Filming on Netflix’s ‘Dead to Me’ Has Been Paused

Christina Applegate just revealed she's been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Filming on Netflix’s ‘Dead to Me’ Has Been Paused

Fans of Netflix’s hit series Dead to Me are used to creator Liz Feldman’s surprising twists and turns, but even we didn’t see this coming: the Christina Applegate–Linda Cardellini dark comedy has been renewed for a third (yay!) but final (no!) season, Netflix announced on July 6, 2020.

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The bittersweet announcement was followed by news that Feldman has formed a multiyear partnership with Netflix to create other projects. “We could not be more excited to expand our relationship with Liz and continue to work with her on Dead to Me and future series to come,” Jane Wiseman, Netflix’s vice president of comedy series, said in a statement.

Feldman released a statement as well, writing that “Dead to Me is exactly the show I wanted to make,” and “it’s been an incredible gift.” She goes on to say that “telling a story sprung from grief and loss has stretched me as an artist and healed me as a human. I’ll be forever indebted to my partners in crime, my friends for life, Christina and Linda, and our brilliantly talented writers, cast, and crew. I am beyond grateful to Netflix for supporting Dead to Me from day one, and I’m thrilled to continue our collaboration.”

Christina Applegate tweeted her thoughts immediately after the news was announced, saying, “I will miss these ladies. But we felt this was the best way to tie up the story of these women. Thank you to all the fans. We will be getting back to work when it is safe to do so. Much love.”

Season two, which (spoilers ahead!) focused on widow Jen (Applegate) coming to terms with the death of Judy’s (Cardellini) ex, Steve (James Marsden), after hitting him over the head, premiered to massive critical acclaim on May 8, 2020. The season ended on a cliffhanger (and plenty of fascinating fan theories!) when Steve’s twin brother, Ben, smashed his car into Jen and Judy while driving under the influence. Feldman told Glamour that she wrote the shocking finale with the intent to keep creating more of the story. “I would love to keep making the show. I’d love to keep working with the writers, with Christina and Linda, and with our amazing crew,” she said. “So you intentionally make [a finale] so there are more questions than answers.”

Feldman also told Glamour that she never intended to make a “seven-season show” as it’s not something Netflix is known to do. However, she also said that “for now, especially at the end of season two, it just begs you to give more story.”

The pandemic may have influenced the direction of the upcoming season. “I have a direction that I’d like to take season three,” Feldman said in May 2020, “but we have to be sensitive that things change and so can ideas. When I first started thinking about how I wanted to do season three, we weren’t in a pandemic. We weren’t in this incredibly trying, traumatic collective experience. As a storyteller, I want to be respectful of our audience as a whole. The show isn’t meant to just be a dark tone about lies and mysteries. I want it to be an escape. I want it to make people feel good also.”

Still, Feldman was always aware of not overstaying her welcome, recognizing that there are only so many stories of Jen and Judy in dire situations that you can tell before it goes a step too far. “It’s going to strain credulity at a certain point if four more seasons of terrible things befall these characters,” she told Glamour, adding that the heart of the show has always been “about two women getting through the worst things in life together.”

“All of those dangling threads excite me,” Feldman said about season three. “But what excites me more than anything is just being able to write more of this complicated, twisty friendship between Jen and Judy. It’s a show about these two friends who are inextricably drawn to each other, perhaps for the wrong reasons, but in the end, their friendship just feels right.”

In August 2021, star Christina Applegate revealed she’s been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. In response, Netflix and CBS Studios released a joint statement to The Hollywood Reporter, saying, “We love and support Christina and respect her privacy as she takes the time and space she needs in this moment.” The article also notes that filming on the show has been “paused temporarily.”

We will update this post with more details about Dead to Me’s third and final season as they come in.