Mare of Easttown: This News Out of HBO Does Not Bode Well for Season 2

If you were holding your breath in anticipation of a potential second season of Mare of Easttown you should, um, stop doing that.

HBO announced Thursday that it has ordered a new limited series from Easttown creator Brad Ingelsby that features neither Kate Winslet nor, presumably, a Wawa. The new project in question — which remains untitled — instead stars Mark Ruffalo and centers on a task force of law enforcement officers and the criminals they are trying to apprehend.

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Per HBO, casting decisions were made prior to the current writers’ strike, and “no further development has occurred since the strike began.” As a result, there is no timetable for the start of production.

Although it was initially billed as a limited series when it debuted in 2021, Mare of Easttown‘s critical and commercial success — not to mention its four Emmys — opened the door to a possible Season 2.

“If we can crack a story that is as great [as Season 1] and that would do justice to the characters and carry on the story in a way that was organic and yet surprising, I would love to do it,” Ingelsby previously told TVLine. “I just don’t know what the story is. That’s the issue right now.

“We gave Mare such a personal arc where she had to confront this loss in her life, and we would have to construct another emotional arc that was able to compete with [that],” the EP continued. “And I’m also acutely aware of the dangers of doing a Season 2 just because you have the [opportunity] to do it. I would only want to do it if we were convinced we had something great.”

Winslet similarly told TVLine that she “would absolutely love to play Mare again,” adding, “I miss her. I really do. It’s the strangest thing. I feel like I’m in mourning. It was an absolutely wonderful role… There’s something very addictive about Mare, because she’s so outrageous and lovable and brilliant and real, you know? I loved playing her.”

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