Why Women Kill - Season 1
Why Women Kill is an American dark comedy-drama anthology television series created by Marc Cherry, which depicts the events leading to deaths caused by women. The first season, which premiered on August 15, 2019,[1] on CBS All Access, consists of 10 episodes and is set in multiple time periods. The second season, also containing 10 episodes, premiered on June 3, 2021[2] on Paramount+, and changes its focus to a single time period. In December 2021, the series was renewed for a third season.[3] However, it was scrapped before production could begin in July 2022.[4]
Why Women Kill - Season 1
The first season of Why Women Kill follows three women from different decades who are connected through having all lived in the same Pasadena mansion and experiencing infidelity in their marriages. Beth Ann Stanton remains content as a housewife in 1963 until she learns of her husband Rob's unfaithfulness; socialite Simone Grove discovers her third husband Karl's homosexuality and begins her own affair with a younger man in 1984; and in 2019, bisexual attorney Taylor Harding finds her open marriage tested when she and her husband Eli become attracted to the same woman, Jade. The infidelity in each marriage sets off a chain of events that ends with a death caused by a woman.[5]
In 1963, while at the doctor with April, Beth Ann sees Mary, who has been visibly hurt. Beth Ann goes to Mary's house to check on her, and questions why she stays with Ralph. Mary admits that Ralph has a gun and threatened to shoot her if she leaves. After their talk, Beth Ann decides to leave Rob and goes to his office to say goodbye, but he isn't there. Rob's secretary Claire then tells her Rob has cheated with many women, including Claire. Claire admits that she was the reason Beth Ann's daughter Emily died; Claire went to their house to meet Rob, but after Beth Ann and Emily came home early, Claire fled out the back door and left it open, causing Emily to wander into the street. Rob knew the truth and has been gaslighting Beth Ann. Beth Ann changes her mind about leaving Rob, and forgives Claire on the condition that their conversation stay between them. On the way home, she buys a gun.
In 1963, Beth Ann tells Rob she has bought a gun that she will keep loaded in the kitchen due to break-ins in the neighborhood, then initiates a scheme with Mary to cause their husbands to kill each other. Mary hides her belongings, then leaves a note for Ralph that she's having an affair with Rob and is leaving to be with him. Beth Ann plies Rob with alcohol and questions him about Emily's death, but Rob continues to deny his role in their daughter's death, encouraging Beth Ann to continue with their scheme. April arrives at the mansion suddenly, having learned the truth about Beth Ann's identity. Ralph arrives with his gun shortly afterwards and argues with Rob, prompting a struggle between the two. In the ensuing scuffle, Beth Ann removes the bullets from her gun before tossing it to Rob, ensuring that he's gunned down by Ralph. A decade later, Simone meets Beth Ann, who reveals that Ralph was executed for Rob's murder, and April has become a singer, with Beth Ann helping raise her and Rob's daughter Elsie. The three of them move to New York together so that April can appear on Broadway.
On October 16, 2019, the day before the season 1 finale, it was announced that the series was renewed for a second season that would focus on a new set of characters. Julie McNamara, CBS All Access' EVP of Original Content, stated that, "Under the creative direction of Marc Cherry and the incredible performances of the cast, the series has become one of our most streamed original series. We look forward to bringing fans even more of this wonderfully soapy dramedy in its second season and can't wait to see what themes Marc explores next."[21]
On November 11, 2020, it was reported that the second season had been suspended production after positive COVID-19 tests of production team members.[22] On December 15, 2021, Paramount+ renewed the series for a third season.[3] On July 1, 2022, the season was reported scrapped just before production was set to begin.[4]
In February 2019, it was announced that Ginnifer Goodwin and Lucy Liu had been cast in starring roles.[23][24] On February 27, 2019, it was reported that Reid Scott had joined the cast.[25] On March 4, 2019, it was announced that Sam Jaeger had joined the cast.[26] On March 7, 2019, it was announced that Alexandra Daddario had joined the cast.[27] On March 11, 2019, Kirby Howell-Baptiste had been cast.[28] On March 19, 2019, Sadie Calvano joined cast as a series regular.[29] On April 5, 2019, Katie Finneran has been cast in a recurring role.[30] On April 17, 2019, Adam Ferrara joined the cast in a recurring capacity.[7] On August 7, 2019, Li Jun Li was cast in a recurring role.[10] In October 2020, Allison Tolman, Nick Frost, Lana Parrilla, B.K. Cannon, Jordane Christie, Matthew Daddario, Veronica Falcón were cast to star for the second season.[11][13] In November 2020, Virginia Williams, Jessica Phillips, Eileen Galindo, Cynthia Quiles, and Kerry O'Malley joined the cast in recurring roles for the second season.[15][16] On April 14, 2021, Rachel Bay Jones was cast in a recurring role for the second season.[14]
Why Women Kill premiered on August 15, 2019, and its first season consisted of 10 episodes on CBS All Access.[1] The second season premiered on June 3, 2021, on Paramount+ and it consists of 10 episodes.[2]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 67% based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though Why Women Kill falls short of its ambitious premise, fans of Marc Cherry and his impressive cast will find much to like in its darkly soapy and stylish delights."[32] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[33]
Season 1 of CBS All Access' dark comedy-drama series Why Women Kill was picked up for a season order on September 24, 2018.[1] The first season premiered on August 15, 2019, and concluded on October 17, 2019.
