Will Netflix or Amazon Pick Up Hap and Leonard for Season 4?

Will there be a Hap and Leonard season 4 on Netflix or Amazon Prime? Will any streaming service pick up this underdog hit for another season? Is it really the end of this unlikely TV show?

Hap and Leonard is a period piece set in the 1980s that pitches an unlikely couple together in a series of adventures and sort-of bromance. Hap Collins played by James Purefoy and Leonard Pine played by Michael Kenneth Williams are down on their luck guys who are just looking for a break. A series of adventures as a result of some ill-advised actions fills three seasons of a feelgood TV series that is as harmless as it is entertaining.

The news that season three was going to be the last was missed by the many who also missed the TV show but didn’t go down well with those that know. So is there gold at the end of that rainbow?

Hap and Leonard season 1

Season 1 sees us meet the guys and Hap’s ex-wife Trudy played by Christina Hendricks. Both men are fired from their plantation jobs and need to make some money. Trudy comes up with a plan to find sunken treasure in the Deep South and things go downhill from there.

Hap is an ex-con who still loves his ex-wife and Leonard is a gay Vietnam veteran with a short fuse and no patience for anything. These two unlikely friends try to find the treasure while surviving in a challenging and often grim, environment. Using chemistry, banter and some very good writing, you are drawn in from the very first episode into a slowly evolving story.

Hap and Leonard season 2

Hap and Leonard season 2 begins with the pair uncovering the remains of a child buried underneath Leonard’s uncle’s house. The police think Leonard committed the crime and have to rely on their smart lawyer Florida Grange played by Tiffany Mack to get them out of jail. As so often happens, the only way to clear their name is to solve the case themselves.

This season is slightly grittier but still has the great interplay between Hap and Leonard and the banter between them. A solid supporting cast and great writing ensures this season is just as entertaining as the first.

Hap and Leonard season 3

Hap and Leonard season 3 begins with Leonard standing on the roof of a crack den wearing a red furred Stetson and pouring gasoline down the chimney. Hap pulls up in his car and the story begins. Leonard is arrested for the crime but Hap does a deal with the police to go undercover in the Klu Klux Klan to find their missing lawyer from season 2, Florida Grange.

As you would expect, things don’t go quite to plan and the two work through the six episodes trying to make things right.

It’s very difficult to describe Hap and Leonard without offering spoilers but I think you get the gist of it by now. It’s an excellent piece about two men played by very talented actors. The script is strong, the setting authentic and the period element of the late eighties lends another layer to an openly gay character with a very short temper. The action is excellent and those quiet moments where the two decompress and bicker or just chat is just as entertaining.

Hap and Leonard season 4

SundanceTV said there would be no Hap and Leonard season 4. Despite the first three seasons going down very well indeed with fans, it is currently not being renewed. A tweet from the author of the books the show was adapted from, Joe Lansdale tweeted:

‘Hap and Leonard officially canceled. Sundance’s highest rated show, 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Three Seasons wraps it up, dudes. It was an honor to have worked with the folks on the show, actors, crew, writers,…’

The show was arguably SundanceTV’s biggest hit and went down with fans, critics and the audience at large. Nobody has ever adequately explained why the show was canned. It doesn’t make sense from a fan’s point of view. It was popular, very well reviewed and almost universally lauded. Yet here we are.

At the time of writing, neither SundanceTV, Netflix or Amazon Prime have said anything about bringing the show back. There are more books to adapt so it isn’t as if there is no source material and there is still an appetite for something more meaningful and that isn’t afraid to tackle important issues.

With both Netflix and Amazon Prime seeming willing to take on previous lost causes, I and many others like me hope someone notices Hap and Leonard and decides to take it on. Three seasons is way to short a time for such a strong show!