“Lucifer” found salvation with Netflix last spring when the streaming service ordered a fourth season of the show in June, one month after it had been canceled by Fox. Now that we’re close to a year out from the end of the fantasy drama’s third year, star Tom Ellis sat down with TheWrap to talk about the changes you will see when “Lucifer’s” 10-episode Season 4 launches Wednesday.
After all, the devil is sure to have the chance to be more devilish on a streaming service than when he’s confined by Standards and Practices departments that watch over broadcast television, isn’t he?
“Well, we had to be a bit careful, ’cause even though we’ve got new boundaries that we can work in, we didn’t want to change the show so much,” Ellis told TheWrap in the interview above. “Because I think one of the reasons the show really worked and had such a broad appeal to people was that it didn’t get vulgar, it didn’t push it too far in certain departments. That being said, we do sort of push it a little bit more than we were allowed to on Fox. For example, you may see a bit more flesh this year, certainly Lucifer’s, than you have in previous seasons. You may hear the odd word that you wouldn’t have heard before.”
“But the nice thing is, without going too far in certain moments where it felt like you wanted to say something, you actually were allowed to say it these days,” Ellis continued. “So that was nice. But the show ultimately is a pretty similar show to what we had on Fox. I mean, that’s what Netflix wanted and it seems to be what everyone fell in love with in the first place.”
Another thing Ellis thinks is nice about the jump to a streaming platform is that “Lucifer” will be available to fans all at once on Netflix, as opposed to the way it was broadcast week-to-week on Fox and aired on different channels and platforms around the globe.
“I think the fact that everyone is going to see it at the same time now is something I’m really excited about,” he said. “‘Cause when the show was on Fox, it started on Fox and then it slowly traveled around the world on various things and people weren’t always up to date with where we were at on Fox. So now there’s been this big hiatus before Season 4, it gives everyone an opportunity to catch up. And then we can all watch it together, which is going to be fun hopefully, and nerve-wracking.”
Watch the full video above to hear where everyone else is at the start of Season 4 and check out the first part of our interview with Ellis here to find out what’s up with Lucifer and Chloe specifically. And be sure to check back with TheWrap Wednesday and Thursday for more “Lucifer” coverage leading up to the fourth season premiere.
“Lucifer” Season 4 launches May 8 on Netflix.