Here’s what viewers can expect from Unbelievable season 2 if Netflix decides to give the miniseries another installment. The crime drama, which dropped on the streaming giant in September 2019, was created by Susannah Grant, Ayelet Waldman, and Michael Chabon. It was based on the 2015 groundbreaking news article titled “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” written by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong.
Unbelievable tells the harrowing tale of Marie Adler (Kaitlyn Dever), a teenager who was brutally raped and then subsequently charged by the police for lying after reporting the incident. Meanwhile, two female detectives named Grace Rasmussen (Toni Collette) and Karen Duvall (Merritt Wever) follow a string of similar cases. They put together a small team to catch the man responsible for the violent acts while uncovering the dark truth.
The miniseries found its way to an array of best-of-2019 watch lists, and was one of Netflix’s most popular 2019 shows. The series as a whole, as well as Dever, Collette, and Wever, have also caught the attention of viewers and critics considering the various award nominations. The success of the show and important subject material has many viewers wondering about the possibility of Unbelievable season 2 and what it would look like if Netflix gave the green light.
Unbelievable Was A Limited Series
Unbelievable was produced by Netflix as a limited series, meaning the streaming service intended the drama to have a limited run. The 8-episode series took the Pulitzer Prize-winning ProPublica article from 2015 and dramatized it for the small screen. The case centered on real-life sexual assault victim, Marie Adler, and the two fierce detectives that ended up putting her attacker behind bars tied up any loose ends by the end of the miniseries. Netflix is no stranger to miniseries with the popular releases of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Godless, and When They See Us, among others. Those series, however, indicate that Netflix doesn’t have expanded plans for shows they deem a limited or miniseries.
Netflix Has No Plans To Renew Unbelievable For Season 2
As of now, Netflix hasn’t revealed any plans to renew Unbelievable for a follow-up season. Despite the conclusive ending, viewers have shown interest in the possibility of a season 2. Subscribers couldn’t get enough of the stellar performances by Dever, Wever, and Collette. Netflix announced that over 32 million people viewed the miniseries within the first month of its September release. That number has surely increased due to the critical acclaim and recent attention the show and cast have received with award nominations. Unbelievable‘s showrunner Susannah Grant has stated (via EW) that there are no current talks for another season but “never say never.”
What Unbelievable Season 2’s Story Could Be
The subject material at the center of Unbelievable is brutally honest but it brings an important discussion in regards to sexual violence at the treatment of victims. Marie’s story came to an end when she was freed by the truth but it’s possible for season 2 to bring back Wever and Collette for another team-up focused on a new case. The conception of Det. Karen Duvall and Det. Grace Rasmussen was inspired by their real-life counterparts, Stacy Galbraith and Edna Hendershot, but they weren’t directly following the lives of the women. This gives a potential season 2 the ability to further develop a new story not taken directly from the headlines.
Another option would be to adapt Unbelievable into a crime anthology series with an entirely new cast and setting. Unfortunately, this would mean there couldn’t be a return of Wever and Collette but it could follow in the footsteps of True Detective with a pair of figures investigating a true-crime plaguing society. Grant added that the anthology concept was an appealing idea but it might be of lesser interest to viewers who were enamored by the original cast. Whatever happens with the fate of Unbelievable, stay tuned for any updates.
