*“P-Valley” is taking its final spin around the pole. STARZ has confirmed that the acclaimed drama will end with its third season, premiering with two episodes Friday, Dec. 4 — and creator Katori Hall says bringing the story to a close now was her decision.
Hall, who serves as showrunner and executive producer, directed both premiere episodes. New installments of the nine-episode final season will then stream weekly on Fridays. STARZ has released the first teaser, offering fans their long-awaited return to The Pynk.
For Hall, however, Season 3 represents much more than another trip to fictional Chucalissa, Mississippi. In a letter accompanying the announcement, the Pulitzer Prize winner revealed that she’s ready to end a creative journey that began nearly two decades ago.
Katori Hall Chooses Her Ending
“There comes a moment when every stripper must hang up her heels,” Hall wrote, per the news release. “Seventeen years into this dance, that time has come.”
Hall began developing the story in 2009, conducting research with more than 40 dancers before creating the stage play “Pussy Valley.” The work eventually became “P-Valley,” which premiered on STARZ in 2020.
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EURweb spoke with Hall about her research and vision during that first season, when she explained that she had visited clubs around the country and interviewed roughly 40 women over six years.
Now Hall has the opportunity to determine how the television story ends.
“The rarest honor a showrunner can have in today’s industry is to end a series on her own terms,” she wrote. “This is why I chose to say goodbye with grace, grit and glitter, lowering the curtain on P-VALLEY at Season 3 with a farewell y’all truly deserve.”
Hall Reflects on Who Got Seen
Hall also used her farewell to acknowledge what getting “P-Valley” on television meant for performers and stories that historically struggled for space on mainstream TV.
“I am grateful to the folks at STARZ, past and present, for greenlighting this series and giving a platform to so much amazing Black, queer, and femme talent,” she wrote. “STARZ was the one network who said yes to this story—but sometimes one yes is all you need.”
STARZ President of Original Programming Kathryn Busby praised Hall and the cast and crew for building the world of Chucalissa, describing the show’s storytelling as bold, provocative and inclusive.
The series has also been a significant performer for the network. According to STARZ, “P-Valley” is its best-performing current original, with Season 2 averaging 11.6 million multiplatform viewers across linear television, VOD and streaming. The network says viewers have watched more than 236 million hours of the series since its 2020 debut.
One Last Hustle at The Pynk
Season 3 introduces another force capable of changing Chucalissa: the newly opened Promised Land Casino.
At The Pynk, Uncle Clifford, played by Nicco Annan, sets her sights on expanding what she has built, while Roulette, played by Gail Bean, pursues an empire of her own. Lil’ Murda’s gang connections threaten his future, while Keyshawn continues fighting to break free from the circumstances that have trapped her.
The teaser also features Lil’ Murda’s new song “Homegrown,” featuring FendiDaRappa, which STARZ says will be released on streaming platforms.
Brandee Evans returns as Mercedes, Shannon Thornton as Keyshawn, and J. Alphonse Nicholson as Lil’ Murda. Harriett D. Foy, Psalms Salazar, Morocco Omari and Loretta Devine are also among the returning ensemble.
Hall previously spoke exclusively with EURweb about changing her original plans for Season 2 as the world around the production changed. This time, she’s making perhaps the biggest creative decision of all: deciding when The Pynk turns out its lights.
Hall isn’t framing that moment as a defeat. She wants the Pynk Posse to celebrate what the show accomplished and what its characters represented.
“Endings often come with tears,” she wrote, before invoking one last Uncle Clifford rule: “No cryin’ at the Pynk.”
Watch the “P-Valley” Season 3 teaser trailer below.
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