In the Dark Season 2: Showrunner Corinne Kingsbury talks new love interests, new villains, and more

Following the explosive premiere of In the Dark Season 2, we spoke with showrunner Corinne Kingsbury about all the exciting things to come from Season 2.

In the Dark Season 2 is here, and Murphy is once again the center of a major new mystery, except this time she’s not solving a murder—but part of one.

Spoiler warning: The following article contains spoilers for In the Dark Season 2, Episode 1 and some vague spoilers about what’s to come this season.

We had the chance to chat with In the Dark showrunner Corinne Kingsbury about what fans can anticipate from the new season. Will Max be back? What new characters can we expect? Will there be new love interests? Villains? All of those questions and more are answered below!

Hidden Remote: Did you guys know going into In the Dark Season 2 that the show would be renewed for Season 3?

Corinne Kingsbury: We knew at the end of the second season. We knew before we shot the 13th episode that it was going to be getting a third season.

HR: Was that exciting for everyone on set?

CK: It was so exciting, I directed Episode 13 of Season 1 and also Episode 13 of Season 2, and the difference in wrapping was pretty strange. At the end of the first season, we had no idea how people were going to respond to it; we had no idea if we were going to get a second season. To wrap the second season, knowing that we were all coming back was just such a kick.

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HR: What was it like working with your husband John Francis Daley on Season 2? Had you guys collaborated before?

CK: It was great. We had not collaborated before, and then we subsequently did a pilot together, and it was the first thing we officially did together.

It was really fun; we have such a shorthand. I think we have such a similar taste anyway, and it was natural.

It was also nice to have my husband in Toronto with me while shooting, and with a three-year-old son, to have the whole family there instead of one without the other was a nice treat, as well.

HR: What’s interesting about In the Dark Season 2 is how differently the mystery is set up from Season 1. We knew Murphy was looking for Tyson’s murderer in Season 1, but in Season 2, we’re given a hint of what’s to come right away, and then we jump back to see what events led to that moment. What made you decide to use that format for Season 2?

CK: When I pitched the show, I said I wanted every season to look and feel very different. Murphy was never going to be a detective. She was never going to solve another murder, but the mystery element fit so nicely, so I knew that I wanted a mystery of some sort. I just didn’t want Murphy to be solving another murder.

So, we used the flash-forward device to be like—okay, the entire group killed this person, but how did we get there? And I thought it was a good way to keep our audience engaged week-to-week—or on Netflix, hour-to-hour.

HR: I always like the flash-forward device because you spend the whole season wondering how they’re going to get to THAT point of having a dead guy on the ground. Every scene makes you question the chain of events.

CK: Right, and I think our second season is a real nod to Breaking Bad, which used flash-forwards so brilliantly. It’s really Murphy’s Breaking Bad season. I thought it would be nice to give them a little nod.

HR: I know that a lot of fans got attached to Max and Murphy in Season 1, can we expect to see Max return in In the Dark Season 2?

CK: Oh, he definitely comes back. I think that Max is the first person, romantically, that Murphy has ever loved. For our season, sort of in the same way it was, “it’ll always be Ross and Rachel,” I think it will always be Max and Murphy. It’s just, what is there trajectory? What is their relationship?  What is the next chapter in their relationship? And that’s sort of what Season 2 is.

HR: I’m looking forward to seeing the relationship grow more between Felix/Jess/Murphy, too. Felix has really changed a lot since the beginning, especially now that he’s wrapped up in the money-laundering scheme with them.

CK: In a lot of ways, Season 1 was about the Jess-and-Murphy friendship, and Season 2  is about the development of the relationship between Murphy and Felix. There is a  moment in Episode 9 where you really see how much they do care about each other and what good friends they’ve become through all of this. Where we started them off in Episode 1 and 2  of Season 1—they’ve just come so far.

HR: All three actors have amazing chemistry; it’s such fun to watch them together. Can we expect to see Jess or Felix get a new love interest this season?  

CK: Oh yes, they both have new love interests this season.

HR: I was also excited to see Darnell return, I wasn’t sure if Jules would make it or not. I was upset to see that she died, but it’ll be interesting to see if he winds up helping Murphy out or if he winds up in a different place.

CK: I think Darnell’s storyline this season is really fun. Like how will he handle life after he just lost the love of his life? How will that change him and the way he looks at the world he’s been stuck in for his whole life? What will he do for revenge, and how will that affect our group?

HR: Will we see more scenes between Chloe and Murphy this season? They had such a nice moment at the end of the first episode with Murphy trying to decide if she should tell Chloe her dad is a killer.

CK: Calle [Walton] has so much to do this season; she really kicks a**. There is so much more Chloe and Murphy, and I think the Chloe fans are going to be happy. As someone who has seen Calle grow so much from season to season, I just feel like a proud mom a little bit.

HR: What made you guys decide to keep Dean on the playing field as an antagonist now that it is revealed he is Tyson’s killer?

CK: It’s an interesting thing because I fell in love with Rich [Sommer], he’s such a great actor. The Dean character was only supposed to be in the first season, but what was so fun about the Season 1 finale is that you knew he was the bad guy. It was fun to see all his nuances and all the stuff he would do knowing he is the bad guy, and we only got to play with that for one episode.

I wanted a full season where you know he’s the bad guy, to see how dark he’ll go, and how far he’ll go. Then, while doing research, we found this loophole in Illinois that if you record someone without their consent, it’s not admissible in court.

I was like, “Oh my God, he can get away with the whole thing!” It was a nice gift and a horrible part of the justice system that helped us story-wise.

HR: Right, when Murphy shows up at the police station and says she doesn’t know who they can trust, it becomes about them realizing they have no allies in the justice system.

CK:  I think it’s an interesting way to see our group. We, as people, trust cops, and then to sort of pull the rug out from under them in that way, it has been fun writing.

HR: Are there any other new characters we can expect to meet? I was wondering if we would see Gene again?

CK: Yes, we introduce Gene, Dean’s new partner, which we thought was really funny “Dean and Gene”—it was a writer’s room bit that landed into the story. And then Murphy has another love interest, other than Max. It’s this guy, Josh, who comes into the mix, which you’ll see him in the first eight episodes. He’s a wonderful actor. He’s from England and his name is Theo [Bhat].

Then there’s Sterling [played by Natalie Liconti], who is a love interest for Jess. We introduce a lot of new people. We also introduce Nia’s rival, who is even scarier than her. We have more villains and more love!

HR: Overall, what should fans expect from this season and why should they be excited?

CK: I think this season has all the stuff you love about In the Dark, the mystery, the Murphy, the humor, it’s all there, but this time it goes a little darker, and a little deeper. It feels like a grittier, darker In the Dark than you saw in Season 1.

The luxury of seeing the complete first season is you know what works and what doesn’t, and what are the strong suits? And you can really start to craft the show that works the best, which has been a gift going into the second season, and now a third. You just know the show more and more.

HR: It’ll be helpful for fans, too, who don’t have to stress about whether it’s going to get canceled or renewed!

CK: Yes! We’re good for three, and I’m hoping for more! And hopefully, it’ll give people a little bit of a distraction during this difficult time.

For more on Season 2, check out Collider‘s interview with In the Dark star Perry Matfield, who plays Murphy! 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The complete first season of In the Dark is available to stream on Netflix. New episodes of In the Dark Season 2 air Thursday nights at 9/8c on The CW and are available on The CW app and website if you miss them when they air.