Believe it or not, the second season of Fox's Murder in a Small Town is already coming to an end in the 2025 TV schedule. After the penultimate episode wrapped up Mayor Holman's story and took Cassandra on an unsettling blast from the past, the Season 2 finale will focus back on the murder of her friend 25 years ago. Meanwhile, Karl is set to take a big romantic risk with plans to propose to Cassandra, and showrunner Ian Weir opened up about plans for Season 3 after Karl pops the question.
That is, assuming that Karl pops the question! The promo hypes the chief of police bringing up marriage to his lady love at some point in the finale, but these two don't always have the best timing even when they have big plans. Called "Nightshade," the final episode will feature Karl and the rest of the police investigating the murder of a man at the bottom of a staircase, discovering a connection to other murders.
Ian Weir previously described bringing back the mystery of Cassandra's murdered friend as getting to "shoot off all the fireworks" for the finale, with the librarian-turned-local politician unable to stay out of the case despite Karl's warnings. In fact, based on the promo, Cassandra may even be teaming up with Holly, who remains the only person who knows about the engagement ring that her dad has stashed in his sock drawer.
Whether the proposal goes off without a hitch or not, it's a very big step for a couple that hasn't actually been together too long. So, how serious is he about asking Cassandra to marry him after cluing Holly in? The showrunner shared:
Karl has known from the first date with Cassandra way back in Episode 1. He's known that she is the one. I think it's taken a long time to get to a point where it would become possible to ask the question, [but] Karl is absolutely serious about this. He also knows the risk that's that he's taking to tiptoe up to that question. Once the question is out of your mouth, there's no taking it back. And if the other person looks to you and says, 'You must be crazy,' where do you go from there? But by the time we get to 210, Karl's willing to take that huge step, even if at the risk of getting an answer that he doesn't want to hear.
We've seen Karl take many risks with his own life over the two seasons so far, but proposing to Cassandra would be a risk of the heart in a whole different way. If he does get to ask her, as the promo suggests, then there's no going back. Could the timing finally be right for the both of them, after a season of Cassandra being much more involved in A plots beyond all those murders in the small town of Gibsons?
Well, with just the finale left of Season 2, it's a safe bet that Murder in a Small Town doesn't have enough time to fully explore the possibilities of an engagement before the 2026 TV schedule. The drama has not yet been renewed for a third season, but the showrunner promised that there will be more stories to tell after how the finale ends on Fox on December 2 (and streams next day with a Hulu subscription):
If we were so fortunate as to have a Season 3, absolutely there would be more. There would be more stories to tell for these characters. I'm an optimistic guy. I'm always hopeful, and it's been just great working with the Fox team on the first two seasons. They've been so supportive creatively. I would love the chance to continue that, and should they decide they want more stories for Karl and Cassandra? Yeah, absolutely. We will have more.
The first season ended without a Season 2 guarantee around this time last year, so fans don't need to panic that the Season 2 finale is airing without Season 3 already ordered. (Murder in a Small Town's second season renewal happened in January 2025, more than a month after the Season 1 finale.) Ian Weir shared how much the MIST team has worked ahead to be ready for a renewal:
In terms of sort of getting some ideas in order, looking at possible storylines, yeah. If there were to be a third season order, I think we could hit the ground running. We'd have a pretty good idea of the terrain we want to explore. And of course, in discussion with our friends at the network find out what they think. But yeah, I would be overjoyed and gung ho to get going.
The showrunner had also previously hinted that he'd be interested in bringing back Birkett Turton as Warren, a.k.a. Cassandra's stalker from Sacramento, in a third season, so fans shouldn't expect the story of Cassandra and Karl to be tied up by the end of the finale. Take a look at the promo for a peek at Karl bringing up marriage, as well as what's in store with the final murder of the year:
The Season 2 finale of Murder in a Small Town airs on Tuesday, December 2 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox, and will join the rest of the first two seasons streaming on Hulu. Hopefully news of the show's future will release sooner rather than later, although it remains to be seen how much of a cliffhanger we will (or won't) be left with when the final credits roll.
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