Mare of Easttown Creator Reveals What’s Holding Him Back From Season 2

It’s going to take several different puzzle pieces falling into place to get a second season of Mare of Easttown onto our screens — but it’s not totally out of the question, either. While speaking at a press event in Los Angeles on Tuesday, writer and creator Brad Ingelsby fielded questions about what it would take to get him to revisit the series.

While Ingelsby admitted that he’s open to the possibility of a season two, he was also candid about how it all hinges on finding the right story, as he explained it to reporters (via Deadline). “We’re always open to revisiting Mare,” he explained. “I would welcome the chance — if we could craft the story.”

The story of Mare Sheehan and Easttown, Pennsylvania was a tragic and dark one, filled with crime and grief, all wrapped up in an emotionally evocative package. And finding a compelling reason to go back into that world — to put Mare through something as dark as all of that? That’s what’s going to take the most work.

What Would Season Two Of Mare Of Easttown Be About?

“Mare’s journey was so emotional,” Ingelsby explained, “I always like to tell stories that are really emotional, and it was hard to come up with an emotional story.”

While he acknowledged that, “there are a lot of plot lines we could explore,” he also explained that he wanted to put some time and space between the events of season one and whatever comes next for Winslet’s character. After all, what she went through was incredibly traumatic, and “I want to give Mare some space before we build up another emotional trauma,” he said.

“That’s hard to jump back into.”

Expanding upon that, Ingelsby added, “it’s hard to come up with one that could compete with losing a son and having to confront that.” To which we can only agree: Mare deserves a vacation, several dozen Yuenglings (or maybe even sobriety!), and some peace before a new fresh hell is unleashed upon her.

The HBO series was a huge hit for the network; CEO Casey Bloys has said the network would love to get another season of the Kate Winslet drama. But Bloys has also said that all those discussions are ultimately dependent on what Ingelsby and Winslet want to do.

In the meantime, however, Ingelsby has kept himself busy. No, he wasn’t just at the event to talk about Mare, he was there to promote his next HBO project, the Mark Ruffalo-fronted Task. The series follows an FBI agent named Tom (Ruffalo) who’s in charge of a task force that’s — ahem — tasked with stopping a string of drug-house robberies running rampant through a working-class Pennsylvania town. The series will also co-star Martha Plimpton and Mireille Enos, with Plimpton playing Kathleen McGinty, the FBI Supervisory Senior Resident in Charge, and Enos playing Susan Brandis, Tom’s loving wife. There’s more to it, involving the priesthood and an unsuspecting family man, but who likes being spoiled on something completely before they’ve seen it, eh? Mare wouldn’t, that’s for sure.