Mare of Easttown: What’s standing in the way of a renewal?

Despite receiving critical acclaim, breaking rating records, and being the talk of social media throughout the entirety of its first season, Mare of Easttown still hasn’t been officially renewed by HBO. What’s preventing the hit series from getting a sophomore season?

Well, there are a few contributing factors. For starters, Mare of Easttown was originally billed as a limited series. With several A-list stars attached (Kate Winslet, Evan Peters, Jean Smart, etc.) it’s easy to see why the show wouldn’t intend to have several seasons mapped out ahead of time. The odds of having Winslet available for five seasons just doesn’t seem likely. Think of how long it took to get Big Little Lies Season 2 worked out!

However, since the show has ended its first season, creator Brad Ingelsby and Winslet have both voiced their hope that the show could continue. Winslet has said she loved playing Mare and misses playing her.

Why hasn’t Mare of Easttown been renewed for Season 2 yet?

But now, based on new intel from TVLine, we have more information regarding the reason behind the delay. In short, Ingelsby doesn’t have an idea for where the story could go next. He doesn’t want to rush into a second season and make more episodes just for the sake of making more episodes.

“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. I just don’t know what the story is. That’s the issue right now,” said Ingelsby.

While that might be disappointing to fans to hear, I’d rather Mare of Easttown end on a strong note like the recent finale that gets dragged out for another season that isn’t nearly as good as the first. Sometimes one-and-done or less is more, is the preferable option.

In this day and age, miniseries are so rare. If a show does well, TV executives almost always try to milk it dry. There’s nothing wrong with creating a clear, open and shut story that has a beginning, middle, and end so it doesn’t lose quality the longer it airs.

“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]. 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,” the show creator continued.

Mare of Easttown is available to revisit on HBO Max.