Season 4 of the American historical drama TV series “Reign” shall be returning to The CW next year although the network has yet to announce the exact date.
What seems confirm at this point is that the fourth season of “Reign” shall have the fewest episodes in the history of the TV series and there are speculations saying that Season 4 could be the last for the show.
The first two seasons of “Reign” had 22 episodes apiece while its Season 3 had 18 episodes. Its upcoming fourth season shall reportedly have only 16 episodes.
From a previous fall premiere, The CW has also decided to push back its air date and regardless of how anyone looks at it, the show’s days are numbered especially if it fails to bring in the needed ratings to merit another season renewal.
However, the producers are optimistic that Season 4 of “Reign” shall deliver the ratings and it is likely that they would be given one more season to finish everything with a flourish.
Taking center stage again
In order to perk up the ratings of “Reign,” the show shall be focusing more on Queen Mary of Scot, played by Adelaide Kane, who seemed to have sorted out what is needed to take care of things around her.
She may finally regain her power in Scotland, which prior to her return, has been plagued with violence and war that split the country apart.
Queen Mary is expected to do everything she can to reclaim her country’s greatness, reports the Ecumenical News.
As the focus of the fourth season of “Reign” will be on Queen Mary, the TV series shall also be introducing Adam Croasdell to portray the role of Bothwell, which is the Queen’s third husband.
In addition, Will Kemp shall also be coming in on Season 4 of “Reign” and he will be playing the role of Lord Darnley, the second husband of Queen Mary.
Mary will wed Lord Darnley first and they might have a child together. But when he started showing his dark side, he ended up being dead. Bothwell will come in to woe and eventually marry Queen Mary afterward.
The deaths in Season 3 caused the ratings to slip
There are reports saying that the deaths of several key characters in “Reign” Season 3 caused the ratings of the show to dip significantly.
It could be recalled that in Season 3, viewers were able to witness the death of King Francis, played by Tobey Regbo, while he was trying to save Queen Mary from an ambush. He was the first husband of the Queen of Scotland.
Meanwhile, a close friend of Queen Mary, Lola, played by Anna Popplewell, was beheaded by Queen Elizabeth of England, played by Rachel Skartsten, because the former conspired against her, reports the Christian Daily.
Another fan-favorite character Bash, played by Torrance Combs, also left the show after the Season 3 finale to join a Romeo and Juliet-inspired TV series “Still Star-Crossed” on ABC.
With the deferred release date and the cut-back in the number of episodes, critics immediately came up with the assumption that the fourth season of “Reign” shall be its final season.
However, The CW has yet to make an official statement regarding the TV series, which has suffered from a significant drop in ratings during its Season 3.
The same critics are saying that if the TV show is doing very well in the ratings, the network would not even dare alter its usual airing date nor lessen the number of episodes. They believe that The CW is just giving the show enough number of episodes to finish all plotlines and tie all loose ends before it finally wraps up.