The Hunting Wives has been one of the most popular shows of the summer on Netflix! The hit thriller based on May Cobb's book of the same name premiered on Netflix on July 21, and it's been in the Netflix Top 10 ever since.
Now, there's a lot to talk about regarding The Hunting Wives season 1 ending. The central mystery of the series has been: Who killed Abby? There have been lots of suspects, including Sophie O'Neil, Pastor Pete, Jill, and even Brad, but the killer isn't revealed until the very end of the season.
So, let's get into it!
Margo actually killed Abby
Despite having a rock-solid alibi from the beginning of the investigation, Margo (Malin Akerman) is actually the person who killed Abby (Madison Wolfe), and Sophie (Brittany Snow) figured it out. You see, Margo told everyone she was dealing with a family emergency. Her brother, Kyle (Michael Aaron Milligan), overdosed and was treated by a doctor a few towns away. The doctor, whom Sophie visited when she started having suspicions, confirmed that Margo was there.
None of that was true!
As it turns out, Margo, after years of trying to get pregnant with Jed (Dermot Mulroney), actually gets pregnant with Brad (George Ferrier). Sophie figures out that Margo's father is the doctor who allegedly treated Kyle and confirmed Margo's alibi. He is also the one who prescribes Margo the abortion medication to keep it covered up during Jed's campaign.
Abby tried to confront Margo about the affair. Margo panics, grabs Sophie's gun, and kills Abby in the woods. Then, she had Kyle come and move the body away from the cabin.
Later, Sophie puts the pieces together and confronts Margo about everything at a party, which leads to Jed questioning Margo. She reveals that she got pregnant and had an abortion, and that she killed Abby when Abby tried to expose her relationship with Brad and the abortion. Margo gets kicked out of the house, and she goes to stay with her brother.
So, that's how it went down. Margo killed Abby to keep her secret that, now, at least five people know about, and it's looking like more people are going to find out soon.
How The Hunting Wives sets up season 2
Even though Margo specifically asks him not to, Kyle gets involved and tries to threaten Sophie, who is having her own mental break after admitting to her husband, Graham (Evan Jonigkeit), that she had an affair with Margo. Sophie is drinking and driving when Kyle confronts her. Sophie runs over Kyle in her Tesla, killing him.
Sophie drags Kyle's body from the road to a nearby lake and throws his body in the water. But, right before that, Margo calls Kyle's phone, which Sophie accidentally answers because it's a flip phone. Margo hears Sophie breathing, and while she doesn't say anything, it seems like Margo knows it is Sophie. That was my read on the situation anyway!
So, we now have a good, old-fashioned stalemate on our hands. Sophie, who was just spotted driving away with a bunch of booze, killed Kyle and disposed of his body. She can claim self-defense all she wants, but it looks like murder. And, it looks like Margo knows it was her. Then, on the other side, Margo has done several crimes, including murder, and Sophie knows what happened. I don't think either of them can turn the other one in without also incriminating themselves.
How will Margo react to her brother's death at Sophie's hand? Will Sophie's husband return from Boston? Will they stay together? Will he keep working with Jed's campaign? Surely, Jed and Margo will get back together. You can't get divorced in the middle of a campaign like this and win.
Will The Hunting Wives be renewed for season 2?
If you thought that ending was confusing, wait until you learn about The Hunting Wives' renewal situation!
So, first of all, The Hunting Wives is a massive hit on Netflix! It's racked up more than 11 million views in its first two weeks on Netflix, but that's just in the US. It's not a Netflix original series, so it's not available on Netflix globally. Instead, Netflix is licensing the first season after the Lionsgate series was originally supposed to premiere on Starz.
That's where things get complicated.
With a hit this big, Netflix will definitely be interested in getting involved for season 2, as they've done in the past for other shows that they've licensed. The issue is that Lionsgate has already licensed the show abroad, as well. I don't know if Netflix would be interested in taking on the risk of a season 2 without reaping the rewards of a global release, so that's the dilemma, among other things, like contracts, the story, the season 2 timeline, how quickly it can be made, etc.
Deadline reported there are cast options for additional seasons, so that part of it appears to be possible.
We just haven't seen many deals like this with Netflix, so it's going to be really interesting to see just how badly Netflix and Lionsgate want to make this deal work. We should learn more soon, especially because The Hunting Wives is still a big hit on Netflix!
Stay tuned for more news about the future of the series!