The cancellation comes despite the fact that the show was renewed for a third season in December 2021. The show originally launched in 2019 when Paramount+ was still known as CBS All Access, with Season 2 airing between June and July of 2021.
The series followed an anthology format, with the two seasons featuring entirely different casts and storylines. Season 1 featured stories set in three different decades, specifically in 1963, 1984, and 2019. It followed three women who lived in the same Pasadena mansion across those decades and who all dealt with infidelity in their marriages. The cast for that season included Ginnifer Goodwin, Lucy Liu, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, and Alexandra Daddario.
Alma lives within those habits happily enough, but she's secretly pining for the day she will meet other women who share her passion for gardening, women who lunch in pretty dresses while chatting about the gardens they love.
Of course, Alma doesn't know that the Elysian Garden Club is a garden club in name only. She's tended her garden for years in the hope that one day a coveted spot on the club would open, and she'd have her chance to prove her value to the women she admires.
With Alma's plight as the frumpy everywoman, Why Women Kill Season 2 Episode 1 reminds us that for all of the progress women have made since 1949, we are still easily lured into believing we aren't good enough for the best in life.
As Alma, Allison Tolman perfectly conveys every fervent wish and every devastating setback her character experiences. Tolman herself is proof positive that women succeed without sacrificing their individuality, and banking on talent can move mountains.
When she asked for a special dress for the garden club party, it took a heartfelt confession about her lot in life to earn money for a dress. And even then, the pricing frightened her so that she made her own dress; her inadequate sewing skills be damned.
Going into this final episode, I had many theories about how it might all end. Would Alma kill Vern because he figured it out? Would Bernie die? Would Alma let him take the fall for all the murders and taint his legacy? Would Vern and Dee turn on Alma and help Rita get revenge?
When Desperate Housewives ended it was hard to find another show that filled that void, mixing classic soap opera tropes with dark humor to create a wickedly enjoyable show. Devious Maids fit the bill for a bit, though the show was cancelled far before it could run its course. Enter Why Women Kill, whose second season starts off with a bang, embodying the best elements of early Desperate Housewives.
Like Season 1, Season 2 has twists and turns, but its episodes are confined to only one time period, rather than three. The first season had story lines that jumped between 1963 and 2019, whereas Season 2 focuses solely on the 1940s. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, creator and writer Marc Cherry revealed that he knew what the plot of Season 2 would be before Season 1 even aired.
Marc revealed, "I had Season 2 in my back pocket. I was watching a movie, which I thought was really good ... They introduced a character ever so briefly of this serial killer's wife. I thought, I want to see a story line from her point of view. I started coming up with this idea of a woman who feels powerless and unseen in the world and very much wants to sit at the cool kids' table. As luck would have it, she finds out that for all her feeling powerless in the world, she has a very powerful tool at her disposal."
The conflict of the season will be between Alma and wealthy housewife Rita (Lana Parilla) as they struggle for power and acceptance in an exclusive garden club. Also present is Alma's veterinarian husband Bertram (Nick Frost), who happens to be a serial killer. Will Bertram tip the scales of power in Alma's favor? Only time will tell... 041b061a72