Whats Next for the Cody Clan as Animal Kingdom Returns?
 &  2020 Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc. A WarnerMedia Company. All Rights Reserved. Animal Kingdom makes its Season 5 return to TNT Monday, July 11 at 9/8c. Spoilers are ahead, so if youre not caught up, stop reading, youve been forewarned. Killing off the main character is never an easy decision on any TV drama, but what a wallop it was when cancer-stricken mama queenpin Smurf Cody (Ellen Barkin) got taken out by her grandson J (Finn Cole). But we didnt have much time to grieve before we learned that she really stuck it to her boys by leaving her fortune to a mystery woman named Pamela Johnson. With only two seasons left to pick up those bombs and wrap up this story, we went directly to the source  Daniele Nathanson, one of the co-executive producers  for some answers. First, what an ending to Season 4  congrats  so many questions now. Smurfs death has really messed things up for the boys. Daniele Nathanson: What excites me most is exactly what you mentioned  what Smurfs death means for the guys. Shes the narcissistic sun theyve all been orbiting their entire lives. Her loss creates a black hole in the power dynamics of the family. We jump ahead around seven years. We wanted to focus on the relationship between Smurf, Andrew (before he was known as Pope) and Julia, and this felt the best age to do it. We wanted to spend some time showing what it was like growing up with Smurf as a mother. (Its both fun and scary.) In addition to exploring Smurfs relationship with the twins, the past story is about her moving into Oceanside and beginning to establish her crew (comprised of Manny and Jake) as a force to be reckoned with. Its the beginning of her rise as the Queen of Oceanside. Well check in with the past storyline about 20% of each episode. Theyre all struggling in their own way. Some of them may not even know it on a conscious level. That said, Pope and Smurf have always been the most entwined, and his feelings about her are extremely complicated. He hates her and he loves her. So Id say hes the one struggling with the loss most obviously. Her death will also make him question his own identity. All of the guys will be dealing with this question of identity in some way or another. Js looking to take charge for sure. The only problem is the other guys are as well, so its not going to be a smooth ride. They also cant just forget that J shot Smurf, even if she was begging for it. That was a major move and the rest of the guys have to come to terms with it one way or another.