HBO
One of the best crime miniseries on HBO over the course of the last decade is Mare of Easttown, the murder mystery starring Kate Winslet, investigating a case that hits close to home. I think most people would be surprised to even be reading “Mare of Easttown season 2’ in that headline, given that I don’t think anyone really thought this was a series that was meant to continue after its 2021 airing.
But there’s some surprising news on that front. Mare on Easttown is likely coming back, and Kate Winslet has told Deadline there is a “strong likelihood” of the show shooting in 2027, which would probably end in a 2028 release date, about seven years after the original aired.
Supposedly, there have been “on and off” conversations over the years about continuing the show, but Winslet’s comments indicate that yes, it’s probably happening, if she’s already talking about when shooting would start. She says it was designed as a one-off series, but conversations brought it back to life. This is after she had previously declared that it was officially over unless it was “too bloody good to resist.” Well, here we are.
HBO
Since 2021, Winslet has appeared in projects like two Avatar movies and The Regime. Returning to Mare of Easttown would certainly be her highest-profile TV role since the original season. Most recently, creator Brad Ingelsby was behind the highly praised Task, starring Mark Ruffalo, which just ended its limited series (probably?) run on HBO. Director Craig Zobel most recently did three episodes of HBO’s The Penguin. So yeah, they haven’t lost a step, it seems.
Mare of Easttown received rave reviews with a 95% critic score and 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with Winslet’s performance lauded, along with co-star Evan Peters. Peter would not return, though it’s unclear if other characters could be like the ones played by Julianne Nicholson or Jean Smart (now currently winning Emmys for HBO’s Hacks).
I don’t think this is one show you can criticize for a long gap between seasons (seven years) because it was never supposed to be two seasons in the first place. This reminds me of what ended up happening with True Detective season 4’s return, or more recently, Tom Hiddleston’s The Night Manager, which is returning after a literal 10-year break.
I have faith that, between Winslet, Ingelsby, and Zobel, should they all return, a second season of Mare of Easttown would be great. But hopefully, we can firm up some of the details Winslet is talking about here.
