Warning: This article contains spoilers for Nine Perfect Strangers season one.
While White Lotus fans wait to get their season four fix, Hulu’s equally star-studded resort drama (and most-watched original series) is preparing for its return. Nine Perfect Strangers, which debuted on the streaming platform in 2021, is officially working on its next installment, and chances are it’s bringing even more baggage with it.
In season one, the show followed characters around a boutique wellness retreat in California founded by Masha Dmitrichenko, a spiritual guru/director played by Nicole Kidman. Some of the troubled—albeit well-known—faces that checked into Tranquillum for a mushroom-laced healing journey included Luke Evans, Michael Shannon, Melissa McCarthy, Regina Hall, and Bobby Cannavale.
Created by David E. Kelley, the series is based on the 2018 murder mystery novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty. Kelley and Kidman previously teamed up for an HBO adaptation of the Australian author’s other bestseller, Big Little Lies. Given the fact that Nine Perfect Strangers was a one-off, there’s no telling what direction the storyline is headed in next. Grab a non-psychedelic smoothie and get ready as we break down everything there is to know about season two.
Is There a Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2?
Yes. Back in June 2023, Variety confirmed that the Hulu original Nine Perfect Strangers was officially renewed for a second season. The show, which started off as a mini-series, premiered nearly four years ago now and will be headed to a new location for filming. The upcoming installment will also see new cast members take part in the retreat.
Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Release Date: When Will It Air?
The upcoming season of the series kicks off on May 21, 2025, with a two-episode premiere. Fresh episodes will drop each week thereafter. Nine Perfect Strangers season one first hit the streamer on August 18, 2021 and included eight episodes. Season two will reportedly follow suit.
Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Location: Where Will It Take Place?
Nine Perfect Strangers is trading the verdant landscapes of Northern California for the snow-capped Swiss Alps for season two, Deadline reported. “Swiss Alps and crazy! Hold on tight!” Kidman exclaimed on the red carpet before accepting her lifetime achievement award in April.
In season one, the fictional Tranquillum House was set in the idyllic town of Cabrillo. However, due to Covid restrictions, filming actually took place in Australia. More specifically at the real-life Byron Bay resort, Soma. “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,” director Jonathan Levine told Forbes. This time, season two was reportedly shot on location across Austria and Germany.
Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Cast: Who’s Returning?
As far as we know, only one cast member from season one is definitely returning and that’s Kidman as Masha. Of course, it’s certainly possible other characters could reappear on-screen. Among the new group of strangers jonesing for a therapeutic breakthrough is Emmy-winner and White Lotus star Murray Bartlett, who will play Brian and Schitt’s Creek alum Annie Murphy as Imogen, Variety reported.
Baranski (The Gilded Age) will star as Victoria, a “woman with a secret” who meets up with her “estranged daughter,” played by Murphy. Oscar nominee Liv Ullmann will also be joining the ensemble alongside Dolly de Leon from Triangle of Sadness as Agnes and British actress Maisie Richarson-Sellers will take on the role of Wolfie.
Also appearing as series regulars are Turkish actor Aras Aydin who will play Matteo, in addition to Lucas Englander as Martin, and Mikaela Mullaney Straus, better known by her stage name King Princess, who will portray Tina. More recently, it was reported that Crazy Rich Asians alum Henry Golding signed on for season two as Peter, in addition to Mark Strong and Lena Olin who will play David and Helena, respectively.
Speaking to Variety, Golding didn’t give much away about his character other than details regarding his physical appearance. “I just spent six months in Munich with Nicole Kidman shooting Season 2 of Nine Perfect Strangers,” he told the magazine. “I had this bouffant, this massive hair but I was so tired of it.”
Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2 Plot: What Will Happen?
According to the official synopsis for season two: “Nine new strangers connected in ways they could never imagine are invited by mysterious guru Masha Dmitrichenko (Kidman) to join a transformational wellness retreat in the Austrian Alps. Over the course of a week, she takes them to the brink. Will they make it? Will she? Masha is willing to try anything in the interest of healing everyone involved, including herself.”
“The micro-dosing is still going on, so the behavior will be wild,” Kelley told ET in April of last year.
Baranski has also offered up a few tidbits about what viewers can expect from her character this season, in addition to Masha. “She arrives in her Wagner ski outfit, but she’s using a cane. And she meets her daughter, her estranged daughter, and they’re meant to come to this famous European sanitarium up in the Austrian Alps to work out their issues,” she told Deadline.
“I think Victoria is someone who has stayed at that sanitarium when her marriages were breaking up, but she’s one of those ladies with a history of failed marriages, and this trauma that happened with my first husband that my daughter and I lived through, which is why we’re there to work through that trauma. But the Masha character is the same. I mean, that accent that she has, and the look of it. I mean, she has different hair. Her hair is fantastic. Her whole look is fantastic, but it is that character bringing together a different group of people.”
If you recall, the first installment ended with the police finally being summoned to Tranquillim and Masha getting arrested. A time jump follows each of the participant’s post-retreat. Most notably Ben (Melvin Gregg) and Jessica (Samara Weaving), a couple who was headed for divorce, appear as the assumed new owners of the California wellness center after renewing their vows. Meanwhile, the eight-episode installment concludes with Masha escaping jail time and finally reuniting with her late daughter. However, it’s unclear whether it’s at the hands of another psilocybin-induced hallucination.
“I was rooting for most of them to come out the other side of this experience and be okay,” 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.”
Where to Watch Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2
Since Nine Perfect Strangers is a Hulu original, that’s the only place season two will be dropping. If you don’t subscribe to the streaming platform already, the ad-supported plan starts at $7.99 per month or you can watch without any ad breaks for $14.99 per month. Even better, a 30-day free trial lets you catch up without spending a dime.
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