Nine Perfect Strangers is building up a stellar new cast for its sophomore season. The Hulu resort drama starring Nicole Kidman and adapted from Liane Moriarty’s novel of the same name will be back for a second installment, this time with a whole new crew of characters led by the Oscar winner.
The series was officially renewed back in June 2023, almost two years after Nine Perfect Strangers first debuted in August 2021, with the premiere becoming the most-watched Hulu original at the time. In addition to Kidman, season 1 starred Bobby Cannavale, Luke Evans, Manny Jacinto, Melissa McCarthy, Michael Shannon, Regina Hall, Samara Weaving and Tiffany Boone as various staff members and guests at a boutique resort run by Kidman’s character.
Given the series’ return with a second installment and news that the show will feature several new cast members, including prestige TV breakout Murray Bartlett and Henry Golding, here’s everything to know about Nine Perfect Strangers and its upcoming episodes.
What Is Nine Perfect Strangers About?
Nine Perfect Strangers is a resort drama about what happens when many disparate lives suddenly clash and overlap in unexpected ways while all staying at a boutique resort led by a mysterious self-help guru.
The series was first adapted from Liane Moriarty’s 2018 novel by creator and showrunner David E. Kelley, who developed the series alongside executive producer John Henry Butterworth. All eight of season 1’s episodes were directed by Jonathan Levine.
Nine Perfect Strangers, which was also executive produced by Kidman, marks the actress’ second time starring in a Moriarty adaptation, with the first being Big Little Lies, which was also created by Kelley and ran for two seasons on HBO.
What Happened in Season 1?
Season 1 followed various guests played by Cannavale, Evans, Hall, McCarthy, Shannon and Weaving, who all decided to stay at Tranquillum House in order to deal with personal issues, such as stalled professional careers, unhappy marriages, unresolved grief and bad breakups.
During their 10-day treatment at the wellness resort founded by Masha Dmitrichenko (Kidman), and helped run by employees played by Boone and Jacinto, the guests found themselves tricked and manipulated into taking drugs, locked into a room together and forced into violent interactions.
As they get further into their stay, the guests discover many secrets about each other as well as the resort as they learn that Masha is not who she purported to be.
In the end, despite calling the police, all of the guests claim nothing untoward happened and audiences see that each of them eventually have recovered from their personal issues and started moving forward in their lives, with Masha off the hook for illegally drugging them and driving off into the sunset.
While speaking to ET, Levine reflected on season 1’s many different genres, twists and characters. “There were so many different things… There’re thriller elements. There’s humor. There’s character-based drama. There’s soap,” he said, explaining at the time why the finale brought all the stories to an end.
“For me, what was so important the whole time was engaging with the humanity of these characters and fulfilling their emotional journey in a satisfying way. That was, like, job one of this finale,” he continued. “And then there was the job of topping yourself, as it gets more and more crazy and more and more trippy. I love that sort of descent through the looking glass into madness, so pushing that even further as well. And of course, giving closure to our characters as well as some surprises.”
When it came to Masha’s story in particular, Levine added, “I love where she ends up and I love her arc and I love what Nicole was able to do turning this person from an antagonist almost into a protagonist. Someone you can empathize with who started off as, for all intents and purposes, your bad guy.”
Who Is Joining the Cast in Season 2?
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, season 2 is expected to see a whole new cast join Kidman, who will reprise her role as Masha.
The new cast of series regulars is led by Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians, Old Guard 2), Mark Strong (Kingsman, 1917) and Lena Olin (One Life). Details on their characters outside of their names (Peter, David and Helena, respectively), will not be released just yet.
Among the new, international additions are Bartlett as well as two-time Oscar nominee Liv Ullmann, Dolly De Leon (Triangle of Sadness), Maisie Richardson-Sellers (The Originals, Legends of Tomorrow), Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek, Kevin Can F**k Himself), King Princess, Turkish actor Aras Aydin, Lucas Englander and Christine Baranski.
Bartlett has become famous for his standout roles on several anthology series, first in season 1 of The White Lotus as a high-strung resort manager who loses it on one of his guests, and then in season 1 of The Last of Us as one-half of a gay couple who struggles to survive in a world overrun by zombies. The former earned him an Emmy for his performance, while the latter garnered him much-deserved awards season attention.
The Aussie star also appeared in Hulu’s true-crime series, Welcome to Chippendales, as well as the Apple TV+ originals, Physical and Extrapolations.
When Will Season 2 Return to Hulu?
No official details about Nine Perfect Strangers season 2’s premiere date or filming has been announced.
Given that it took nearly two years for the series to officially get renewed, the series likely won’t return until 2025 at the earliest. Also, it’s worth noting that filming on season 1 initially took place from July to December 2020 before the series debuted on Hulu the following year in August 2021.
Additionally, Kidman has the Netflix thriller The Perfect Couple, based on Elin Hilderbrand’s New York Times bestseller, slated to debut this year. The adaptation also stars Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning and Eve Hewson.
Nine Perfect Strangers season 1 is now streaming on Hulu.
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