Will There Be a 'Miss Scarlet & The Duke' Season 5?

Miss Scarlet & The Duke Season 4 is the show's most dramatic and potentially controversial season yet. The popular will they/won't they tension between the series' titular leads finally tipped firmly into blatantly romantic territory, as William straight-up admitted he loved Eliza and the pair finally (!!!) shared a kiss. Of course, all of this happened literally moments before William announced he was leaving to spend a year in America and though we've gotten a vague update on how he's doing there (thanks, Ivy!), there's a very real chance the character won't even appear in the finale at all. (Star Stuart Martin isn't in any of the promotional photos that have been released from the episode, and it seems unlikely that the show would suddenly jump forward a year in time in the space of a week.)

What I'm saying is that it's extremely likely this season of Miss Scarlet will end with the romantic status of our two main characters still in limbo, and without any confirmation about whether or not the show itself will continue. As of this writing, the show has yet to be renewed for a fifth season, a terrifying prospect for fans who have suddenly been gifted with everything they've ever wanted but who must now confront the possibility that they may not get to see the romance they've been waiting for since the show's first episode actually play out onscreen if the show doesn't return for future episodes.

Season 5 feels like it should be a given. Miss Scarlet & The Duke is a hit for both Masterpiece and Alibi. The show performs well on both broadcast and streaming. Its stars and creatives seem to love the project and it has a sizeable, active fanbase. So how has a renewal not been announced yet? 

The thing is, it's not entirely uncommon for shows to bank on a renewal they haven't yet technically secured. The most gut-wrenching recent example of this is probably Prime Video's Good Omens, which ended its second outing on a devastating emotional cliffhanger that would have ruined lives had an unexpected cancellation left Aziraphale and Crowley apart and at odds forever. (Thankfully, it has since been renewed for a final season, but fans didn't know that when the Season 2 finale first aired.) It's certainly unlikely that Miss Scarlet won't return, but I'm not sure how much comfort that will be for viewers should the season's final episode offer no resolution when it comes to Eliza's feelings about William's declaration. 

It's difficult to imagine a world where the folks in charge of Miss Scarlet would run the risk of ending the show forever with their two leads on different continents and with so much unaddressed between them. And while it's been more than a little annoying that the show has devoted such little time to the fallout from William's confession or the groundbreaking emotional shift it signifies for Eliza during the back half of Season 4, the only way those choices make any sense is if they're expecting to get the chance to do so at some point in the future. Rachael New and the folks behind the scenes clearly pretty darn confident that this story isn't over yet and are acting accordingly. 

Let's just hope they have a good reason for that belief — and that fans won't have to wait very long for news of Season 5.