Courtesy of HBO

Viewers may just be getting more Mare.

When HBO’s Kate Winslet-led police drama “Mare of Easttown” wrapped up in 2021, many fans of the limited series hoped that it might not be limited after all. The network’s hopes were high as well, especially after Winslet, Evan Peters, and Julianne Nicholson won acting Emmys for the program. Months after the show concluded (with Winslet’s Mare having cracked the season’s central case and come to terms with her grief over a family loss), network chief Casey Bloys told Variety, “[Creator] Brad [Ingelsby] and Kate and the producers are all talking to see if they think there’s a place to go. I think we’ll hear from them in a couple of weeks if they think that it’s a story worth telling, and they’re excited by. I’m excited to hear and see what they have to say.”

Three years later, the conversations continue. Speaking to Variety for our new cover story on Kate Winslet, HBO’s head of drama Francesca Orsi said that after the 2021 Emmys, “we did run to have discussions about a Season 2. But it did feel too soon.” Now, though, “while there’s nothing in the works, we are having early discussions about whether it might be time to start thinking of building something. We might be willing to figure out with Mare, years later, picking her up — not on the heels of where she ended, but there have been years for the character that have passed. Who is she now?”

Orsi said that she expects to speak with Winslet as well as Ingelsby and EP Mark Roybal “and see if there’s any viability to everyone saying yes again.”

For her part, Winslet has been reluctant to get specific about the show’s return. In a 2022 interview with the podcast Happy Sad Confused, Winslet said, “The question is, do you quit while you’re ahead? Do you hold your head high and say, ‘Look at what we did, I’m so proud of that,’ and just walk away? Or do we go for it again?” And in her interview with Variety, Winslet, asked if she’d reprise the character, said “Probably,” before telling the reporter to “Move on.”