Lucifer Star Tom Ellis Reaches Deal with Netflix for Season 6

Lucifer season 6 might just be the most “confirmed” season of television that hasn’t actually been officially confirmed yet. 

Deadline reported today that Netflix has closed a deal with Lucifer star Tom Ellis to appear in season 6 of the show, all but guaranteeing that the series will indeed be getting a sixth season. Netflix now has deals in place with the entire cast and executive producers/showrunners Ildy Modrovich and Joe Henderson. 

The news should be particularly joyous to Lucifer fans as it was previously reported that a contract dispute between Ellis and Netflix was the only thing holding up a Lucifer season 6 renewal. News broke back in April that Ellis had engaged Netflix in contract negotiations for a pay raise, despite already being contracted for a sixth season. At that point it seemed as though both parties were deeply dug in and there would be no hope of resolution. One source from TV Line even said ominously “Everyone wants Tom to be happy. But there’s a limit, and it’s been reached.”

Apparently that limit has been accommodated and Ellis is back on board, opening up a path for Lucifer season 6. The season was expected to go back into production in September of this year but that has since been complicated by the coronavirus outbreak. Lucifer season 5 still has yet to finish filming due to quarantine restrictions so it’s possible that season 6 will be delayed as well. Though it’s hard to delay something that hasn’t officially been announced yet. 

Lucifer was canceled in 2018 following four seasons at Fox. Fans then embarked on an ambitious and #SaveLucifer campaign online, eventually leading to Netflix picking up the show for fifth season. Now it looks like Lucifer will live beyond merely that fifth season pickup.

Lucifer was created by Tom Kapinos (Californication, Dawson’s Creek) and is an adaptation of the Lucifer Morningstar character from Neil Gaiman’s classic DC/Vertigo comic series, The Sandman. Like in the comics, the show’s title character is a swanky Los Angeles club owner and darkly romantic antihero.

Through four seasons, the series followed Lucifer as he decides to use his abilities to help LAPD Detective Chloe Decker (Lauren German) solve crimes. In latter seasons the show focused more on the Biblical implications of the King of Hell abandoning his post. 

Lucifer is just one of many comic book adaptations and genre efforts that Netflix has brought to its streams recently. The streaming giant has had success with comic book properties like The Umbrella Academy and is set to add more properties from DC/Vertigo, Millarworld, and Dark Horse in the coming years.