Why there won't be My Brilliant Friend season 5? Exploring why the series ended with just four seasons

My Brilliant Friend is a coming-of-age drama that first premiered on HBO on November 18, 2018, and has spanned over four seasons since then. The series culminated in a fourth and final season that aired on September 9, 2024.

The series is an adaptation of a series of four novels written by Elena Ferrante, known as the Neapolitan Quartet. Since four seasons of My Brilliant Friend adopted one novel each, there will be no season 5.

The show has ended its run with the fourth season after bringing the quartet novel to life, namely My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of The Lost Child.

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My Brilliant Friend is an adaptation of the Neapolitan Quartet

The four-novel series was originally published from 2012-2015. The novels and My Brilliant Friend series tell the story of two girls who have a lot of potential but are being stymied because of the poverty-stricken circumstances they grew up in.

As the novel and HBO series progresses, the girls named Elena "Lenu" Greco and Rafaella "Lila" Cerullo mature from childhood to adulthood, and finally to old age, making the overall story a chronicle of their entire lives.

Season 1 is an adaptation of the 2011 novel of the same name. The plot takes place in 1950s Naples, where Elena Greco gets to know about her friend's disappearance. This incident spurs her to begin writing about the life the duo shared. The first season and novel covers Elena and Lila's childhood and teenage years, from ages six to sixteen.

My Brilliant Friend season 2 is based on The Story of a New Name, which follows Elena's studies and Rafaella's marriage to a man named Stefano. Subsequently, it is revealed that Lila's husband is abusive, and has physically and s*xually assaulted her. The neighborhood approves of Stefano's behavior as the people around consider Lila too uncouth and free-spirited for a girl her age.

The second installment further explores Elena's own romantic arc after she develops a crush on a man named Nino Sarratore.

Season 3 of the series is an adaptation of the third novel, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay. This time, the narrative focuses on Elena's upcoming wedding, and her decision to visit Naples and reconnect with Lila shortly before it.

Lila then confides to Elena about the brutal conditions of her job at the bologna factory, where she was being s*xually harassed. Elena tries to help Lila with her situation by writing an article, criticizing the factory's work conditions. Meanwhile, Elena begins facing issues in her own marriage to Pietro Airota.

Finally, My Brilliant Friend season 4 covers the fourth novel in the Neapolitan Quartet, titled The Story of The Lost Child. This season and novel follows the collapse of Elena's marriage to Pietro and her subsequent affair with Nino. Another subplot unfolds Elena and Lila's conflict with the Solara family, who's bringing drugs into their neighborhood.

Eventually, the friendship between Elena and Lila ends after the former moves out of the neighborhood and settles down in Turin.

Back in the present day when Elena has learned about Lila's disappearance, she later receives a package that contains two dolls that she and Lila used to play with as children, hinting that Lila may be alive and well after all.

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Because of the decisive conclusion to the Neapolitan Quartet novels, My Brilliant Friend only needed four seasons to tell its story. The series is currently streaming on HBO Max.