Freeform has announced today that the original drama series The Fosters will be ending its five season run with a special three-episode event set to air in Summer 2018. Moreover, the network has given a straight-to-series order to a spinoff series starring Maia Mitchell and Cierra Ramirez.
The drama recently wrapped production on its fifth season, which will feature the two-hour 100th episode as the season finale. The new episodes start airing again on Tuesday, January 9. The drama will return for three episodes in the summer to properly end the series while setting up the spinoff.
The Fosters stars Teri Polo, Sherri Saum, Hayden Byerly, Noah Centineo, David Lambert, Maia Mitchell, Danny Nucci and Cierra Ramirez.
Bradley Bredeweg and Peter Paige created the drama. They executive produce with Jennifer Lopez, Joanna Johnson, Greg Gugliotta, Simon Fields, Benny Medina, John Ziffren and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas. Freeform Original Productions, Blazing Elm Entertainment and ProdCo Original produce.
In the untitled spinoff series, Callie (Mitchell) and Mariana (Ramirez) move out and move to a new city, Los Angeles. While living together, they take two very different paths and explore the different sides of the city - Mariana will be involved in the tech world while Callie will continue with social work.
Peter Paige, Bradley Bredeweg and Joanna Johnson are currently crafting the new series.
"The Fosters has been consistently groundbreaking and award-winning. It very much has helped define a brand that we want to continue and advance in platforming stories and characters that feel authentic and relevant to our audiences," said Karey Burke, Executive Vice President of Programming and Development, Freeform. "The show has never strayed from controversy, it's never strayed from important social topics. It helped first ABC Family and now Freeform not just be a part of this national conversation but lead it. It's really been an important bedrock for this channel and the future path that we're taking on today with shows like The Bold Type and Grown-ish, which premiers tonight. We're extremely proud of it and hope to continue its relevance with the new series."
"First and foremost, we want to thank our fans - our supporting 'Fosters Family' - and Freeform for fostering this show," said Paige, Bredeweg and Johnson. "It's been the privilege of our lives to get to shepherd this beautiful family through five seasons of love, laughter, heartbreak, tribulation and triumph - and message to the world that DNA doesn't make a family, love does. All while allowing us to explore some of the most pressing social issues of our era. Now that the kids are growing up, it's time to take them out into the world, to see them make their way into adulthood, continuing their search for identity and love, and the pursuit of their dreams and purpose in this ever-changing world."
