“Mare of Easttown,” an HBO original from 2021, features Kate Winslet as a seasoned detective from the Philadelphia suburbs, delving into a brutal murder case. The show, which also stars Julianne Nicholson, Guy Pearce, Cailee Spaeny, and Evan Peters, received widespread critical acclaim and numerous awards, including Emmy wins for Winslet, Nicholson, and Peters.

Since its release in 2021, there has been no official announcement about a second season. The story isn’t necessarily concluded; series creator Brad Inglesby has expressed openness to revisiting Mare’s world, and several cast members have shown interest in continuing. The latest update from Kate Winslet came over a year ago, when she mentioned to the Hollywood Reporter that she hadn’t engaged in talks with HBO “for quite a while” regarding a potential Season 2.

Both Inglesby and Winslet are currently involved in other projects, with Winslet leading “The Regime” for HBO in 2024. Despite the lack of official word from the network and only ambiguous hints from those involved, many fans continue to wonder if “Mare of Easttown” Season 2 will eventually materialize.

When a new series arrives with as much hype as “Mare of Easttown,” it’s typically followed — almost immediately — by talk of a second season, which is often underway in relatively short order. That buzz typically intensifies if the show is highly watched and critically acclaimed. “Mare of Easttown” was all of those things, and its finale was HBO Max’s most-watched episode since the service was launched. So why haven’t we heard much about a second outing for Mare?

For starters, Brad Inglesby opted to create a new series instead of jumping into Season 2 of “Mare of Easttown.” The result was “Task,” starring Mark Ruffalo. Talking about his new series (via TV Line), Inglesby said that the idea for “Task” captured his attention more than further stories in the “Easttown” series. “It felt like it lives in the same world as ‘Mare,'” he noted, “but it’s a much different story. And I was kind of, at that time, more interested in doing something different and new that can also speak to the same type of world that ‘Mare’ lived in.”

Though thematically similar, “Task” was a wholly original idea and never part of any theoretical Season 2 of “Easttown.” But that doesn’t mean Inglesby won’t get around to the further adventures of Mare eventually.

It seems that any time Kate Winslet is on the red carpet at a premiere or promoting a new movie, she’s inevitably asked about a second season of “Mare of Easttown.” Winslet has repeatedly addressed her own hesitations about returning for another season, and in 2022 she spoke with the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast (via Variety) about concerns she has over doing more.

“How would that evolve? Those are questions none of us can answer right now,” Winslet remarked. “The question is, do you quit while you’re ahead? Do you hold your head high and say, ‘Look at what we did, I’m so proud of that,’ and just walk away? Or do we go for it again?”

Speaking separately with Variety in 2021, Winslet didn’t even seem happy to talk about a potential Season 2, confirming to the interviewer that she “probably” would be interested in coming back to the series, before asking that they “move on” to other topics.

Part of the problem with moving forward on a second season of “Mare of Easttown” has been cracking the story. Creator Brad Inglesby has repeated often in interviews that any continuation would have to be something truly worthwhile, and clearly that idea hasn’t struck just yet. But where could a possible Season 2 go? Listening to Ingelsby, it sounds like whatever direction it takes, it won’t be a direct follow-up exploring the fallout from Season 1. Instead, it will likely pick up quite a while after the end of the previous season.

As HBO studio boss Casey Bloys told Variety in 2021, “We might be willing to figure out with Mare, years later, picking her up — not on the heels of where she ended but — there have been years for the character that have passed. Who is she now?”

Continuing “Mare” years after we last saw her might be just what the story needs to spark Inglesby’s interest, too, as he’s been clear that any new story needs to justify its existence rather than just retread old ground. A story set years after the 2021 series concluded might offer him and Winslet the chance to explore how the character has grown and changed since we last saw her.

Kate Winslet would almost certainly have to come back if and when there is a Season 2 of “Mare of Easttown,” unless the show goes through some radical changes. But what about other returning cast members? Evan Peters is likely out for Season 2 given his character’s grisly demise in Season 1, unless he returns in flashbacks or dreams. Julianne Nicholson, however, who played Mare’s best friend Lori, has been open about her desire to return.

When asked if she’d like to come back for a second run, Nicholson told People magazine, “If there were one and Kate still was Mare and Jean [Smart] was her mom and Brad wrote it.” But she also stressed that she’d not heard anything about whether to expect another season. “I’m definitely not waiting for it,” she said. “I’m not losing sleep over it. But if that was happening and I was invited to join, yeah, definitely.”

Co-star Jean Smart (who suffered an unexpected injury on the series) took an even more dim tone when asked about Season 2, telling Glamour that a second season had “gotten too complicated, so it probably won’t happen.” But it doesn’t sound like she’d be against returning, as she also cited it as one of her favorite roles.