Ozark star Laura Linney reveals that she still hasn't watched the series finale of the hit Netflix show. Ozark, which was created by Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams, premiered on the streaming service in 2017 and concluded its four-season run on April 29. The series followed a suburban father who moves his family to Osage Beach, Missouri so he can expand his illicit money laundering operation. In addition to Linney, who is a three-time Oscar nominee, the cast includes Jason Bateman (who has also directed many episodes of the series), Sofia Hublitz, Skylar Gaertner, Jordana Spiro, Damian Young, and Inventing Anna star Julia Garner.
In the series, Linney plays Wendy, the wife of Bateman's character Marty Byrde. The character has taken on a lot of roles throughout her run on the series, moving from being a political operative to a real estate stager to a lobbyist operating on her husband's behalf as he attempts to build a casino in the resort town where they are now living. She eventually rose to the top of the ranks of the show's villainous characters, lying and cheating to get her way whenever possible. This is underscored by the sudden appearance of her father in Ozark season 4, a man who she clearly takes after.
During a conversation with Vulture, Linney discussed the Ozark season 4 finale. While she obviously knows what she filmed, she doesn't know exactly how the series ended because she hasn't watched it. She revealed that, in addition to having trouble watching herself onscreen, she is "particularly bad at watching things that I really loved doing." Read her full quote below:
I haven’t seen it. I don’t know what they chose. I’m very bad at watching myself and I’m particularly bad at watching things that I really loved doing, because it’s going to change the minute I see it. I really can’t comment on it.
It makes sense that Linney would have trouble saying goodbye to Wendy, considering what a juicy role it has been for the actress. It's been some time since her film career has offered her the opportunity to sink her teeth into a character this complicated. In addition to that, the 44 episodes of Ozark make this the longest she has ever played the same character, at least in terms of episode number (she played Mary Ann Singleton in the San Francisco drama Tales of the City over the course of 26 years, but only 24 episodes).
While Linney's stint on Ozark has come to an end, there is still one last awards season for her to get her due for playing the role of Wendy. The role has already earned her two previous Emmy nominations, in 2019 and 2020. However, she hasn't yet won for the role that put her back on the map in a major way, and it seems likely that the Emmys could swoop in and reward her this year before it's too late.
Source: Vulture