Sweet Magnolias Season 4: Bill Townsend's Death, Explained

glamour.com:

Sweet Magnolias showrunner Sheryl Anderson told Glamour that would feature “huge twists and turns and surprises within every episode,” she wasn't overstating things.

Nearly every one of the 10 episodes in the new season (which dropped on Thursday, February 6) features a shocking development, but episode 402—titled “Practical Dreams”—delivered the most stunning one of all: Bill Townsend (played by Chris Klein) has died.The news comes in the form of Bill's sharp-tongued mother, Bonnie Townsend, who shows up on her former daughter-in-law's doorstep and says, “It’s Bill.

He’s dead."Judith Ivey (best known for Designing Women, Will & Grace, and more) plays the formidable matriarch to such delightful perfection that reverberates throughout the entire season, even after she returns to Texas with her husband, Tripp, and Bill's girlfriend, Kathy.

Bill's death—from a heart attack—injects a sense of urgency into all the characters on the show, who quickly realize just how precious time is.Judith Ivey as Bonnie and JoAnna Garcia Swisher as Maddie Townsend in episode 405.While some supporting characters are written off the canvas so an actor can pursue other roles, Anderson says that wasn't the case here; Bill's death was purely storyline dictated.