Now that Mare of Easttown’s central mystery has been solved (that Ross family sure harbors a lot of secrets), devoted fans may feel a little like Jean Smart’s Fruit Ninja–addicted Helen. Just as Kate Winslet’s mother developed a voracious habit for the game, viewers are wondering how they’ll fill their Sunday nights without Delco accents and an Oscar winner vaping onscreen. Questions about a second season of the HBO drama have lingered, prompting Winslet and company to provide answers.
In a world where high-profile stars gravitate toward the limited-series structure for the finite contracts it affords, Mare’s leading lady is all in on reprising her role. “I would absolutely love to play Mare again,” Winslet told TVLine during a recent interview. “I miss her. I really do. It’s the strangest thing. I feel like I’m in mourning. It was an absolutely wonderful role.” She continued, “There’s something very addictive about Mare, because she’s so outrageous and lovable and brilliant and real, you know? I loved playing her.”
While Winslet is down to return, the team behind the series would need to concoct another twisty story line. “Kate and I, if we could crack a story that we were really proud of and felt like it was a deserving second chapter in Mare’s journey, then maybe,” Brad Ingelsby, the show’s writer and creator, told The Hollywood Reporter. “I haven’t cracked that yet; I don’t know what that is, honestly.” Still, he maintained that if a second season “honors the first chapter and does things an audience will appreciate, then maybe.”
Ingelsby expressed similar sentiments in an interview with Esquire, explaining that “it’s very much a closed story” at this point. A second season would only be in the cards if “we could make it great.” He added, “I wouldn’t do it just because you have a chance to do it. I would want to make sure that it was as rich and compelling as I hope this season has been.” Series director and executive producer Craig Zobel similarly told TVLine that while he “would be excited to see” the continuation of Mare Sheehan’s story, he’s also content with it as a miniseries. (TVLine reached out to HBO about whether or not Mare of Easttown season 2 is in the works.)
Despite misgivings about a second season, the popularity of Mare could propel it forward. After all, the much buzzed-about Big Little Lies earned a second installment, although many were left wondering why by the end of its seven-episode run. And it’s hard to imagine a more fitting ending to Mare of Easttown than that of a grief-stricken Mare ascending a ladder to the attic where her son Kevin hung himself. It’s a moment that Inglesby referred to as “a revelation” while on Vanity Fair’s “Still Watching” podcast. “When we got to the end, it felt like it became so obvious. Of course it has to end with Mare going up,” he explained. “This whole show is a woman who refuses to confront grief. So of course it has to end with her going up and doing this thing.”
Only time (and the powers that be at HBO) will tell if Mare’s murder-solving abilities, pretty-chill-after-all relationship with Guy Pearce, and complex familial dynamic will be explored in another season. Until then, see V.F.’s suggestions for which Hollywood star deserves her own female-led prestige limited series next.
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