Murder in a Small Town fans have an answer to a renewal! Is the Fox mystery series coming back for a second season?
The 2023 Hollywood strikes did a number on the TV networks, forcing many to adjust their schedules. Among those was Fox’s plans for Murder in A Small Town. The Canadian-made series premiered in September 2024 and notably only had an eight-episode first season.
The show did well in the ratings, not stellar numbers but respectable enough. That led to hopes of whether or not it could get a renewal. Thankfully, it’s confirmed as TVLine has reported Fox has indeed renewed the series for a second season. Brooke Bowman, EVP Of Darma Programming & Development, shared a statement on the news.
“We look forward to giving fans a second season of Karl Alberg’s unmatched expertise as a crime solver in Murder in a Small Town. We’ve enjoyed a terrific partnership with [producers] Sepia and Future Shack and our incredibly talented cast and crew and can’t wait to see what’s in store for our characters next season.”
Based on the novels by L.R. Wright, Murder in a Small Town focuses on Karl Alberg (Rossif Sutherland), a big city cop who moves to the small British Columbia town of Gibsons to become its police chief. He soon hits it off with local librarian Cassandra Lee (Kristen Kreuk) and their relationship is balanced by Alberg handling murder cases.
The show used the books for nice inspiration, with each episode often involving a stand-alone mystery with a big guest star like Stana Katic or Kreuk’s old Smallville co-star Erica Durance. There is also a wide story arc of Alberg and Lee handling secrets about their pasts.
The show’s success is good and there are factors leading to its renewal and what season 2 can be like.
What can come for Murder in a Small Town Season 2?
Murder in a Small Town had several factors working in its favor. Per Deadline, the show was a ratings hit by modern network standards, with the premiere gaining 11 million viewers in both live broadcast and various streaming platforms. The ratings remained steady throughout the season, proving it had viewers.
There’s also the low price tag, with episodes costing under $1 million each. Combine that with the fact that it’s not a Fox production but a partnership with Canadian production companies, and this is a classic case of low investment for a higher reward. With not much in the pilot pipeline, Fox figures renewing a proven show is better than developing a new one.
It’s expected the Season 1 cast will be back with likely more guest stars. As for the storylines, season 1 took elements of four of the nine books published by Wright. That leaves a few more books to use for source material alongside newer storylines. That means more of Karl and Cassandra handling their troubled romance while more murder cases occur.
Season 2 likely won’t be arriving until the fall of 2025 at the earliest. Expect more news to come, but at least fans of Murder in a Small Town are happy to know the series is coming back.
Murder in a Small Town Season 1 is now streaming on Hulu.