'Ozark' Season 3 release date, plot, and cast for Netflix's crime drama

With the first two seasons of Netflix’s Ozark, the streaming platform has a legitimate hit drama on its hands that shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Ozark transforms the wickedly funny Jason Bateman into an intense and meticulous money-laundering white collar criminal operating out of the Lake of the Ozarks in midwest America. Bateman stars in and executive produces the series, but he’s also now an Emmy-winning director for his work on Ozark Season 2.

After Bateman won an Emmy at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards in September 2019, we’re all looking forward to Season 3 and what sorts of criminal activities might be involved for Marty and the rest of the Byrde family.

In April 2019, showrunner Chris Mundy confirmed during a panel that the plan was for Ozark to last a total of five seasons. What do we know about Season 3 in terms of the plot, release date, cast, and other hints?

Keep reading to find out.

Is Netflix making an Ozark Season 3?

Yes! Several months after the August 2018 release of Season 2, Lead actor and sometimes-director Jason Bateman confirmed via Twitter that the show would return for Season 3.

“I’m happy for me, but concerned for Marty,” the actor wrote. “It’s official: Ozark 3 is on its way.”

Since the start of the series, economic advisor Marty Byrde has been entangled with various criminal organizations and forced to participate in money-laundering schemes. So it makes sense that he’d be worried about poor Marty.

When is the Ozark Season 3 release date?

Netflix has yet to confirm the Ozark Season 3 release date. Season 1 was released July 27, 2017. Season 2 was released August 31, 2018. There doesn’t appear to be a firm pattern for Ozark’s release schedule, but TV Line reports that Season 3 will be 10 episodes long and release before the end of 2019.

As of this writing, Netflix has already released the list of shows and movies coming to the platform in October, and Ozark Season 3 is not included. Netflix usually releases these lists on the third Wednesday of every month, so if the release date is in November, then we should get confirmation on or around October 16.

Is there a trailer for Ozark Season 3?

Not yet. Netflix typically waits until just a few weeks before release to tease a new season of one of its original shows. So we probably won’t get a look at Ozark Season 3 until just before its release.

What did Jason Bateman tease about Ozark Season 3 at the 2019 Emmys?

At the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards on September 22, Bateman won an Emmy for directing in Season 2, and at a backstage press event, he offered up a few details about Season 3.

“The riverboat casino that you see last season in fact goes into operation,” Bateman said. “We pick up six months later from the end of the second season. The casino is up and running and provides us with more opportunities both positive and negative. Some of that is temping and some that are calming. Ultimately it all effects the family.”

None of this is really surprising at all, but the six month time jump is an interesting creative choice. What’s changed for everyone since the end of Season 2?

How did Ozark Season 2 set up Season 3?

Warning! Huge spoilers for Ozark Season 2 ahead.

Marty spent a long stretch of Season 2 trying to get a giant floating casino boat up and running so he could use it to launder millions of dollars for the Mexican drug cartel. It opened in the finale, and despite Marty’s plan for the family to leave town and assume new identities, Wendy had other ideas. She struck a deal with attorney Helen Pierce to assume more power in the local criminal activities while subverting Morty’s control.

Also in the Season 2 finale, FBI Agent Roy Petty was killed by Ruth’s father, Cade Langmore. Later, Cade was gunned down on the road as orchestrated by Wendy Byrde. That tied up several problematic loose ends. Ruth, on the other hand, has essentially forsaken her family and grown closer to the Byrdes.

Frank Cosgrove, the head of the Kansas City mob, remains a temperamental, violent adversary for Marty. The floating casino plan cut into the mob’s union-based efforts to make money, so Cosgrove blew up Marty’s office as revenge. A war with the Kansas City mob feels all but certain in Ozark Season 3.

Earlier in the season, Darlene Snell killed her husband Jacob. Later, she kidnapped baby Zeke from the Byrdes as revenge. Wendy has plans to reclaim the baby, but that does mean a war on two fronts for the Byrdes.

What’s the plot of Ozark Season 3?

We know Season 3 will focus on the boat casino and the ongoing conflict between the Byrds and the Snells, but also the conflict between the Byrds and the Kansas city mafia. Character dynamics might also begin to shift.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in August 2019, showrunner Chris Mundy explained that Julia Garner’s Ruth Langmore will deepen her relationship with the Byrds.

“Going into season three, we see her very much wanting to be a member of the Byrde family,” Mundy said. “However, as she gets deeper and deeper into the enterprise, she starts to wonder if being a Byrde is the best thing to be.”

Who’s in the Ozark Season 3 cast?

Season 3 should include all the usual regulars. That’s Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as Marty and Wendy Byrde with Sofia Hublitz and Skylar Gaertner as Charlotte and Jonah Byrde. Julia Garner will also return as Ruth Langmore. Lisa Emery will also return as Darlene Snell, as will Janet McTeer as ruthless attorney Helen Pierce (Janet McTeer), who’s working for the crime syndicate ultimately in control of the Byrdes’ operations. McTeer has also been bumped up to a series regular, so she’ll have a more significant role to play in Season 3.

Deadline reported in July 2019 that young actress Madison Thompson was also joining the series. She’ll play the “headstrong teenage daughter” of Janet McTeer.

Tom Pelphrey and Jessica Frances Dukes will also join the series in recurring roles for Season 3. Pelphrey will play Wendy’s younger brother, Ben, who shows up unannounced. As FBI Agent Maya Miller, Jessica Frances Dukes will be tasked with taking down the Byrdes’ casino.

Newcomers also include Joseph Sikora as Frank Cosgrove Jr., son of the Kansac City mob boss Frank Cosgrove. There’s also Felix Solis as Omar Navarro, an especially violent cartel leader.

Ozark Season 3 is expected to release before the end of 2019.