My Brilliant Friend Season 4 Is Coming To HBO, But It Will End The Series

Season 3 of the HBO Italian drama series "My Brilliant Friend" dropped during February of this year, thrilling fans who find themselves deeply invested in the intertwining lives of Lila (Gaia Girace) and Elena/Lenù (Margherita Mazzucco).

While season 4 of the series is already in the works, Elena and Lila's saga will, unfortunately, reach its conclusion, as the fourth season of "My Brilliant Friend" will also be the final one, per TVLine. As the series is a direct adaptation of Elena Ferrante's novel quadrilogy, season 4 of "My Brilliant Friend" will be based on "The Story of the Lost Child," the final entry in Ferrante's novel series.

Season 3 of "My Brilliant Friend" zoomed in on Lila's hardships while working at the factory, triggering important conversations around harassment, discrimination, and the robbing of bodily autonomy. In contrast, Elena's hardships are more externalized and intellectual in nature, as her quest for identity as an emerging writer forms the core of her narrative, which is obviously very different than what Lila has to undergo. The series in general spans over the course of their lives, mapping their friendship, the ways in which they meld and clash, carving their own paths which meet in significant ways at various points in their lives.

Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President of HBO Programming, expressed the bittersweet feelings evoked by Lila and Elena's journeys, and how the story always brimmed with a lot of "heart:"

"When we decided to bring Elena Ferrante's masterpiece Neapolitan Novels to the screen, we knew Elena and Lila's story had to be told in its entirety. It's both thrilling and bittersweet to embark on this fourth and final season. We're deeply grateful to the entire creative team led by Saverio Costanzo and Lorenzo Mieli and to our season 3 director Daniele Luchetti. We look forward to completing the quartet and know The Story of the Lost Child will bring the series to a close with the same heart, intimacy, and epic storytelling that has defined Elena and Lila's journey from the beginning."

Although this is sad news for "My Brilliant Friend" fans, all stories have an inevitable end, and the one centering the two friends has been rich, nuanced, enriching, and beautiful so far. Apart from Girace and Mazzucco, "My Brilliant Friend" also stars Alba Rohrwacher, Alessandro Nardi, Anna Rita Vitolo, Luca Gallone, and Imma Villa. Potentially new cast members have not been announced for season 4 so far; no official premiere date has been revealed either.

Season 3 of " My Brilliant Friend" dropped on HBO on February 28, 2022. New episodes air every Monday, and the season finale is scheduled for April 18, 2022.