The cast and crew of TNT’s family crime drama series have been back on set since earlier this month for the filming of “Animal Kingdom” season 4. This means the show will most likely premiere on a familiar schedule.
An Instagram post from cast member Ben Robson was one of the first confirmations fans got that “Animal Kingdom” season 4 is now in production. The 34-year-old actor who plays Craig Cody in the show shared a sneak peek on episode 1’s script but hid potential spoilers such as the episode title.
The show has gotten an early summer release dates for its first three seasons. So reports are estimating that starting the production this month would allow “Animal Kingdom” season 4 to premiere sometime in late May or until mid-June this year.
As for the plot in “Animal Kingdom” season 4, it is highly anticipated that the show would feature several flashback scenes. The viewers will get to see how the family “business” started and to do that fans a trip back to Janine “Smurf” Cody’s (Ellen Barkin) past is necessary.
The reported flashbacks on “Animal Kingdom” season 4 first came from TVLine when it was revealed that the show was looking for a “twenty-something actress.” The casting call details seemingly did not explicitly say the role was a young Smurf. But the same report noted the mystery character being described sounded very similar to Janine.
A following report from The Wrap confirmed that 26-year-old “Mortal Engines” actress Leila George is the newest addition to the “Animal Kingdom” season 4 cast. She will reportedly play a young Janine who, for some reason, does not expect to have a life beyond the age of 30.
The upcoming Smurf origin story in “Animal Kingdom” season 4 is quite exciting just by judging on the description of George’s role. The young Smurf that fans will be seeing is described as a street-smart young woman, a “nihilist,” and a “scrappy survivor.” She is described as a transient who are acquainted with “vets and surfers” who go from one place to another and steal stuff along the way to survive.