Spoilers ahead from Netflix's Dead to Me Season 1.
Who else is ready for more heavy metal rage with Jen (Christina Applegate) and Judy (Linda Cardellini) in Dead to Me Season 2? The Netflix series is now filming for a release at some point in 2020. Jen and Judy had quite a dramatic first season -- as strangers turned best friends turned enemies turned back to allies/accessories to dead Steve (James Marsden) floating in the pool.
Linda Cardellini shared a photo from the Dead to Me Season 2 table read, showing her holding hands with Christina Applegate, Thelma & Louise-style (without driving off a cliff together, I hope):
Dead to Me creator Liz Feldman shared a photo from the set of Season 2, quipping, "these ladies are killing it!!"
And once again I am obsessed with Judy's wardrobe. Dead to Me Season 2 will be worth it just to see what she wears each episode.
Dead to Me Season 1 ended in a different way than Liz Feldman originally envisioned. It remains to be seen if Dead to Me ever shows what she previously planned. Instead, Jen apparently shot Steve and now he's floating dead in her pool. But at least we also got Judy and Jen on the same page, which was not the case for most of the 10 episodes of Season 1.
Christina Applegate earned a 2019 Emmy Awards nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series as Jen, a real estate agent and mom mourning the death of her husband Ted, who was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver. Linda Cardellini's Judy was the one who accidentally killed Ted, but Jen didn't know that for most of the first season. The two ladies met up and became friends through a grief support group. Ultimately, many truths came out about Judy, Ted, Steve, Jen, and the rest of the supporting characters.
Dead to Me's Liz Feldman said Netflix was mostly wonderful about the show, but she got pissed at a note suggesting the character of Jen be less angry to make her more likable. Here's part of her response to that idea:
I didn't take the note that we should soften Jen and dull her sharp edges. If anything, the writers and I doubled down. We leaned into her anger; we let it drive the character and possibly even ruin her. It never felt like a risk; it felt like a duty. And it seems to have worked. Christina Applegate playing a justifiably angry widow turned out to be pretty fucking likable. Dead to Me was just picked up for a second season. And I promise, Jen's anger is only picking up too.
Aha! So we know Jen will not exactly soften in Dead to Me Season 2. Good. I also like that Jen and Judy no longer have major secrets from each other, although they are keeping secrets from just about everyone else. Having them conspiring on the same side should make Season 2 a lot of fun.
The 10 episodes of Dead to Me Season 1 arrived on Netflix in May 2019 and can be streamed right now. Netflix doesn't always talk about how many viewers it gets, but the streamer did say Dead to Me was viewed by 30 million subscribers in its first month. According to THR, Netflix considers a "view" to be an account watching at least 70 percent of an episode or film.
Stay tuned for a date announcement and teaser/trailer for Dead to Me Season 2. Here are the dates we know about for upcoming Netflix originals. Keep up with everything still to come on TV this year with our handy 2019 fall TV premiere schedule.
