No fourth season of Side Side is coming to HBO Max.
It’s the end of the road for South Side. Variety reports that HBO Max has pulled the plug on the comedy series after three seasons with no season 4 in the works. Originally, the show debuted its first season on Comedy Central in 2019 before moving to HBO Max for season 2 in 2021. This past December, the third season was released on the streaming platform. However, it’s been confirmed that season 4 is officially a no-go at HBO Max.
“While HBO Max will not be moving forward with a fourth season of South Side, we are so proud of the rich world Bashir Salahuddin, Diallo Riddle, and Sultan Salahuddin created,” reads an official statement by HBO Max. “We thank them and Michael Blieden, Tony Hernandez, the supremely talented cast and crew, and our partners at MTV Entertainment Studios. For three seasons, this beloved series balanced cutting, hyperlocal social commentary about life on the South Side of Chicago with silly, sometimes zany humor. The result was a wholly unique, ambitious and fearless comedy that could speak to everyone living the American dream.”
Series co-creators Bashir Salahuddin and Sultan Salahuddin also starred South Side alongside Kareme Young and Chandra Russell. Diallo Riddle also had a key role with the cast also including Lil Rel Howery, Zuri Salahuddin, Quincy Young, and Langston Kerman. Notable guest stars have included Chance the Rapper, Kel Mitchell, Earthquake, Donell Jones, and Adele Givens.
South Side Reaches Its End
While the show is ending, South Side had a good run for its three seasons. Last year, it won an award for its directing for Bashir Salahuddin and Diallo Riddle at the NAACP Image Awards. Its critical reception had also been rather strong, scoring perfect 100% approval ratings for the first two seasons at Rotten Tomatoes. Its third season has positive reviews from all critics as well along with a 100% audience score. The show ending clearly has nothing to do with how well it has been received by those watching it. While exact viewership numbers are not known, perhaps there just wasn’t enough people watching for a fourth season to be ordered, especially with so many other cuts happening left and right at HBO Max in continued efforts to decrease programming costs.
Three seasons are better than one or even none. For what it’s worth, the cast and crew had been stoked to come back for the third and final season, giving them one last time to revisit that world even if they weren’t sure at the time that it would be the final episodes for the show at HBO Max.
“Our cast and crew, they all came back so excited and eager to be a part of getting to do this again,” Bashir Salahuddin previously told L.A. Confidential. “And for us, it’s so much wish fulfillment. So we put everything in the kitchen sink in the season, and I think fans are gonna be better for it.”
You can stream South Side on HBO Max.
