Near the end of July, Netflix released a new show called Ozark, starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney. The show follows a financial advisor (Bateman) who moves with his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks because of involvement with a Mexican drug cartel. Since its premiere, the crime drama has had everybody talking, but it seems that no one is saying the same thing. Despite its extremely mixed reviews, it was announced Tuesday that the show would return to Netflix for another ten-episode season, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Seeing as Netflix recently canceled another antihero drama, Gypsy, after just one season, we were a bit surprised by today’s announcement that Ozark was renewed, especially since there hasn’t been much agreement on whether or not this show was actually worth watching. Todd VanDerWerff of Vox wrote, "If you really, really, really like crime dramas, Ozark...might give you a quick fix. But even then, you might find yourself guessing everything that happens before it does, and the ultra-glum, humorless tone would probably be a turn-off. Ozark’s stubborn blandness raises the question of just why the antihero trope continues to be so appealing to creators and networks." On the completely opposite side of the spectrum, Entertainment Weekly’s Jeff Jensen, said the show "makes a convincing case that this mostly spent genre still has worth" and gave it an A- rating, which is certainly nothing to scoff at. Many critics have compared the show to AMC's indelible Breaking Bad.
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Though Netflix has given many of its original series, including Gypsy, Sense8, The Get Down, and Girlboss, the axe this summer, we can't forget that in May, the network renewed 13 Reasons Why after just one season. Though this show was wildly popular, it too drew controversy for a very different reason. Despite the outcry, it seems quite clear that Netflix is willing to take a chance on polarizing shows. Ozark will live to see another season of possibly mixed reviews.