Some spoilers below.
Maple Brook, Texas, has a murder problem. In Netflix’s latest soapy mystery thriller The Hunting Wives, the Southern enclave becomes the scene of not one but multiple (four, by my count) homicides, each somehow connected to the titular gun-toting wives at its center. Most dominant amongst them is Margo (Malin Åkerman), wife of the oil tycoon and gubernatorial candidate Jed (Dermot Mulroney), with whom she shares an open marriage. That open door beckons in Sophie (Brittany Snow), who’s relocated from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Maple Brook with her husband, only to fall in with Margo and her MAGA-coded pack—and fall into a love affair with Margot herself. Eventually, the multiple affairs connecting these characters result in multiple deaths (who could have guessed!), setting the stage for a delicious finale cliffhanger…and the chance for a second season.
Here’s what we know so far.
Is The Hunting Wives based on a true story?
Mercifully, none of the people depicted in The Hunting Wives are real. But their story is adapted from a 2021 thriller novel by May Cobb, which is itself inspired by some of Cobb’s real-life experiences in Texas. As Åkerman recently told Town & Country, “[Cobb] was on set a lot, she’s an executive producer of the show, and the book is based on people that she has met—not necessarily the murders, though. But we had a lot of discussions, and talking to May about who she met and hearing her stories of these different women was informative for our characters.”
She also added that “[showrunner] Rebecca Cutter and May decided to swap a few things from the book so that fans are surprised as well.” All of which is to say: Whether or not you’ve read The Hunting Wives before tuning into the Netflix series, you’re in for a twisty ride.
Will there be a season 2 of The Hunting Wives?
Yes, The Hunting Wives has been renewed for a second season. The original cast is reportedly also set to reprise their roles.
“I’m so excited to write these amazing characters again,” Cutter told Tudum, “and I can’t wait to take the audience on another sexy, twisted, batshit crazy ride through Maple Brook.”
The cast and crew certainly wanted a second season. In a pre-release interview with Decider, Ackerman shared that she was nervous for the series to drop on Netflix largely because she wants it to continue. “I think the nerves come from, for me, really wanting this to go for a second season,” she said, adding, “because I love everybody that I got to work with and it would be a dream come true to go again. So my nerves are around the fact that I just want and wish for everyone to love it so much that we get another season.”
In a separate interview with Collider, Snow also expressed her enthusiasm for a sophomore chapter. “I think the end [of season 1] is really interesting, and I know that we would deal with it in season 2,” she said. “There are a lot of questions that didn’t get answered because Rebecca wants to answer them in the next season if we get one.”
Before the series was officially renewed, Cutter told TheWrap, “I’m feeling really hopeful about the idea of a season 2. There’s tons of story left to tell, so put me in, coach. I’m waiting.”
What will season 2 be about?
Here’s the official logline from Netflix:
At the start of Season 2, Sophie and Margo are on the outs. But soon enough, old secrets and new foes force them back together. As they play their dangerous games the question arises. Are they the hunters or the hunted?
Cutter has previously said that she plans to “do a little bit of a time jump—not a year, but a time” between seasons, she told Variety. She’s not yet sure what the ensuing story might look like, but one thing is for certain: Season 2 would center “the two engines of the show”: a “whodunit” and “the Margo/Sophie relationship.” Cutter continued, “The first thing I’m thinking about is, where are these two women at the start? Where are they at the end? What are the peaks and valleys of their individual power, of their relationship? So it’s tracking a course for that, and then figuring out what the crime engine is.”
As for the “crime engine” itself, expect another murder mystery. But don’t ask for any details yet! Cutter joked, “I don’t know whodunit yet or who got done!”
This story will be updated.
