Yahoo News Dead to Me season 2: Release date, cast and everything you need to know
Note: Contains spoilers for Dead to Me.
Dead to Me's 10-episode first season instantly became a huge hit with viewers, so much so that writer Liz Feldman has confirmed that it will be returning for a second season.
"I grew up with The Facts of Life, Family Ties, and The Show About The Huxtables That Shall Remain Nameless," she told Thrillist. "I always wanted to work in multi-cam, as a joke writer, but then, once I was in year seven or eight of that, I wanted to tell more serialised stories that could have depth and didn't rely on laugh tracks.
"What you're watching in Dead To Me is very much through my lens – how I approach life. I'm a comedian, so my way of handling grief and loss is to feel it and go through it, but also to find the moments that are funny. Inevitably, there's something funny in almost every dark thing. If you can find a way to laugh at it, we all know that that helps. It's my coping mechanism."
Feldman hopes to keep the show going for as long as possible. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, she said: "It would be the pleasure and honor of my life to do this show for as many seasons as makes sense. I would do this show forever if I could."
One of the reasons the show has such a loyal following is that it's so personal.
"The show, in its conversation about death, came from a very real and personal place for me. Maybe because I’m a comedy person, I can’t help but look at things that are incredibly dark and find the quirky, weird, funny details about them - or experiences you have through them. For me, the only parameter there was was that it had to be respectfully authentic.
"For example, there’s a grief counselor in the show and his matter-of-fact tone is based on a grief counselor that I had a conversation with when doing research for the show, who told me about this incredibly horrific thing that had happened in his family, but he said it like he was just taking his son to a baseball game."
"It was so dark that I was trying not to laugh, but I think that’s often how we deal with things that are uncomfortable: in that slightly sophomoric way of laughter. "
Here's everything you need to know about Dead to Me season two.
Dead to Me season 2 release date: When will Dead to Me season 2 air?
While season two has been given the green light, its release date isn't yet on the table. However, with a bit of sleuthing, it's possible to predict when the show's sophomore season could drop.
Season one arrived on Netflix in early May, just over a year after the project was first announced. If the production schedule for season two had followed a similar pattern, then filming would have started in the autumn of 2019, which would lead to the show's return around late spring 2020. Shooting wrapped in December 2019, so that's on target.
Of course, that's still all conjecture at this point, as but watch this space for updates.
Dead to Me season 2 cast: Who's returning to Dead to Me season 2?
Both Jen (Christina Applegate) and Judy (Linda Cardellini) will be returning as the leads.
The pair meet at the Friends of Heaven support group following the sudden deaths of their partners, and the show centres around their relationship which, like the best of 'em, has its ups and downs, the biggest being: it was seemingly Judy who killed Jen's husband Ted in the hit-and-run.
Other regulars include Max Jenkins as Christopher, Jen's real estate business partner, Luke Roessler as Jen's youngest son Henry, Sam McCarthy as Charlie, Jen's teenage son, Ed Asner as Abe, a resident at the assisted living facility where Judy works, and cop Nick (Brandon Scott).
There's also police detective Ana Perez (Diana Maria Riva), who is heading up the investigation into the death of Jen's husband, Karen (Suzy Nakamura), Jen's overbearing neighbour, Pastor Wayne (Keong Sim), and Haley Sims as Kayley.
One person who won't be returning, however, is James Marsden as Steve. His dead body is found floating in a swimming pool.
There's also a chance that some new faces could be thrown into the mix, too.
One of those new faces will be Natalie Morales, who you may very well recognise from shows like Parks and Recreation, Santa Clarita Diet, and Grace and Frankie.
Morales will appear in the recurring role of Michelle. The character is described as being wry and down to earth, with a relaxed charm and infectious wit. She'll form a connection with Judy (Linda Cardellini) at the Assisted Living Facility, where Michelle's difficult mother lives.
Dead to Me season 2 plot: What will happen in Dead to Me season 2?
Loyal viewers will already know that season one ended on a huge cliffhanger, which led us to believe that Jen shot her ex-fiancé Steve. However, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, creator Liz Feldman hinted that the end of season one "is not exactly what you think".
"I'll just say that you don’t know that she shot him," creator and showrunner Liz Feldman said, hinting there may be more to that final scene than meets the eye. "Netflix will have to order a season two for us all to find out [luckily, they did!]. Just like the rest of the show, it’s not exactly what you think it’s going to be."
Discussing season two in more detail, Feldman explained that "there's an evening of the score and there's a rebalancing that will take place and almost, in some ways, a role reversal".
In a separate interview with Entertainment Weekly, Feldman confirmed that the relationship between Jen and Judy will take some interesting new turns in season two.
"It will be about the further exploration of this friendship, and relationship, and now very complicated dynamic, or even more complicated dynamic between these two women," Feldman said.
"What I wanted to do was create a situation where they're forced together, and they need each other now in some ways more than they did at the beginning of season one."
"This show will always be a show that explores the dark sides and the light sides of grief, loss, forgiveness and friendship. So suffice to say, there will be more darkness," she adds.
Feldman had a second season arc in mind early on, but that original conception may have shifted.
"I did pitch a second season arc," she said. "A shape of how it would start and end – but that changed based on how the first season ended, which changed as we went on. It was Abe Sylvia, who’s my most incredible co-EP, who said, ‘What if this happened?’ And my first instinct was, ‘That’s f**king – what!? Yeah!’ Why would you hire a room full of talented people if you’re not going to listen to them or be able to adapt? I come from the world of improv [where] the No. 1 rule is ‘Yes, and -’ So if somebody comes to you with a good idea, I’m not going to go, ‘No’; I’m going to explore it."
Dead to Me season 2 trailer: When can I watch Dead to Me season 2?
Not just yet, ladies and gents.
But we'll be sure to update this page when there are any developments, so bookmark this page for all the latest Dead to Me season two news, scoops and exclusives.
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