'Ripper Street' Gets Ready To Say Goodbye

The Season 4 finale of Ripper Street airs Thursday night, and it looks like it's going to be one of the darkest conclusions to an installment of this BBC America period crime drama yet. With a new serial killer on the loose in Whitechapel, corruption in Scotland Yard, and Jackson (Adam Rothenberg) and Susan (MyAnne Buring) preparing to go on the run, it should be quite the action-packed hour of television that's sure to leave you wanting more. So by the time the end credits start to roll, you'll probably wonder to yourself, when does Ripper Street return for Season 5?

The good news is we already know that there will be a fifth season of Ripper Street. The bad news is it will probably be the series' last. Amazon Prime U.K. announced in March that Ripper Street will end after the upcoming Season 5, according to Variety. This actually technically isn't the first time the series has faced the end of the road. Ripper Street originally aired in the U.K. on BBC before it was announced that the series would not be returning after two seasons on the network, as reported by Deadline in December 2013. Season 4 of Ripper Street is also currently airing on BBC Two in the U.K.

However, some members of Ripper Street's cast and creative team, such as executive producer Will Gould and Matthew Lewis, who portrays Sergeant Samuel Drummond on the show, say the series wasn't canceled; the story is supposed to end in Season 5, according to BBCNewsbeat.

Though there's always the possibility that another network or streaming platform could save Ripper Street once again, stars Rothenberg and Buring seemed convinced that Season 5 of the series would be its last during an interview with Digital Spy in January. "Maybe we're not mean to say it, but yes, as far as we're concerned, this is it," Buring said. "This is the final storyline, delivered."

All four of Ripper Street's seasons so far have aired on BBC America in the U.S. BBC America has not yet formally announced that it will be airing Season 5 of Ripper Street, but the network might as well at this point, am I right? That would be such a letdown for fans that have followed all four seasons of the show up to this point. But then again, the fact that the Season 4 finale of Ripper Street will be airing in the not-so-primetime time slot of 6 p.m. ET on BBC America on Thursday doesn't exactly inspire optimism surrounding the possibility of Ripper Street's return to the network.

Whether or not Season 5 is really the end of Ripper Street, fans should get excited for its return because it sounds like the series is going out with a bang. In its initial report of the end of the series, Variety also provided some information on what fans can expect from Ripper Street's fifth and final season:

"In the final season, writer Richard Warlow shows how, as the Victorian age comes to a close, the police officers of H Division attempt to maintain law and order on the streets of Whitechapel. Joseph Mawle (“In the Heart of the Sea”) rejoins the series as the feared Detective Inspector Jedediah Shine, intent on a mission of revenge after last being seen in the season two finale when Inspector Reid (Matthew Macfadyen, “The Enfield Haunting”) plotted with Drake (Jerome Flynn, “Game of Thrones”) to take Shine’s life."

Gould also gave a sneak peek of the final season on Twitter.

Lewis teased that the final season is "gonna be a belter," whatever that means.

Since it sounds like filming on Season 5 of Ripper Street has already wrapped, we'll hopefully hear more about what else will go down during its last chapter in the coming months. But when will Season 5 of Ripper Street premiere? That information has unfortunately not been officially released yet, and it's a bit tricky to figure out when a new season of the series will bow since its first four seasons have debuted on BBC America at all different times of the year (Season 1 in January 2013, Season 2 in February 2014, Season 3 in April 2015, and Season 4 in July 2016, according to TV Guide).

But no matter when Season 5 of Ripper Street comes to a TV near you, do you really think you'll be ready for the series to end? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Image: Tiger Aspect