Last fall, Apple TV+ debuted the moody, atmospheric dark fantasy The Changeling, based on Victor LaValle’s novel of the same name. The series was earthy, compelling, and fantastically imaginative … and many viewers and critics hated it. Although the show’s Rotten Tomatoes critics score has risen to 74% as of this writing, it bore the dreaded green splat for weeks after it aired. So will The Changeling get a season 2?
For the record, I loved season 1. In my review, I wrote, “Is The Changeling a love story, a parable of postpartum depression, a fairy tale, or a horror series? It’s all of them at once, woven into a sumptuously textured story of love, grief, and courage in the face of the impossible.” I stand by what I said! The Changeling focuses on Apollo (LaKeith Standfield) and Emma (Clark Backo), a married couple who begin to unravel after the birth of their son, Brian. When Emma starts to suspect that something is wrong with their child, she commits an unthinkable act—and sends Apollo on an odyssey that will take him into the hidden corners of what he thought was a familiar city.
But season 1 only covers about half of the novel, ending on a cliffhanger that calls Brian’s fate into question and forces Apollo and Emma to discover bravery they never knew they were capable of. So are we going to get the second half of the story?
The Changeling‘s creators want to make season 2
Last fall, at New York Comic-Con, showrunner Kelly Marcel told The Hollywood Reporter that the show was written to be told in two seasons. “If there is a season two, which we obviously hope there is, we would continue the story from where we left, but you will also be taken back,” Marcel said. “Season one was a setup of a lot of questions, and season two is the answer to all of those questions.”
LaValle also supported the idea of splitting the novel into two seasons. “We got to have so much more of [Emma and Apollo’s mother Lillian’s] journeys, but there was no way to just jam all of the book and all of that into eight episodes,” LaValle told THR. “Then people would be like, ‘It was just too rushed.’ So it felt like two seasons to tell the whole story, make everything bigger, wilder and even more disturbing.”
But is that second season coming, or not?
Unfortunately, there’s currently no word on whether Apple will move ahead with season 2. If you’re desperate to find out how the story ends, though, you can check out the original novel.
(featured image: Apple TV+)
