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Decider Lists
There is nothing quite like being left on a ledge after a spectacular first season of television, waiting for the second. It’s a mix of anticipation, excitement, but also a dash of dread. Once a show has been airing for several seasons, you begin to know what to expect; you know the general level of quality you’re getting. But waiting for a second season means you’re waiting to see if season 1 was more than just a highly entertaining flash in the pan. High expectations must be met in season 2, and you frankly never know whether you’re dealing with a Battlestar Galactica (whose second season turned a good show into a great one) or a True Detective (womp-womp, Ray Velcoro).
Add to all that anxiety the fact that, of the eight TV shows we’ve profiled below, at least four of them could have ended fully after season 1, and two of those shows — Big Little Lies and The OA, looking at you — were such perfect, powerful endings that continuing anyway seems wrong. And yet … we loved these first seasons so much! How can we stay away?
'Big Little Lies'
Network/Platform: HBO
When It’s Returning: TBA, though Nicole Kidman mentioned to Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper on CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage that they’re looking at June
What Do We Know? We know that Bonnie (Zoe Kravitz) killed Perry (Alexander Skarsgard) at the end of season 1, and we know that the novel upon which the series is based ended there. But as the first season closed, the police investigator played by Alias alum Merrin Dungey was suspiciously eyeing the newly bonded sorority of women — Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Celeste (Nicole Kidman), Jane (Shailene Woodley), Renata (Laura Dern), and Bonnie — in their beach sweaters, wondering how they got away with it. One imagines the police investigation descends in season 2, and that — biggest news of all — cast addition Meryl Streep (playing Perry’s Mom) will play a part in unraveling all those secrets and lies.
'Killing Eve'
Network/Platform: BBC America
When It’s Returning: Sunday, April 7
What Do We Know? Season 2 picks up “exactly 36 seconds” after we left things last year, when Sandra Oh’s MI5 analyst Eve Polastri stabbed serial assassin Villanelle in the gut and Villanelle was still able to escape.
'Mindhunter'
Network/Platform: Netflix
When It’s Returning: TBA, but season 1 was an October release
What Do We Know? Season 1 of Netflix’s acclaimed criminal-profiler drama saw Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, and Anna Torv establishing the FBI’s first profiling program. While seeds were planted in season 1 of a long-lead BTK Killer storyline, the word on season 2 is that it will focus on the Atlanta child murders from 1979-81, though the Son of Sam is on the table as well, and Justified star Damon Herriman has been cast as Charles Manson (the same role he’ll be playing in the new Quentin Tarantino movie). It’s also been reported that the second season will number eight episodes, down from season 1’s ten.
'Pose'
Network/Platform: FX
When It’s Returning: TBA, but season 1 aired in June
What Do We Know? Season 2 of Pose will reportedly jump ahead one year, to 1989, and the season will culminate with Madonna’s release of “Vogue” in 1990. We also know that Sandra Bernhard will reprise her season 1 role as Nurse Judy, having been bumped up to series regular status. Which makes sense given that both Blanca and PrayTell have been diagnosed as HIV-positive, so the HIV/AIDS clinic will be a significant facet of the season.
'Succession'
Network/Platform: HBO
When It’s Returning: TBA, but season 1 premiered in June (and HBO is more faithful than most to keeping shows at the same time of year)
What Do We Know? HBO’s unlikely crowd-pleaser about the dysfunctionally acidic Roy family and their media empire will be back in 2019, and one imagines Kendall leaving a cater waiter to die after they crashed into a lake will hang over his head for much of the season, not to mention Shiv and Tom’s loveless marriage and the fact that long-term control of the company is still very much undecided. Should be a fun season!
'Good Girls'
Network/Platform: NBC
When It’s Returning: March 3
What Do We Know? The series follows a trio of suburban moms (Christina Hendricks, Retta, Mae Whitman) as they turn to robbery to make ends meet. Season 1 ended on a cliffhanger as Beth (Hendricks) was given the choice to shoot her rotten husband (Matthew Lillard) or the hardened criminal Rio (Manny Montana).
'Homecoming'
Network/Platform: Amazon
When It’s Returning: TBA, though season 1 premiered in November
What Do We Know? Amazon signed on for two seasons of Homecoming right off the bat, so there was no speculation as to whether the show would be back or not. As to what Julia Roberts’s Heidi and Stephan James’ Walter will be doing when the show does come back, that’s a question. The end of season 1 took the characters to the endpoint of their counterparts in the two-season podcast series that the show is based on. Heidi found Walter in the end, so what comes next? The more intriguingly open-ended storyline involves Bobby Cannavale’s Colin Belfast and the shadowy Geist Group for whom he works. This likely means an increased presence for Colin’s new boss Audrey, played by the excellent Hong Chau.
'The OA'
Network/Platform: Netflix
When It’s Returning: TBA
What Do We Know? It’s been over two years since Brit Marling’s Original Angel went into a white light in the back of that ambulance after the thwarted school shooting that ended the season. After a brief moment of darkness, she wakes up (in the afterlife? somewhere else?) and appears to recognize her beloved Homer (Emory Cohen). And while that would have made for a fantastically ambiguous ending, Netflix, Marling, and co-producer Zal Batmanglij decided to come back for more. What that “more” entails is being kept most secret, as is the season’s premiere date, but according to a recent Instagram post, they’re in the process of sound mixing, so … soon? The first season was a December release, which, if repeated this year, would make for a three-year gap between seasons.
