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Exclusive: Marcella boss says season 3 end won't be to "everybody's liking"

Photo credit: Steffan Hill - ITV
Photo credit: Steffan Hill - ITV

From Digital Spy

Marcella season three is just around the corner, and while it's not definitely the final series, it is going to have a definitive "ending".

Ahead of the ITV drama's return later this month, Marcella writer and creator Hans Rosenfeldt spoke exclusively to Digital Spy about the show's upcoming changes, including Anna Friel's 're-invention' and why not everyone is going to like this series' conclusion.

The latest outing will see a change for Anna Friel's protagonist, with the former detective joining an undercover operation rather than chasing serial killers in an official police role, as she has before.

A new direction for Marcella Backland will take the whole show in a new direction, too, with Rosenfeldt revealing that there aren't "many threads to pick up in a potential fourth series". Season three is "an ending", he promised.

Photo credit: PATRICK REDMOND - ITV
Photo credit: PATRICK REDMOND - ITV

Related: Marcella boss explains decision to "reinvent" the show for very different season 3

"I mean, series two was kind of a cliffhanger teaser for maybe a series three. Series three is definitely an ending. It's the end of her story as it is now," he explained.

"I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say that we could go on, because she's still alive at the end of the show, but there is no obvious kind of, 'Oh, if they're going to do another one, they're going to pick up on this.'

"We don't leave any obvious 'ones' like those. It is an ending. It's not going to be to everybody's liking, but it's still an ending."

While season three's finale may not end in the way some fans hope, there is a reason for bringing series such as Marcella to a close before their time.

Photo credit: Steffan Hill - ITV
Photo credit: Steffan Hill - ITV

Related: Marcella's Anna Friel talks crime show crossover with Luther

Discussing the difficulty in pleasing everyone, Rosenfeldt argued that everything from TV shows to books and films should "retire some time before the fans do".

"You should leave them longing a little bit," he told us. "[You want fans to think] 'Oh, no, that was the end', instead of saying, 'Oh, thank god, it's finally ended.'"

Marcella is set to return to ITV for its third series on Tuesday, January 26 at 9pm.


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