Misha Green Hints at the Possibility of 'Lovecraft Country' Season 2
There are new worlds to explore—quite literally—in the genre-hopping Lovecraft Country, the HBO series that brings supernatural horrors to Jim Crow America. With so much left to uncover and a season finale now behind us, fans are curious if showrunner Misha Green will diverge further from her source material, the 2016 novel by Matt Ruff, with a second season.
Let’s just say, the odds are looking good. The cast is enamored with the show (and one another). The producers, including J.J. Abrams and Jordan Peele, are invested. And while critical responses ranged from glowing to lukewarm, viewership is strong—according to The Hollywood Reporter, Lovecraft Country debuted to “Watchmen-like ratings,” a good sign given Watchmen’s critical success and recent Emmy wins. With all this in mind, here’s what we know about a Lovecraft Country Season 2.
There’s much more material to work with.
In early August, Green spoke with HBO about adapting the series. “We essentially used the book as a beautiful jumping-off point,” she said. “My strategy was to take all of its dope, cool stuff and write new dope, cool stuff." Of course, that's a reference to the moments where the first season went beyond the book. But could it mean a willingness to expand beyond a single season, too?
In addition, Ruff’s novel is a collection of eight different stories. Several have already been incorporated into the show in some way—hello, Book of Names—but others have yet to make an appearance, meaning there’s more to work with in future episodes.
In a post-finale interview with Green, Rolling Stone asked her thoughts on how the story might continue. "I feel like we’ve only touched on a tiny, minuscule portion of the genre space," she said. "There’s so much to explore."
The finale was a jaw-dropper.
Jurnee Smollett, who plays Letitia, recently appeared on Deadline’s New Hollywood Podcast to talk about the show, and she dropped a few juicy hints ahead of the first season's final episode.
“When I think about what Misha has done in 10 [episodes]—it’s wrong, actually,” she said, laughing. “It’s quite cruel. Where she’s taking everyone with your emotions, I apologize in advance.” When asked for one word to describe the finale, she said, “Shocking. It’s so unbelievable that [Green] went there.”
Sure, Green might be looking to end her run with Lovecraft Country on a high note, but the likelier possibility is she’s setting up an even bolder second season. That's how Smollett's interpreting it, anyway. “I mean, it would be so wrong to folks, the way episode 10 ends, to not do another season,” she told Deadline. “But listen, it’s not up to me. It’s up to the suits.”
Green has a vision for a second season, but she won't reveal much about it.
After the finale aired on October 19, Deadline chatted with Green about her feelings on continuing the series. "Nothing is official yet, but I envision a second season that carries on the spirit of Matt Ruff’s novel by continuing to reclaim the genre storytelling space that people of color have typically been left out of," she said.
In that interview with Rolling Stone, she let slip that she's "in talks with HBO. I just finished the finishing touches of season 1 three weeks ago. But I’m excited about exploring season 2 and what we have in mind."
She remained coy about dropping any further details. She acknowledged to Deadline that the major death at the end of the finale, "Full Circle," was "an emotional jolt in the writing," but she refused to answer if the deceased character would return next season.
Unfortunately, there's not much else we know yet.
Because HBO hasn’t made an official announcement about season 2 yet, we’re left in limbo, waiting to learn the fates of our favorite characters. There’s also no way to predict a release date for the next chapter; COVID-19 has made sure of that. But Lovecraft has a passionate following, a devoted cast, and a showrunner who's got the goods (and is already presenting them to HBO for consideration). It's safe to assume Lovecraft Country will likely live to scare another day.
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