Dirty John Season 3 - Will It Ever Happen?

After launching on the USA cable network, the second season of "Dirty John" arrived on Netflix. Like many true crime anthology series, the show's second season is completely divorced from the first, although both seasons share an interest in how romantic relationships can become toxic, and even deadly. The first season, which was based on a podcast of the same name, followed John Meehan (Eric Bana) and his relationship with Debra Newell (Connie Britton), whom he met and married within a month. Eventually, John winds up dead, and the season is focused on explaining the events that led to his death, and how his manipulative behavior impacted Debra's entire family. 

In the second season, "Dirty John" told the story of Betty Broderick (Amanda Peet) and her 20-year marriage to Daniel (Christian Slater). The sophomore season is devoted to understanding why Betty ultimately murdered her ex-husband and his new wife. As viewers finish the current run of episodes, many are wondering whether there's more "Dirty John" coming down the pike. Here's all the answers we have.

When "Dirty John" was first announced, it was given a two-season order. With that initial run now complete, it's unclear whether the show will return for another season. USA has yet to make an official announcement regarding the show's status as a broadcast series. Like many cable dramas that eventually make their way to Netflix, "Dirty John" had a major second life when it appeared on the streaming platform. As a result, it's also conceivable that if USA decides it's no longer interested in making more "Dirty John," Netflix could pick up the series for future installments. That's happened in the past with shows like "You," which started on Lifetime before becoming an official Netflix series. If the show is canceled by USA, Netflix's decision to continue the show will ultimately depend on how much of a draw it is for users who stream the show and continue to watch as the years pass since the original seasons' streaming arrival.

There has been no official plot announcement for the third season of "Dirty John," but the story could focus on something similar to the events of the first two seasons. Those seasons were about the ways in which relationships can become manipulative and controlling, and how they can ultimately lead to violence. 

Both seasons are also, to some extent, about what it takes to push a person who seems fairly ordinary to commit an extraordinary act of violence. The third season will likely focus on a real story about a relationship that turns sour. Unfortunately, there's a bevy of options for the creative team behind "Dirty John" to utilize for a third season of the show. Although the show's first season was based on a podcast, the second season was not, and the third would follow suit. Instead, it would be based on news stories about a person who commits extreme violence after a love story becomes something from a nightmare. 

Because "Dirty John" has yet to receive an official order for more episodes, it's unclear who would be in the cast of the crime anthology series' third season. The first two seasons managed to draw fairly high-profile names, including Christian Slater, Connie Britton, Eric Bana, and Amanda Peet. If the show were to return for a third season, it's likely that a similarly famous cast of familiar faces and names would be recruited for the project. 

The cast would ultimately depend on what story a third season would tell. Given that the first two seasons featured real people, the third would probably follow suit. Although makeup can do remarkable things, and it's not essential to look like real people if they aren't that famous, "Dirty John" could cast its third season at least in part based on what the actual people at the center of its story look like. That kind of authenticity has contributed to the show's gritty authenticity.

While the worlds waits to see if Netflix will jump on the ongoing true crime bandwagon and find another real-life relationship murder saga to produce as a new, standalone season of "Dirty John," viewers can catch up on all the deadly drama by watching the previous two seasons. If you want to stream Season 1 and Season 2 of the true-crime series, you can find both of them conveniently located on Netflix.

If you don't subscribe to that particular streaming service, several other options remain. You can buy both seasons on Apple TV+ for $19.99 apiece. Over on Prime Video, you can buy Season 1 for $23.92 and Season 2 for $19.19. You can also purchase both seasons for $14.99 on Vudu.