Little Fires Everywhere Season 2 - Will It Ever Happen?
Based on the #1 New York Times best-selling novel by Celeste Ng, "Little Fires Everywhere" is a Hulu original series that aired its first — and so far only — season in 2020. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington, Joshua Jackson, Jade Pettyjohn, Lexi Underwood, Megan Stott, and Gavin Lewis, it tells the story of the Richardsons, a picture-perfect suburban Ohio family turned upside down by the arrival of a mysterious woman and her teenage daughter. When mother Elena comes into conflict with her new neighbor, though, it threatens to turn her own family against her.
Over the course of the show's eight episodes, new truths are revealed, friendships are tested, and families are left broken. A gripping drama full of unexpected twists and shocking reveals, "Little Fires Everywhere" darts back and forth between the past and present, using flashbacks to explore a winding history of personal trauma and deep regret.
Nominated for a total of five Emmys, the star-studded series was praised for its exploration of motherhood, class inequality, and white privilege. But after a stunning season finale, fans have been waiting for word of a possible second season, only to get little in the way of concrete news. Some involved with the production have talked about where the story could go next, while others have said it could be finished for good, leaving many to wonder if a second season of "Little Fires Everywhere" will ever happen at all.
Why hasn't a second season of Little Fires Everywhere happened yet?
As an adaptation of an acclaimed novel, "Little Fires Everywhere" rather faithfully interprets the story from the page to the screen, from start to finish. With that in mind, it quickly becomes a bit more understandable why years after its ending, the Hulu series has yet to see another season: Because author Celeste Ng has so far written no follow-up to her original novel.
Still, that shouldn't entirely discount the possibility. After all, "Game of Thrones," "The Handmaid's Tale," and even Reese Witherspoon's other hit drama, "Big Little Lies" all continued past the events of the books on which they're based. And the series' writer and showrunner, Liz Tigelaar, would love nothing more than to keep going. "I'd be open to it in terms of this is the best job I've ever had," she told Entertainment Weekly. "This was such an amazing treat of work experience, adapting something that I love with all my heart, with people who I love with all my heart."
However, even Tigelaar admits that the series may only ever be a single-season show. "In my heart, I feel like this is what it's always been, which is a limited series. It's a show with a beginning, middle, and an end. Everything burns down." Despite her own desire for more, she is resigned to the fact that the story is complete. "These eight episodes honor the book. This is a close-ended story to me and we've ended it where it ends."
What has the cast and crew said about a second season of Little Fires Everywhere?
When it debuted on Hulu in 2020, "Little Fires Everywhere" was met with plenty of fanfare and attention from the press. But despite its origins as a standalone novel, its cast was most often asked about the show's prospects for continuing beyond the book. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight in 2020, executive producer and writer Liz Tigelaar once again spoke about her wish for Season 2.
"Well, look, selfishly I want to say yes," Tigelaar told them. "I would be in that writers' room forever, and I would obviously write for Reese [Witherspoon] and Kerry [Washington] and everybody involved for the rest of my life. So, I want to say yes." The problem, however, is how to move the story forward, and Tigelaar acknowledges some of the issues in that regard. "I would shudder to think of a contrived way to get Mia and Elena back in each other's orbit that would at all feel real," she said. "I wouldn't want to diminish [the book] by turning it into what it isn't just because people liked it."
Series star Kerry Washington, on the other hand, was much more definitive, telling the same outlet that it was over. "We were never planning to do a season 2," Washington revealed. "It was a limited series. That's all there is, that's all she wrote. Elena and Mia are not coming back."
Who would star in a second season of Little Fires Everywhere?
While star Kerry Washington seems determined to call Season 1 of the series "the end," not everyone in the cast agrees that the series should stand forever as a single season of eight episodes. In fact, we know that at least two of the younger members of the cast are keen to come back for more.
Megan Stott, who starred as Elena's daughter Izzy — the youngest of her four kids — spoke to Entertainment Tonight about her desire to return. "If they offered me another season with Izzy, I would definitely take it," she said. "I love Izzy and to play her again and seeing Izzy find herself, explore herself a little more and discover what's happening in her life and who she really is, I think that'd be so fun to play. If they did ask me to do a second season, I would [say yes] because Izzy's such an incredible character, and I don't think I could ever have such [a] character like her ever."
And Stott isn't the only one. Speaking with The Wrap, Gavin Lewis, who played Moody Richardson, also expressed his interest in continuing the series. "I don't want to call it a cliffhanger, but it does leave some possibilities open," Lewis said. "I would be more than interested in coming back for a second season ... And I think there is plenty more story to be had if the writers decide to come back and do something more."
What would be explored in a second season of Little Fires Everwhere?
Just because "Little Fires Everywhere" adapted a singular work from beginning to end doesn't mean there aren't places it could go in a second season. As it happens, Season 1 of the series left plenty on the table to be explored, with a number of unanswered questions lingering. One plot thread that seems ripe for another year of stories is the fractured Richardson family, with Izzy running away from home. In the book, it's said that Elena will be looking desperately for her daughter in a future we never see, and that story seems like the perfect starting point for a possible Season 2.
As for series showrunner Liz Tigelaar's concern about finding a way to bring Mia and Elena back into each other's lives, they might not need to, because there's nothing to say their respective stories can't continue separately. A second season could focus on dueling but unrelated stories that replace the first season's flashbacks, as we move back and forth between Elena's search for her daughter and Pearl seeking her birth father, another plot thread that was left dangling.
Season 1 also never resolved the problems in Elena and Bill's marriage following his discovery of her former lover Jamie. This too feels like a perfect place to take the story in Season 2, as Elena would fight to keep her family together on two fronts. Either way, coming up with a good story to justify a Season 2 shouldn't be a problem, as there is plenty of story left to tell for these characters.
A second season could still happen
If one were to believe the cast and crew of "Little Fires Everywhere," they would be pretty well convinced that we'll never see a second season of the series. But there's more to the story that brings its chances of a Season 2 a little more optimistic than one might expect, and this includes comments from star Kerry Washington with ET Online. Though she insisted that the series was over, she did admit to wanting to work with her fellow castmates again. "Reese and I, we just adore each other and really loved working together," she said, before adding cryptically, "we have a few other projects in the works and we'll continue to move those along."
While we don't suspect that the project she's hinting at is Season 2 of "Little Fires Everywhere," her enthusiasm for working with Witherspoon is clear. And with executive producer Liz Tigelaar calling the show a highlight of her career, all it seems it would take is a strong story that justifies its existence. But considering the way she successfully fleshed out minor elements of the book to make Season 1 — like Elena's boyfriend, who gets just a single mention on the page — we know she has what it takes to do justice to Celeste Ng's original novel.
Speaking of Ng, there's always the possibility that the author herself could pen a sequel that could be adapted into another season. Still, the best reason to think we might get a second season is Tigelaar's passion for the story.