Will there be a Dead Ringers season 2? Latest news and speculation

It has debuted to rave reviews, not least for Rachel Weisz's staggering dual-lead performance as Mantle twins, Elliot and Beverly. Based on the iconic 1988 film of the same name, the new series is a modern take on the twisted tale of family, medicine, love and women's health care.

As per the synopsis for the series: “Dead Ringers stars Rachel Weisz playing the double-lead roles of Elliot and Beverly Mantle, twins who share everything: drugs, lovers, and an unapologetic desire to do whatever it takes – including pushing the boundaries of medical ethics – in an effort to challenge antiquated practices and bring women’s health care to the forefront.”

But after that chilling finale which saw things take a surprise turn, can we expect more from Dead Ringers? Read on to find out.

Will there be a Dead Ringers season 2?

Although the psychological drama has proven to be a veritable hit since it premiered on Prime Video, it does seem as though the six-episode show was only ever intended to be a limited series.

It has been described as such by Prime Video, but of course, these things can change post-release if a show proves popular enough. This means Rachel Weisz, Alice Birch, the other writers and different episode directors could possibly still reunite for more.

There's been no news yet if a potential season 2 could be going ahead, but the series itself did end things quite nicely – although it does leave slight room for more exploration. At the time of writing, it seems unlikely though.

Dead Ringers season 2 release date speculation

As explained above, there's been no indication from Prime Video that a second season of Dead Ringers has been confirmed.

However, if it were to return, we wouldn't expect it to return until 2024 at least.

Dead Ringers season 2 cast: who could star?

We'd expect Rachel Weisz to reprise her role as Elliot, who is now living as Beverly. Of course, we were also led to believe that Beverly died at the end of season 1, so we don't think her character would return.

In the finale, we also saw Tom (Michael Chernus) drive out of New York, perhaps leaving his life behind, so it's uncertain whether he could return for a potential season 2. The same goes for Greta (Poppy Liu) who looked like she no longer worked for the Mantle twins, instead creating an art installation of her own and reconnecting with her father.

The other cast members we'd expect to reprise their roles if season 2 were to go ahead are as follows:

• Britne Oldford as Genevieve, Beverly's partner
• Jennifer Ehle as Rebecca, the Mantle birthing centre's main investor
• Emily Meade as Susan, Rebecca's wife
• Suzanne Bertish as Linda, Elliot and Beverly's mother
• Kevin McNally as Alan, Elliot and Beverly's father

What happened at the end of Dead Ringers season 1?

Dead Ringers most certainly ended on the similar emotional rollercoaster of a journey it was taking us on throughout. Things weren't looking well for the Mantle twins as a heavily pregnant Beverly denounced Elliot publicly, cutting her off from being involved in the birthing centre and stating that Elliot behaved in an abusive and frightening manner.

Although she was urged to do this by Rebecca and Genevieve, it was clear that Beverly was missing her sister and went into a deep depression living without her. Leaning into the talked-about rumour of twins being able to communicate non-verbally, Beverly would often hear Elliot calling out for her "baby sister".

When she eventually tracks her down to the birthing centre, the pair make a pact and devise a plan for the ultimate "twin swap". While trainers, hair bands and partners were previously exchanged to do the swap before, now Beverly admits that she doesn't feel happiness anymore and that Elliot has always been the better twin out of them both.

Elliot performs a C-section cut on herself and sews herself back up to make it appear as though she is Beverly. She then cuts Beverly open and delivers the babies, leaving Beverly to bleed out and die, while Elliot runs out in to the main hall of the birthing centre calling for help.

Later, she adopts Beverly's persona and nobody is any the wiser – but when she regains consciousness, Rebecca and Susan ask where Elliot is, meaning that Beverly's body may not have been found. Could Beverly actually be alive, after all?

Elliot continues life as Beverly with her new twins and Genevieve by her side, but because Genevieve has always prided herself on being able to tell the difference between them, is it just a matter of time before Elliot is found out?

What could a potential Dead Ringers season 2 be about?

It's all up in the air as to whether a season 2 of Dead Ringers could be going ahead. While the finale certainly wrapped things up rather neatly, it did leave room for some questions that still linger in the not-so-far distance.

In the post-credits scene, Elliot is confronted with the fact that Beverly was attending a bereavement group for the death of her sister, which points at the fact that this was a longstanding plan of Beverly's – or that the original plan could've very well been to kill Elliot.

Elliot now has to live in a world where she knows that Beverly was preparing for one of their deaths over the span of two years, and something tells us that Elliot won't be able to rest easy with this.

As time goes on also, the prospect of Genevieve sussing out Elliot's true identity could get closer or maybe it'll be something she has her suspicions about but sweeps under the rug.

We do know that Elliot has somewhat comfortably stepped into the shoes of Beverly's success, taking over at the helm of the birthing centre – but is she just at the tip of the iceberg of being asked continuously about her dead sister and will she ever crack under the pressure? We know that Elliot can often be erratic and impulsive so there's only a matter of time before her true personality starts to shine through, surely?

Not to mention the fact that the way the twins approached their careers as obstetricians differs massively also, with Beverly wanting to help the underrepresented and Elliot caring more about money and boundary-pushing research.

Throughout the first season, Elliot often pushed the medical and ethical boundaries of their work and we saw in the finale that she was successful in her attempts at growing a baby to full term in the lab, something she did for Beverly. But knowing how Rebecca would likely want to jump on (and monetise) her findings, it's certainly a topical and intriguing plot line that could be explored further.

Dead Ringers is available to watch on Prime Video from Friday 21st April. Sign up for a 30-day free trial of Prime Video and pay £8.99 a month after that.

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