‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ Season 2: Release Date Speculation, News, Cast, and More

The Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 is in the works! And after the massive success of Season 1, fans already have questions about what a new season will bring.

Here is everything we know so far about the new season. Spoilers ahead for Season 1.

Nine Perfect Strangers Returns for Season 2

Nine Perfect Strangers is based on the novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty published in 2018. This also follows another small-screen adaptation of Moriarty’s work called Big Little Lies, which premiered on HBO.

For those not familiar with the series, it follows nine strangers who arrive at Tranquilium House, a health and wellness retreat in California. The guests later realize that the retreat is not all it seems to be.

Nine Perfect Strangers was created by writer and producer David E. Kelley, who also produces the show. He is the co-showrunner with John Henry Butterworth. Kelley is probably known for his work on Doogie Howser MD, Ally McBeal, Goliath, The Practice, Boston Legal, and Big Little Lies. Additionally, he has three projects in development, The Lincoln Lawyer and A Man in Full for Netflix, and Presumed Innocent for Apple TV+.

The eight-episode first season of Nine Perfect Strangers premiered in August 2021, the first three episodes debuted on its premiere day of August 18. And the rest released every Wednesday. Initially, the series was supposed to be a miniseries. However, given how successful the show was, it was renewed by Hulu for a second season.

Nine Perfect Strangers even made history as one of the streaming platform’s most-watched original shows!

What Happened in Season 1

Season one of Nine Perfect Strangers ended with Masha getting arrested by the police who were finally called to Tranquilium. But Masha manages to escape and is finally reunited with her daughter.

One of the central themes of the show includes the guests being given drugs without their consent, which turns unsettling as they begin to hallucinate. So it’s not certain whether Masha was hallucinating or not.

The finale also included a time jump that follows the guests’ lives after the retreat. A couple whose marriage at the time was on the rocks, Ben and Jessica, become the supposed new owners of Tranquilium after they renewed their vows.

“I was rooting for most of them to come out the other side of this experience and be okay,” director Jonathan Levine told Entertainment Weekly. “I don’t think it’s a happy ending for Masha though. It looks it because she avoids prison like in the book, but she ends up in a prison of her own making. That’s the irony of the whole show: Do you really want to live in a fake reality that’s easier? But for our other characters, I did really want them to be happy.”

What to Expect for Season 2

Much like season one which consists of eight episodes, Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 might have the same number of episodes. It’s also possible that the number of episodes may go up to 10 at the most.

Story-wise, season one was based on Moriarty’s novel that currently has no follow-up. This means that we can expect original material to take hold in the second season. Season 2 will apparently take place in a new destination, with new guests coming to see Masha and ask for her help. The format may remain the same, but there’s a lot of room for stories to go in another direction completely.

One such change for season two, according to Deadline, is the location. From California, season two will take place in the Swiss Alps. Season one saw the fictional Tranquilium House in Cabrillo. Due to COVID restrictions at the time of filming, production was done at the Byron Bay resort, Soma, in Australia.

“The resort itself is such a big character. It was perfect with its amazing woods, jungles, and beaches, and captured the feeling we were looking for,” Levine told Forbes. Aside from Soma, Levine also filmed the show at a timber plantation, Lune De Sang.

Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Cast

As far as casting goes, Nicole Kidman will be returning as the unconventional healer Masha Dmitirichenko for season two. Kidman is also one of the show’s executive producers under her company Blossom Films. The award-winning actress is also reprising her role as Queen Atlanna in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom later this year.

Kidman is also appearing on Paramount+’s Special Ops: Lioness, Netflix’s The Perfect Couple, and Expats on Prime Video. Aside from the Aquaman sequel, Kidman will also appear in the films A Family Affair and Holland, Michigan. Kidman also previously worked with Kelley on Big Little Lies.

In season one, Kidman led an all-star cast that included Melissa McCarthy, Bobby Cannavale, Regina Hall, Luke Evans, Samara Weaving, Grace Van Patten, Melvin Gregg, Asher Keddie, Tiffany Boone, Manny Jacinto, and Michael Shannon.

Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 will also have a star-studded cast including The White Lotus star Murray Barlett, Liv Ullmann, Dolly de Leon, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, and Aras Aydin. No word yet on their roles and the other casting for the rest of the “nine strangers” and other characters has yet to be announced.

It’s also likely some of the people from season one will return, like Jacinto, who plays Yao.

Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Release Date Speculation

While Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 is a go from Hulu, there’s no word on a release date yet. Even as season one ended in 2021, it might take a while before any announcement is made. However, Variety reported previously that season two is in the works.

It’s also likely that the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes may push production back further. The strikes put a halt to most productions, including Nine Perfect Strangers.

With that in mind, the best estimate currently is that fans can expect season two by 2025, at the earliest. Until the AMPTP proposes a fair deal for the unions, we can only wait for any possible news on production.

For now, fans can rewatch the entire first season of Nine Perfect Strangers on Hulu. There’s also a clip released by the streaming platform, Inside the Series: Nine Perfect Strangers. The clip shows cast interviews and their thoughts on their characters and the show, including moments from the first season.