Hidden amongst the dire news articles and gloomy COVID-19 predictions that have become our newsfeeds now, Netflix has dropped a shining beacon of life-giving light.
And its name? Is “Dead To Me.”
That’s right all you Jen and Judy fans, Netflix has just announced that Dead To Me Season 2 will premiere on May 8th and all I can say is, PRAISE BE.
If you, like me, have been binge-watching television shows since sheltering in place started almost a month ago, this is beyond welcome news. With Hollywood shuttering its doors and shutting down production on all its movies and television shows, who knows when we will be reunited with our favorites.
Thankfully, Dead To Me had already finished filming Season 2 with Linda Cardellini announcing the final shoot on Instagram back in December. She captioned a photo with fellow castmate Christina Applegate and creator Liz Feldman with:
Last day of shooting @deadtome #season2 today. THANK YOU to the brilliant and incredible #christinaapplegate & @thelizfeldman for everything every day.
I love you both.
PS- We are very excited for everyone to see what we have been doing…
If you haven’t been watching Dead To Me, go. Go now.
The first season is available on Netflix and consists of 10 deliciously dark and hilariously shocking episodes. And Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini Kill it with their performances as the main characters.
The “traumedy” has received an 86% rating from critics and a 94% rating from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. IMDB describes it as a:
“series about a powerful friendship that blossoms between a tightly wound widow and a free spirit with a shocking secret.”
Netflix’s description is only slightly better:
A hotheaded widow searching for the hit-and-run driver who mowed down her husband befriends an eccentric optimist who isn’t quite what she seems.
Neither even begins to scratch the surface of this wonderfully wild ride full of unexpected twists and turns or the complicated relationships that form.
The first season opens after Jen loses her husband, Ted, in a hit-and-run accident. Unable to let go, she is determined to find out the truth of who is responsible.
In an effort to try to staunch her raw, angry, gaping wound of grief, she turns to a support group called “Friends of Heaven.” Here she meets Judy, who has just lost her fiance, Steve, to a heart attack, allegedly.
The two women, in their shared sorrow, quickly bond over wine, Entenmann’s cookies and the 1980s television show, The Facts of Life.
They are polar opposites.
Jen is abrasive, blunt and cynical while Judy is a quirky eternal optimist. But like all great characters, Judy isn’t all that she appears to be. “Chaos tends to follow” Judy wherever she goes. Early on in the season, it becomes obvious that she is trapped within a web of lies that over the course of 10 episodes, quickly unravels.
But she’s not the only one that’s keeping secrets.
Without giving away too much, Jen invites Judy to live in her guest house. As the season progresses, the women become more entangled in each other’s lives. With each episode, we learn more about their pasts, their partners, and the dirty skeletons hiding in their closets clamoring to come out.
Season 1 is a mix of dark secrets, hilarious one-liners, and shocking revelations. It will make you laugh and cry and gasp in disbelief. It is peppered with themes of infertility, miscarriage, breast cancer, abuse, grief, murder, and of course, friendship.
And season 2 promises more of the same. After ending in a serious cliffhanger, the trailer teases the next season, and it’s clear, this is no fairy tale. As Jen puts it:
“We are not in Snow White, we are in fucking Scarface.”
And I for one am HERE FOR IT. Even if I haven’t actually seen Scarface. Which according to Jen, no woman has.
The trailer begins with flashbacks from the first season. A smashed front headlight and fender, a mugshot, and a corpse floating in a swimming pool. The images are matched with corresponding dialogue, including:
“Grief does some weird shit to people.”
These are followed by a quick series of snippets involving dancers on a church stage, Applegate wearing a gas mask, and Cardellini in the midst of an emotional breakdown.
According to a statement from Netflix, season 2 is:
Picking up in the aftermath of that bloody backyard reveal. The irrepressible pair once again struggle to keep their secrets buried. With a surprising new visitor in town and Detective Perez (Diana Maria Riva) hot on their heels, Jen and Judy take drastic measures to protect their loved ones and each other — no matter the cost.”
And fans cannot wait. They have taken to Twitter to share their excitement over the news.
We're in deep. Dead to Me returns May 8 on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/V2xadjmEjO
— Dead To Me (@deadtome) April 10, 2020
I HAVE NEVER SCREAMED SO LOUD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE UNTIL NOW
— pau (@needylmj) April 10, 2020
YESSSSSSSS pic.twitter.com/T83fzk2QV0
— agus,, (@whitelinestyles) April 10, 2020
Literally the best day of my life
— jentomyjudy (@thehorrormotel) April 10, 2020
You can check out the trailer below:
As we continue to grapple with the fallout of the coronavirus, Dead To Me provides us with the escape we are all looking for. Now if only Netflix would drop the next season of The Handmaid’s Tale…Netflix?