Netflix Boss Dashes Your ‘Making a Murderer’ Season 2 Hopes
There’s no easy way to imagine a “sequel” to Netflix’s breakout documentary Making a Murderer, its first season comprised of 700 hours pared down over ten years, and with Steven Avery’s case fairly settled for the moment. Still, Netflix raised hopes this past weekend for Making a Murderer Season 2 possibilities, and now dashes them quite expertly.
During the recent TCA press tour, Netflix boss Ted Sarandos acknowledged that filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos had continued to follow developments in the case, while the pair themselves spoke of recording conversations with Avery post-release for the purpose of future episodes. That said, Sarandos spoke to The Hollywood Reporter to flatly deny any active development on Making a Murderer Season 2:
There’s no idea for a second season, there’s no pitch for a second season; we’re not talking about a second season. What I was saying about other people covering the story now, it is its own thing and it is its own news cycle. So if Nancy Grace wants to make a lot of talk about it, it’s because her audience is talking about the show and she knows it. They’re very smart about what’s in their zeitgeist and that’s why they’re talking about it. That’s why Discovery is picking up on it because they have the same sense that we all did: ‘My god, everyone in the world is talking about this case.’
If nothing else, Sarandos confirmed that the streaming service would at least want more, even if Ricciardi and Demos have been too busy with press rounds to make any real plans for Season 2. So, what would a follow-up even look like?
It really depends on what happens in the next couple months. I think there’s been such pressure to look at this case in a different way. [Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker] has been ignoring it. President Obama can’t do anything about it. It’s on their dockets. I have no idea how it’s going to break.
For those unfamiliar with the documentary, Making a Murderer follows the case of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin man convicted of a brutal assault and sent to prison for 18 years, only to be exonerated by DNA evidence. Soon enough into a public civil case for justice reform however, Steven found himself accused of the murder of young photographer Teresa Halbach, and subsequently railroaded through a lengthy trial under especially dubious circumstances, and apparent corruption at every turn.
It doesn’t sound as if plans will formulate anytime soon, but what should we hope for from Making a Murderer Season 2?