Lucifer returns for season 6 on Netflix, which means the show may hit 100 episodes—a milestone for many Warner Brothers television series. Lucifer season 6 will need to extend beyond a ten-episode order to a total of seventeen to hit that mark. The upcoming season will be the last for the series.
Lucifer has run for five seasons, with the first half of season 5 currently available on Netflix. The show follows the devil, Lucifer (Tom Ellis), as he takes a break from Hell to enjoy a freewheeling life in modern-day Los Angeles by running a nightclub. He spends his spare time aiding police investigations, mostly due to romantic interest Chloe (Lauren German), while escaping the wrath of Dad, AKA God (season 5 addition Dennis Haysbert). The show initially aired on Fox in 2016 and ran for three seasons before being picked up by Netflix for an additional two seasons. Season 5 deals with Lucifer's twin brother Michael, who impersonates the devil while on earth.
Executive Producers Joe Henderson and Ildy Modrovich discussed the future for the series with Variety. The sixth and final season could allow the series to hit 100 episodes, long seen as the coveted milestone for television series to have a long afterlife in syndication. During the interview, Henderson and Modrovich were pressed about the possibility of filming seventeen episodes to make it to 100, to which Henderson replied, "We're not allowed to answer our episode order yet," and Modrovich added, “conversations have been had.” Henderson further elaborated that the 100 episode mark is something that parent company Warner Bros. takes “very seriously.”
Season 5 was initially only ten episodes, according to Henderson, when they were asked to expand to sixteen episodes, which Netflix decided to air in two parts. Being asked to write seventeen episodes, therefore, would not be as big a stretch. If hitting the 100th episode is truly important, the executive producers have been allowed to make it happen.
Henderson and Mordrovich also discussed the evolution of the show throughout the series arc, admitting that season 6 allows them to move the story, and characters, into more current topics, like the coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement's referendum on police reform. Since the show is a police procedural there is an unspoken responsibility of the show to address a growing national concern. Since the season needs to be longer to hit the coveted 100 mark anyway, adding in relevant real-world problems gives Lucifer plenty of material for the next installment.
More: Lucifer: How The Original Ending Will Impact Season 6
Source: Variety