The Netflix megahit Ozark may be drawing to a close, but showrunner Chris Mundy says he’s open to exploring the universe he’s created.
“I’ve thought about it a little bit,” Mundy said, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the series finale premiere in New York earlier this month.
“If there were an organic way, I would never be closed to it.”
The drama tells the sprawling story of a Mexican drug cartel accountant (Jason Bateman) who is forced to relocate his family to the Ozarks after his business partner steals from their criminal client.
The show, which also stars Laura Linney and Julia Garner, put the sleepy mountains of central Missouri on the TV map.
If Mundy does decide to expand his creation, it’s likely he’ll have support from MRC, the studio behind Ozark, as well as other recent prestige TV projects, like The Great and Shining Girls.
“I think Ozark itself is going to live forever,” MRC’s president of TV Elise Henderson told The Hollywood Reporter. “And I think that one of the coolest things about Ozark is that I would call it a world-building show. I think we built a world. There’s a universe that’s been created.”
Mundy’s comments echo that of Ozark co-creator Mark Williams, who discussed the merits of an Ozark spin-off for Garner’s character, Ruth, with the website ScreenRant in February.
After clarifying that the decision belonged chiefly to Netflix and Mundy, he added, “But I’d be thrilled for that to happen, obviously Ruth has been such a great character throughout, but I think it’s got to be right for it.”
“I think what we don’t want to do is just put out another version just to have. I think Better Call Saul is the perfect fit, obviously, they did it so well on top of Breaking Bad, so I think it only makes sense if it works.”
