Will we be seeing more weird wellness techniques from Nicole Kidman’s Masha?
Nicole Kidman has long been a star of the big screen, but in recent years she has served up a string of TV hits, with shows such as Big Little Lies, The Undoing and now Nine Perfect Strangers.
The Amazon Prime Video exclusive saw Kidman’s mysterious character Masha invite nine city-dwellers to her health resort, where her treatments are just a tad more unorthodox than most wellness techniques.
Much like Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers was based on a Liane Moriarty novel and was spearheaded by David E. Kelley – so now it remains to be seen whether the wellness drama will be the next Moriarty adaptation to get a second season.
Here’s everything you need to know about a potential second season of Nine Perfect Strangers.
Will Nine Perfect Strangers return for season 2?
Nine Perfect Strangers has not yet been renewed for a second season – and chances aren’t particularly high for another outing.
The series completely adapts Liane Moriarty’s 2018 novel with no second book available to use as the basis for season two, while the show has been marketed as a mini-series that traditionally only lasts a single season.
However this was also the case for previous Kidman-Kelley collaboration Big Little Lies, which was eventually renewed for a second season, with Moriarty writing a follow-up novella especially for the show – so it’s entirely possible the same could happen with Nine Perfect Strangers.
Series director Jonathan Levine hinted that a second season was possible, despite the first run having a rather definitive ending.
“Well, all I can say is that we told the story with a beginning, a middle and an end,” Levine told Hollywood Life.
“I do think there’s definitely opportunity, like storytelling opportunities, to carry the story beyond that. I hope you will watch it and like it and if people like it enough to do more, I’ll be the first one to ask him [David E. Kelley] to do more.”
Nine Perfect Strangers season 2 release date
If season two is greenlit, then another stumbling block could be the schedule of the show’s particularly talented and busy cast – should the same famous faces return, it may be some time before they can all spare the many months needed to film a TV series.
Filming on season one lasted five months, taking place in Australia between August and December 2020.
If filming can get underway during 2022, then Nine Perfect Strangers season two may well be released in early 2023.
Nine Perfect Strangers season 2 plot
Nine Perfect Strangers season two will likely contend with the aftermath of season one, particularly the ending which star Samara Weaving has confirmed is different from the book.
“The script is very different from the book in that it ends very differently for a lot of different characters,” Weaving told Digital Spy. “Masha has a very different arc, so it’ll be interesting to see what people think.”
The book ends with a flashforward of five years, so season two may well follow the characters several years after the events of season one.
Alternatively, the show could go down the anthology route – and follow a brand new group of guests at one of Masha’s health resorts as they uncover secrets about each other as well as further exploring the Tranquillum House founder.
**Warning: spoilers ahead for the Nine Perfect Strangers book**
Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers novel ends with the guests working through their emotional issues thanks to some drug-induced revelations – Frances and Tony end up marrying, Jessica and Ben end up amicably divorcing, Lars realises he is ready for a baby and the Marconi family open up and manage their grief better.
Such complete character arcs make a return for season two difficult, though with the show confirmed to end somewhat differently the guests may still be left with unresolved issues that could require another round of unorthodox wellness techniques.
Crucially the book ends with Masha still running a secret and highly illegal wellness program after a short spell in prison, meaning the show could continue to follow the sinister health guru and use a similar formula to season one.
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Nine Perfect Strangers season 2 cast
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As the face of the show – as well as being an executive producer – Nicole Kidman is the most likely star set to return, especially if creator and frequent collaborator David E. Kelley returns as showrunner.
Melissa McCarthy is likely to reprise her role as struggling novelist Frances as she is an executive producer also.
Depending on the events of the season one finale, we’d expect some if not all of the other main characters to return also – which includes Luke Evans (The Pembrokeshire Murders) as a divorce lawyer Lars, Regina Hall (Black Monday) as single mother Carmel, as well as Melvin Gregg (American Vandal) and Samara Weaving (Bill & Ted Face The Music) as lottery winners Ben and Jessica.
Rounding out the retreat guests are Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water) as teacher Napoleon, Asher Keddie (Stateless) as his grieving wife Heather, Grace Van Patten (The Meyerowitz Stories) as their daughter Zoe and Bobby Cannavale (Ant-Man) as former American football player Tony.
Manny Jacinto (The Good Place) and Tiffany Boone (The Midnight Sky) also star as Tranquillum employees Yao and Delilah.
Alternatively Nine Perfect Strangers could go in a similar direction to The White Lotus and become a holiday anthology series, which could see Kidman welcoming an entirely new cast of characters to Tranquillum House.
Nine Perfect Strangers is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in the UK. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight. You can buy Liane Moriarty’s Nine Perfect Strangers on Amazon.