The Hunting Wives became a hit show after premiering on Netflix — but can it be renewed for season 2 after being acquired from Starz?
Based on May Cobb’s book of the same name, The Hunting Wives introduced Sophie (Brittany Snow), who moved from Boston to an East Texas town where she found herself drawn to prominent socialite Margo (Malin Åkerman). While some became invested in the murder at the center of the series, The Hunting Wives went viral for the accents, guns, drinking and steamy onscreen hookups.
The demand for season 2 picked up as soon as the show debuted in July. But there was also the question of whether Netflix could bring The Hunting Wives back after it was originally developed and produced for Starz. The network and Lionsgate Television ultimately went their separate ways and Lionsgate acquired the rights back to The Hunting Wives.
According to Deadline, Netflix does have the ability to bring The Hunting Wives back for more episodes. The streaming service has exclusive licensing rights in the U.S. for a year and the cast can opt in for new seasons.
Creator Rebecca Cutter previously teased plans for a second season. In a July interview with Variety, Cutter teased “a little bit of a time jump — not a year, but a time.” She also hinted that “it would be smart” to have a new murder mystery in the next season, adding, “I don’t know whodunit yet or who got done!”
Author Cobb also showed support for a continuation. “I feel like there is so much more story to be told,” Cobb told CBS 19 in July. “It ends on a cliffhanger, and also, the cast and crew were so wonderful. We all just want to get back together and work together again.”
Speaking of the cast, Snow, 39, has teased what she is hoping would get explored for Sophie — especially after she killed someone before season 1 was over.
“I think that that’s something that she probably hasn’t even wrestled with within herself, as far as why she’s comfortable keeping herself in that box and also keeping secrets from herself. That’s a dark night of the soul situation that we would only be seeing in season 2,” Snow teased to Collider in July. “I don’t know how she’s going to get there. Therapy? Maybe a really good therapist and a lot of time.”
Snow was curious how Sophie would dig herself out of the situation, adding, “The thing that I love about the character of Sophie, and I feel like what I loved about reading all eight scripts, was that Sophie ends up, at the end of episode eight, exactly where she was probably in the flashback before we even see her. She’s had this full circle transformation of finding herself again, and yet here we are. Her true self is a mess.”
She continued: “She’s been holding it so tightly and she’s been so tightly wound, but then, at the end, you see that she can’t hold it together anymore. She’s actually falling apart. She’s got an instinct in her that is really, really messy. She’s more like Margo than she’s not. What I really loved about the character is that she comes back to herself, and she is not a good person.”
The Hunting Wives is currently streaming on Netflix.
