It was only just released this week, and already the newest true crime podcast on the market is all anyone can talk about. When a piece of media takes off this aggressively right after its release, you have to start talking about the next step. So, will S-Town have a Season 2? There's no official word yet, but I'm gonna go with a tentative and qualified "yes."
All seven episodes of the first season were released in bulk on Mar. 28, for your marathon listening pleasure. And, no matter how far into them you are, if you're anything like me, you're already hooked. Halfway through the first episode, I was already bummed that I only had six and a half more, so it would really help me to be able to look forward to the followup.
Unfortunately, I can't give myself exactly what I'm looking for, because no second season of S-Town has been announced yet. The story of an alleged Alabama murder does seem pretty self-contained and unique, so it's not yet clear if there will be any loose ends to tie up. What I do know is that the S-Town team has been working on this project since 2014, so it seems like, if there was more to this story, it would have been included in Season 1.
As one of the podcast's producers Julie Snyder told Rolling Stone in February, "Brian and I began working on the S-Town story three years ago, before we'd even launched Serial, and immediately I knew it was special."
"Special" feels like exactly the right word for the tale they unearthed, so it doesn't feel easily replicated for a second season. That said, there are some easy comparisons to make between S-Town and Serial, like its shared producers, the true-crime angle, and the previously-unknown case. Fans can take heart from the fact that Serial did indeed return for a second season, although it was a completely different story than the one that put the podcast on the map for Season 1. Only the storytelling style remained the same.
That's what I think we could expect from a Season 2 of S-Town, if ever such a thing were to be announced: a deep-dive on a rural area with laws and customs all its own, probably with the rumors of some shadowy crime, oft-discussed but never investigated, just like Woodstock. But that's just me spitballing here. (Please make a second season, I'm begging you.)
Listening to S-Town so far has been like delving into another world, unlike anything else I've ever experienced, so the opportunities for a second season are endless.
