I’m not sure that comes from a truthful place. However, when you see this season in its entirety, you really, truly see just how she’s done so. So that was really, really great to see."
Eve has also undergone a transformation in the new season.
Though it's more subtle than Villanelle's attempt to repent, Sandra Oh revealed that Eve is also very much changed in season four. After spending most of season three licking her wounds in suburbia, she's re-energized.
"I really wanted to establish that Eve physically, energetically is very, very much changed," Oh said. "You see that she’s clearly gained skills, that she’s not afraid of violence in herself or inflicting it on others, that she’s integrated a lot of elements from Villanelle in either disguises or personas. And I just really wanted that change and that freshness to kind of come in to the fourth season."
She recalled a moment when she and Comer looked at a promo image from season one, and marveled at how much their characters had transformed since. "For me when I look back on Eve at the start of the show, she had a complete innocence, and she just doesn’t have it on her anymore."
The last day on set was as emotional as you'd expect.
Everybody went into season 4 knowing that it would be the show's last, which made for a bittersweet final day of filming.
"Jodie and I were lucky enough to do actually the last shot of the show together, and it’s too much of a spoiler to tell you where we were and the setting," Oh teased. "But it was technically challenging. It was very technically challenging. I was really happy that we were together. I think we were both happy that we were together."
It will premiere February 27, 2022 and will have eight episodes.
“Killing Eve has been the most extraordinary journey and one that I will be forever grateful for,” Jodie Comer said. “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!”
It will premiere on BBC America, and will also air Mondays on AMC beginning February 28. AMC+ subscribers will get early access to the show, starting Sunday, February 20.
In the meantime, stream seasons 1-3 on Hulu.
Writer Laura Neal will serve as showrunner.
Each season of Killing Eve has had a different woman at its helm, and the fourth is no different. Season three showrunner Suzanne Heathcote will "pass the reins" to writer Laura Neal (Sex Education, Secret Diary of a Call Girl) for the show's chapter four.
“After the most incredible year on Killing Eve, I'm so excited the next season is going to be led by such a brilliant talent,” Heathcote said. “I cannot wait to see what amazing things Laura's going to do with this world and the characters in it.”
Executive producer Sally Woodward Gentle also teased: "The stories we are already creating for season four promise a pitch-black riot."
As the digital director for Town & Country, Caroline Hallemann covers culture, entertainment, and a range of other subjects
Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. She loves owls, hates cilantro, and can find the queer subtext in literally anything.
