Firefly Lane Season 2 - What We Know So Far
For fans of the romantic genre, both the comedies and the dramas, one exciting development in recent years is that the definition of "romantic" is a little looser than it used to be. We're well past the days when nearly every rom-com and romance flick followed the same "girl meets boy" formula. One recent romantic drama series on Netflix breaks the mold entirely, because it's not about a "romance" in the traditional sense at all. Based on the novel of the same name by Kristin Hannah, Firefly Lane charts the decades-long friendship between Tully Hart (Katherine Heigl) and Kate Mularkey (Sarah Chalke), beginning when they're teens in the 1970s and following them into adulthood.
The binge-worthy Firefly Lane is most likely going to get at least a second season, for many reasons. It's a big hit for Netflix, ranking in the top ten most popular titles for 22 days and counting (via The Numbers). The series only covered half of the plot from its source material, and the book already has a sequel, Fly Away, so there's likely enough suitable material for multiple seasons of TV. Based on how season 1 ended, there are many questions that need to be answered.
Here's everything we know so far about Firefly Lane season 2.
When will Firefly Lane season 2 premiere?
Netflix hasn't officially renewed Firefly Lane, but it's about as close to a sure bet as you can get in television. If Netflix does pick up a second season, the announcement should come out within the next few months. In general, Netflix announces renewals around one month after a season premiere, like it did with Dark Desire, though it can sometimes take multiple months, like it did with The Umbrella Academy. But overall, no news is bad news.
Per HITC, the first season of Firefly Lane was filmed from September 2019 to January 2020, which leaves about a year from the end of principal photography to the show's Netflix premiere. If Netflix waits a month to make up its mind, add that to four months of shooting plus a year of editing and marketing, and the earliest season 2 could premiere would be August or September 2022, give or take a few months.
Who will be in the cast of Firefly Lane season 2?
Assuming Firefly Lane season 2 gets the green light and picks up where season 1 left off, most of the main cast should be returning. Heigl and Chalke are almost guaranteed, as are Ali Skovbye and Roan Curtis, who play the teenage versions of the characters. Kate's husband Johnny (Ben Lawson) ends season 1 badly wounded from an IED attack while reporting in Iraq, but he's alive so he'll probably stick around. Among the other series regulars, Yael Yurman and Beau Garrett are likely to return as Kate's daughter and Tully's mother, respectively.
But it's difficult to know for certain, because the TV series did make some departures from the source material. The series gave Tully a love interest, Max (Jon-Michael Ecker), who wasn't in the book. Tully and Max's relationship appeared to be over at the end of season 1 so it's unlikely Ecker will show up. Honestly, the show could take Tully's personal life in any number of directions.
What will Firefly Lane season 2 be about?
Based on where Firefly Lane season 1 ended and what happens in the books, we can venture a guess as to where the story is headed. Johnny's medical emergency will likely be a major storyline. Season 1 also ended with Tully quitting her talk show, The Girlfriend Hour, after getting fed up with the production's misogynist atmosphere. Tully and Kate set out to start their own talk show, so this will likely be another major storyline. Finally, season 1 ends with 14-year-old Tully's mother being arrested, which would certainly impact Tully's life.
But the biggest cliffhanger at the end of season 1 was the state of Tully and Kate's relationship. In a shocking twist, the show revealed in a flash-forward that Tully and Kate's friendship is over, but didn't explain why. Heigl has already poured cold water on the possibility that the reason for their breakup might be infidelity. "It can't be that Tully sleeps with Johnny. I don't think that any friendship can come back from that," Heigl told Oprah magazine. "I'll fight to the death that it not be that," she says.
More likely, the falling out will follow the book's version of events. In the books, Tully and Kate's friendship ends when Tully brings Kate and her daughter Marah onto her show and interviews them. The interview goes terribly and Kate is made to look like a bad parent. Whatever the reason for their breakup, seasons 2 and beyond will most likely focus on one big question: can Tully and Kate's friendship survive the test of time?