Hulu doubles down on blood — Emmy Rossum’s Furious is back for season 2

Hulu is keeping the knives out: Furious will be back for a second run. They announced the renewal just before the first season's finale lands, which is either confident or very canny timing — hard not to respect it either way. The whole show is built around Emmy Rossum playing an FBI agent chasing down a female serial killer, and honestly, that's more rare on TV than you might expect.

Furious comes from Elizabeth Meriwether (best known for 'New Girl', which this is absolutely nothing like), and it's "very loosely" based on the 1987 film Black Widow. The set-up is simple: Rossum's character Alice Black is hunting a serial murderer played by Lola Petticrew. As things spiral, the series gets interested in where justice blurs into something a bit grubbier — not massively original ground, but it's all about the execution, isn't it?

Twisted Inspirations

Meriwether didn't just want to rehash the old film. She told The Hollywood Reporter she was drawn to the idea of exploring female serial killers, largely because it's barely been done — save for Killing Eve, it's a real gap in the market. She also pointed out that most female killers, historically, were themselves victims of violence. So while 'Furious' stays very much in genre territory, there's a bit more going on underneath: cycles of violence, and how they're treated — or rather, ignored — when women are involved.

Speaking about the project, here's what Meriwether said in her own words regarding her creative approach:

Emmy had wanted to make that into a show, and I was excited about doing something completely different and exploring a female serial killer. I love serial killer shows, but I’d never seen one with a female serial killer other than Killing Eve.

Viewer Numbers and What’s Next

The series has quietly turned into a streaming hit for Hulu, with the audience actually growing each week since launch. Quite rare, as most shows drop off after their premiere. The season one closer hits on 31 August.

Furious continues to pull in more viewers each week, bucking the usual trend for new series on the platform.

Season two is still at the scribbles-on-the-whiteboard stage, but reportedly, the plan is to follow Rossum’s Alice Black again, likely with a new supporting cast and (presumably) a new case. Details are, at this point, still firmly under wraps.

Critics' Take

Our own Alex Maidy wasn’t exactly cuddling up to the show, but he did grudgingly admit it's utterly gripping. He called it a well-balanced blend of procedural, thriller, and drama, with a bit of dark humour to take the edge off. By halfway, he reckons viewers will be torn between the heroes and villains, but, crucially, they'll want to see how things play out when it all comes to a head in the finale.