Sources tell Nexus Point News that Netflix has renewed The Beast in Me for a second season, bringing the acclaimed psychological crime thriller back for another chapter. Claire Danes will reprise her role.
The renewal comes as something of a surprise, considering the series was originally conceived as a limited series. The show is also currently competing in limited-series categories during awards season, including an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. Its leading stars, Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys, have also earned Emmy nominations for their performances in the series. Rhys then went on to win the Emmy for his role.
Howard Gordon and Daniel Pearle will serve as showrunners for the second season. Co-showrunner Howard Gordon shared a statement regarding the second season:
“We always told ourselves we’d only do a second season of The Beast in Me if we found a story that was worthy of the first – and I’m thrilled to say we found it. We loved making this show and our audience seemed to love watching it, so we’re enormously grateful to Jinny Howe and Netflix, and to Karey Burke and 20th Television for giving us the chance to get the band back together and do it again.”
Netflix Head of Scripted Series Jinny Howe says, “We are thrilled to bring back The Beast in Me and to welcome Howard Gordon to the Netflix family with this creative partnership. The series captivated global audiences, delivered extraordinary performances led by Claire Danes, and earned Matthew Rhys a historic Emmy win. We are incredibly proud of what Howard Gordon, Gabe Rotter, and the entire cast and crew achieved. We can’t wait for audiences to see what Howard and Daniel Pearle have in store for the next season.”
The Beast in Me follows Aggie Wiggs, a grieving author whose quiet life takes an unexpected and increasingly disturbing turn when she becomes fascinated by the mysterious disappearance of her neighbor Nile Jarvis’ wife. What initially appears to be a personal obsession gradually draws Aggie into a dangerous web of secrets, suspicion and psychological manipulation. The series explores themes of grief, obsession, vengeance, guilt and the lengths people will go to uncover or conceal the truth.
The first season’s success, combined with strong performances from Danes and Rhys, helped establish The Beast in Me as one of Netflix’s successful psychological thrillers.
The series was created, written and executive produced by Gabe Rotter. It is produced by 20th Television and distributed by Netflix. Other executive producers include Howard Gordon, Daniel Pearle, Antonio Campos, Caroline Baron, Amy Lippman, Conan O’Brien, David Kissinger, Jeff Ross, Claire Danes and Jodie Foster.
With the story initially designed as a self-contained limited series, the Season 2 renewal raises plenty of questions about where the show will go next. The return will surely give the creative team an opportunity to expand the characters and explore new mysteries while maintaining the dark psychological tone that defined the first season.
