P. Valley took the world by storm with its groundbreaking first and second seasons. The Starz series has made stars out of J. Alphonse Nichols, Nicco Annan, and Elarica Johnson. After a very public demand from fans for the showed to be continued, they got the good news that seasons 3 and 4 got the green light. However, fans will have to wait a while before they get to see them.
P-Valley is the brainchild of showrunner and creator Katori Hall. It was an adaptation of her play of the same name and followed members of the Mississippi nightclub, The Pynk. It premiered on July 12, 2020, to much fanfare, after it had been announced that Issa Rae’s Raedio Company would be in charge of the music. The show became a runaway success, getting renewed for a second season 2 weeks into its first. Fans loved how the show handled complicated issues like nightlife culture, gender identity, and more. Central to the show’s plot is a gender-non-conforming character named Uncle Clifford, who owns and operates the club. Clifford is romantically involved with Lil Murda, a local rapper. The show also follows several of the dancers in the cast and their life, which are shrouded in secrecy, violence, and betrayal.
The demand for season 2 got bad when fans realized that the show would be delayed due to COVID. Season 2 would arrive on June 3, 2022, and bring the show back in hot. As things heated up between Lil Murda and Uncle Clifford, stories following Autumn Night found satisfying conclusions, and the season ended with Diamond being kidnapped.
Speaking on the season 2 finale, Katori said she had a few things she was trying to be mindful of while writing it. One, she knew Johnson wanted to leave, so they wanted to give her character a good send-off. Two, she was unsure if they would be renewed and wanted to give everything a satisfying conclusion. She told a publication around the season finally that while she always has ideas for the characters of P Valley, she felt like season 2 had a very strong ending “if she had to walk away.” “The season finale is really special. People who have been rooting for our Pynk family for so long are really going to love where we land, everybody.”
This realization terrified fans, and they began petitioning online to get the show renewed. Nicco joked about how some fans accidentally started GoFundMe crowdsourcing accounts to raise money for the fictional club after a plot on the show where it faced closure. “They over here starting Go Fund me and sh**. Don’t at me talking about ‘I lost my money.’ They try to use Uncle Clifford to get paid,” he laughed.
Other fans went to petition sites to get signatures from people demanding Starz renew the series. They tried to highlight the show’s importance to the culture and bring awareness to what the program has meant for them. “P-Valley Is In Danger! As of July 23, 2022, our beloved P-Valley has not been renewed by STARZ. Although the fan base has to wait almost (2) years due to COVID and other factors, they showed up with weekly trends on Twitter, hundreds of YouTube panel weekly discussions, and continued interest shared by Reddit subs on future plot plans.”
Prayers were finally answered when it was announced that the show got renewed for two additional seasons. Hall expressed her gratitude at the announcement delivering a public statement about how blessed she is to continue the series. “This show is a love letter to marginalized communities in the American South who rarely see themselves reflected on screen, and it brings me immense joy to know that it has been embraced by folx worldwide.”
Fans could not fully rejoice, however, because just like they had to wait two years for season two, season three could be taking a while as well. “It’s gonna take us a Mississippi minute before we’re back on your screens again, but best believe it’ll be well worth the wait,” she said at the end of her statement. With a show as nuances as this, it’s understandable she will need a beat to draw inspiration for new stories. Are you excited to return to The Pynk?
