Why Women Kill Season 2 Release Date, Plot And Cast - What We Know So Far

"Why Women Kill" became one of the most popular original offerings on CBS All-Access when the series launched in August 2019. Now rebranded as Paramount+, the streaming service renewed the series for a second season in October of 2019, just before the last few episodes of the show were posted to the platform. 

Season 1 of the series, created by Marc Cherry ("Popular," "Desperate Housewives"), focused on three different women living in three different time periods — 1963, 1984, and 2019 –  all bound together by the fact that they had lived in the same mansion located in Pasadena, California, and eventually became murderers.

The first season stars Ginnifer Goodwin (1963's Beth Ann Stanton), Lucy Liu (1984's Simone Grove), and Kirby Howell-Baptiste (2019's Taylor Harding) as the three central figures in the narrative. Each character has a different motivation for killing someone close to them, and over the season's run, the twisting path that bound them together was revealed.

So what's ahead for "Why Women Kill" as season 2 gears up?  What will change, what will stay the same, and what will keep viewers tuned in?

It's perhaps unsurprising for readers to learn that the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily stalled production on Season 2 of "Why Women Kill." On November 11, 2020, the series temporarily suspended production along with three other projects filming at CBS Studio Center due to a positive COVID-19 test among one of the show's shared production team members, according to Deadline. Production apparently resumed near or on November 13, as it did for another show affected by the pause, and casting notices about the season have been posted regularly throughout the winter months.

According to a recently released promo on YouTube, Season 2 of the show will debut on Paramount+ on June 3, 2021. That means that you'll be able to watch the whole show in the early summer.

There's also no word on whether the show's adjacent true-crime podcast, "Why Women Kill: Truth, Lies and Labels," will return.

Season 2 is set in 1949 and will, according to The Wrap, focus on housewife Alma (Allison Tolman), whose casting notes, per Variety, describe her as "timid and awkward, yet optimistic." She dreams of being allowed to join Rita Castillo's exclusive gardening club and marrying off her daughter, Dee. But soon she learns that her seemingly kind and good-natured husband, veterinarian Bertram (Nick Frost), has a dark secret that changes everything.

According to Deadline, Lana Parrilla will play the aforementioned Rita Castillo, who entertains herself with an extramarital affair with her younger lover Scooter (Matthew Daddario) as she waits for her elderly husband, the evil Carlo (uncast as of press time), to die. Her other mode of entertainment is playing queen bee at her garden club. Scooter is described as a wannabe actor, "charming but not so bright."

Alma and Bertram's daughter, Dee, will be portrayed by B.K. Cannon. Dee is described as "brassy" but "ungainly" and works as a waitress at a local diner. 

Jordane Christie will play "tough, rugged" detective Vern, whom Rita hires to investigate Scooter.

Carlos' unmarried daughter, Catherine, described as "prim and proper," will be played by Veronica Falcón. Catherine has returned to Pasadena after a mysterious accident, hates Rita, and is forever looking for a way to ruin her life. 

Kerry O'Malley will portray the "spoiled" Mavis, per Deadline, a member of Rita's garden club who has a "beautiful singing voice." Another club member — described in loglines as "beautiful but entitled," will be Brenda, portrayed by Cynthia Quiles. Virginia Williams will play club member Grace — but unlike the others in the club, Grace is kind, sincere, and forms a friendship with Alma. Jessica Phillips will play Joan, the final member of Rita's club, whose son is having an affair with an older woman. Eileen Galindo will portray Rita's "wry" maid and confidant, Isabel.

Rounding out the cast is Broadway star Rachel Bay Jones, who will play Maisie, a nightclub singer who becomes friendly with a vet, according to Playbill.

In a twist on the show's anthology theme, all of the plotlines taking place in Season 2 of "Why Women Kill" will occur during the same year instead of being spread apart by decades, though the season will have at least two protagonists.

Season 2's logline states: "This season of the dark comedy features a new ensemble cast and storylines set in 1949 that will explore what it means to be beautiful, the hidden truth behind the facades people present to the world, the effects of being ignored and overlooked by society, and finally, the lengths one woman will go in order to finally belong."

Casting news suggests that the entire season will revolve around the social dynamics within the tony garden club run by Rita, newcomer Alma's struggle to become a part of the group, the familial struggles of both women, specifically with their less-than-ideal marriages and imperfect daughters, and the possibility of Rita's homicide at the hands of Catherine, Alma, or even Scooter.