The Beast in Me will return on Netflix with a second season. The thriller series featuring Claire Danes was officially renewed after the success of the first season and the significant recognition at the Emmys. Danes will reprise the role of Aggie Wiggs, while Howard Gordon will again be involved in the project as executive producer and co-showrunner, this time alongside Daniel Pearle. The renewal announcement brings with it, however, an inevitable question: what will be the story of the second season? The first season was self-contained, and Netflix has not yet revealed any details about the plot of the new episodes.
The Beast in Me: The Plot of Season One
Created by Gabe Rotter, The Beast in Me in the first season tells the story of Aggie Wiggs, an author who lives with deep trauma after the loss of her son. For years she has isolated herself from the world and struggles to return to writing, until a new neighbor rekindles her curiosity. It is Nile Jarvis, played by Matthew Rhys, a powerful real estate mogul whose reputation is shadowed by a terrible accusation: many people believe he is responsible for the disappearance of his wife, whose body has never been found. Nile has always denied involvement, but Aggie remains fascinated by his story. When she manages to enter his circle, she decides to tell her own story in a memoir. The personal and professional investigation, however, brings her closer and closer to Jarvis’s secrets and to a potentially very dangerous truth. In the cast of the first season, besides Danes and Rhys, there are also Brittany Snow, Natalie Morales, Tim Guinee and Jonathan Banks.
Emmy Success
The Beast in Me has earned nine Emmy nominations, including one for Claire Danes, and has won two statuettes. Matthew Rhys won the prize for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Limited Series, achieving a historic recognition for his portrayal of Nile Jarvis. The series also won the Emmy for Outstanding Original Music Composition for a Miniseries. The result has helped to strengthen the show’s success, initially conceived as a miniseries, and unlocked the renewal, which had been talked about for months.
What Direction Will the Story Take? The Statements
Already shortly after the release of the first season, Howard Gordon had left open the possibility of continuing the series, explaining that a second chapter would be possible only if a story interesting to tell emerged. Now that possibility has become reality. “We have always said that we would make a second season of The Beast in Me only if we had found a story that lived up to the first, and I am thrilled to be able to say that we found it,” Gordon stated. The executive producer added: “We really enjoyed making this series and our audience seems to have enjoyed watching it very much, so we are enormously grateful to Jinny Howe and Netflix, as well as to Karey Burke and 20th Television, for giving us the opportunity to bring the team back together and do it again.”
Netflix has also not revealed details yet. Jinny Howe, head of Netflix’s scripted series, has remained vague and said: “We are excited to bring back The Beast in Me and to welcome Howard Gordon into the Netflix family with this creative collaboration. The series has captivated audiences around the world, has delivered outstanding performances led by Claire Danes, and has earned Matthew Rhys a historic Emmy win.” Howe added: “We are incredibly proud of what Howard Gordon, Gabe Rotter and the entire cast and crew have accomplished. We can’t wait for the audience to discover what Howard and Daniel Pearle have in store for the next season.”
Where Did We Leave Off?
But what will actually be the plot of The Beast in Me 2 remains under the highest secrecy. The finale of the first season indeed closed Nile Jarvis’s arc. The character played by Matthew Rhys is arrested and subsequently killed in prison. Rhys, therefore, will not return in the second season, at least not in Nile’s role. The new story will consequently have to find another completely new case that will draw Aggie’s attention, but we do not know which one. The only indication comes from Gordon’s words: the writers claim to have found a story worthy of continuing the path begun with the first season. The challenge will be to find a new mystery as intriguing as the one at the center of the first cycle of episodes.
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