Warning: Spoilers for season 2 of Dead to Me are ahead.
Fans that burned through the new episodes of Dead to Me will be relieved to know that this won't be the end of the show, as long as showrunner Liz Feldman has a say. Netflix hasn't officially renewed Dead to Me for season 3, but there's an obvious need for more episodes to explain the cliffhanger at the end of season 2.
"I do think there's some more story to tell. I know exactly what I would want to do for the third season … especially now that you know how season 2 ends. Now there's somebody else with a secret," Feldman tells Refinery29.
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In the finale episode, Jen (Christina Applegate) was just let off the hook for Steve's (James Marsden) murder, Judy (Linda Cardellini) found a bunch of money stashed in the frames of her paintings, they'd bought Jen's son a fancy car, and everything seemed good. But then Steve's twin Ben (also played by James Marsden) came crashing into Judy and Jen's car. He'd been drinking and driving, so he fled the scene before he could be caught by the people in the other car or by the police. It doesn't seem like Judy or Jen know that it was Ben who hit them, which opens up even more lies and secret-keeping in season 3, especially since Ben and Jen were starting to forge a relationship. Jen also seemed to be in pretty critical condition after the crash, so fans may need to worry about her own fate in season 3.
Feldman already has plans for that season, if Netflix gives the go-ahead. There was almost exactly a year between the first and second seasons, which means that a potential third season has a likely May 2021 airdate if TV productions can start back up again in the coming months. If and when that happens, Feldman is ready.
In season 1, Judy kept the secret from Jen that Judy had accidentally killed Jen's husband in a hit-and-run. In season 2, Jen lied to Judy about why she'd killed Steve, and the two of them spent the whole season keeping the secret of his death from everyone around him. Now, in a potential season 3, Ben will be faced with the secret of his drunk driving accident and being the one who critically injured the woman he was romantically interested in. Feldman says she likes this idea of exploring the "constant give and take of, Do you tell somebody something if you know it will hurt them?"
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But this recipe wherein someone keeps a new secret every season isn't necessarily sustainable, and Feldman knows that.
"I don't want it ultimately for this to be a 30 season long soap opera. We're not The Bold and The Beautiful," she says, adding that part of her does wish it could go on for that long just so she can keep working with the talented and hilarious cast. "I wish there was a way to work with these people forever and do the show forever. But at the same time, I do think that I always want the show to be surprising and delightful, and I don't know if you can still be surprising and delightful seven or eight seasons in. You might run out of surprises and delights by then," she says.
Feldman doesn't yet know exactly how many seasons she needs to tell the story she wants to without getting stale, but she says she knows exactly how the series will end — and it's not with the car crash in season 2.