'Why Women Kill' creator Marc Cherry's interest in turning the CBS series into an anthology could be the best thing ever
CBS's upcoming dark comedy 'Why Women Kill' is a fun exploration of marriage and infidelity. Coming from the creator of 'Desperate Housewives', Marc Cherry, peak drama and some major plot twists can be expected in the soon-to-be-arriving story. And with a cast that brags of big names like Ginnifer Goodwin, Lucy Liu, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste, it is quite understandable that Cherry would want to turn the show into an 'American Horror Story' (AHS) type anthology, which also might just prove to be the best thing for the show.
With the debut season yet to premiere, let alone a second season getting officially greenlit, Cherry has already announced his interest in turning the series into an anthology in the format of Ryan Murphy's FX show, AHS, where the same core cast plays new characters in a different story each season. That said, the genre shift hasn't been mentioned. So we don't know if the show will shift focus from dark comedy to pure horror either. But Cherry does want Goodwin, Liu, and Howell-Baptiste back, should a season 2 get greenlit.
'Why Women Kill' manages to stand apart because of its narrative that courses through three different generations. Set in the 1960s, 1980s and in 2019, the show follows three different women living in the same household, undergoing the same marital issues. Regardless of the time periods they belong to, their common problem is infidelity; Goodwin's 60's character is a homemaker whose husband is cheating on her with a local diner waitress, Liu's 80's socialite character's husband is secretly gay, and Howell-Baptiste's 2019 strong, independent, bisexual lawyer is in an open marriage. Apart from the common crisis of infidelity, season 1 also ends on extremely absolute terms: three deaths.
“There are three murders, three deaths at the end of the series, but they’re not all committed by the women you see on stage today (Goodwin, Liu or Howell-Baptiste) nor are the men (Reid Scott, Jack Davenport) necessarily the victims,” Cherry told Deadline, adding: “And no one person is killed due to infidelity. Infidelity is just the catalyst for the series.” But he also told the outlet that should the network renew the show for a second season, “I have an idea of Season 2 and I’m absolutely going to try and bring back as many people as I can. What Ryan Murphy introduced to TV with the repertory theater company of it all, I’m jealous as all get out,” said Cherry.
That Cherry can show versatility through one common theme is no secret considering the variety in the plots of the three different women and their stories in the debut season itself. We see Goodwin's 60's wife trying to reclaim her throne by making herself more sexually spontaneous to win back her husband's affection, which sounds like something the good wife of that era would do. Side by side, Liu's 80's socialite is all about her image and afraid of the taboos surrounding her husband's sexuality ruining her reputation in the public eye. So despite her social structure, she decides to stick around. For the fun and cool 2019 couple, incorporating a third wheel and bringing them over into their house is no big deal either, because progressive is chic.
So if marriage, infidelity, and deaths are going to be the essence of the show like Murphy champions gore, horror, and bloodbath in AHS, we can only imagine the newer, more unique, and niche tales that Cherry could weave on the topic. Also, for all we know, a new season would attempt at separating itself greatly from the debut one, which means the possibility of seeing Goodwin out of the perfect wife role, or Liu, away from her usual on-screen persona of impeccable charm is high. The twists and turns that Cherry's brain is capable of was brought out exceedingly well through 'Desperate Housewives', so 'Why Women Kill' branching out as an anthology series could also leave scope for some of the innate charms of the ABC drama to make a comeback. And none of that is anything anybody could ever complain about!
'Why Women Kill' premieres with season 1 on Thursday, August 15, only on CBS All Access.