The first season of a thriller series about a murder mystery is often a lot of fun. The protagonist (or a group of main characters) has a vested interest in what's going on, whether they're solving a crime as part of their job or they're looking into the death of someone who they knew well. It's entertaining to see the clues that pile up and try to figure out what happened as each new episode airs.
Unfortunately, sometimes season 2 of the same show feels disappointing, whether the same character is investigating a new mystery that doesn't measure up or it's an anthology show that resets and focuses on something else. Why is making a second season so tough?
It's tough to think of a second season of a thriller series focusing on murder that is truly excellent. While it's fascinating watching Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Marty Hart (Woody Harrelson) investigate Dora Lange's death in season 1 of True Detective, the second season didn't hold fan or critical interest much. The beginning of Veronica Mars is devoted to Kristen Bell's title character looking into the truth about her best friend Lilly Kane's (Amanda Seyfried) murder, but season 2 focuses on a strange bus crash and doesn't capture the same feeling. Season 2 of Only Murders In The Building is fun, but the mystery around Bunny Folger's (Jayne Houdyshell) death doesn't have as much power as Tim Kono's (Julian Cihi) in season 1.
Why does a solid second season of a murder mystery show feel so hard? It could be argued that when a first season is almost perfect, with character development, a logical conclusion to the murder, and plenty of clues along the way, magic can't strike again. A murder mystery is a staple of the thriller genre and the truth is that a TV show isn't interesting just because a character has been killed. The death has to be strange or confusing, or the main characters have to be compelling, which makes viewers want to come along on the adventure of solving the mystery.
Season 1 of Veronica Mars works so well because Veronica misses her best friend and has a personal investment in the case. In season 2, a random bus crash takes place, and while it's sad and scary, it doesn't make sense that the show would devote so much time to it. Season 2 of Only Murders has awesome characters, but the mystery itself is a little dull. While Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), and Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) are trying to discover Bunny's killer, they're doing this because they live in the same building as her, are recording a podcast already, and happen to be suspects in the murder. If this wasn't the case, it seems like the three main characters could brush themselves off and move on with their lives.
The rule "once is funny, twice is not" applies to murder mysteries, too, and it could be said that "once is scary, twice is not." It doesn't make sense for the same character to be involved in the same type of murder more than once. This often means that murder mystery shows are anthology series like American Horror Story. This is the route that True Detective took as there's a new mystery and new characters every season.
The Killing is a perfect example of how a series fails when it tries to go beyond one season. While season 1 of The Killing felt fresh and exciting, once fans knew who killed Rosie Larsen (Katie Findlay), it was boring. The show famously didn't say who the murderer was in the season 1 finale, which upset and confused fans who had been looking forward to a clean resolution. While the other seasons of the show focused on Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) and Stephen Holden (Joel Kinnaman) solving other crimes, the feeling was lost and it wasn't as thrilling as learning what happened to Rosie. Every other story arc paled in comparison to the questions about why this tragedy happened to a teenage girl.
While fans hope for season 4 of True Detective, it might not ever feel as great as season 1, and that is most likely true of all thriller or horror TV shows that tell a murder mystery story. It takes a lot to create a compelling season 1 of television that fans want to devote many hours to. Even if the same popular characters come back and solve another crime, their motive might not make sense, or there might not seem like there's a real reason for them to do so. The X-Files is a great sci-fi procedural, but sometimes that genre can feel dull. Every mystery needs to feel compelling and necessary, and that isn't always the case.