‘Dead To Me’ Season 3: What You Need To Know

‘Dead to Me’ will be returning for a third (and final!) season on Netflix, and HollywoodLife has all the updates on the likely premiere date, returning cast members, and more.

No streaming show brings as much drama, intrigue and comedy all at once like Dead to Me does. Netflix’s four-time Emmy-nominated series was created by Liz Feldman and premiered back in May 2019. It stars Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini as Jen Harding and Judy Hale, respectively, two grieving women from California who form an unexpected and humorous bond during therapy. The dark comedy drama earned rave reviews for its first season, and remained a hit for the streaming giant when season 2 dropped in May 2020.

Now over a year since the show’s sophomore season came out, fans have been anxiously awaiting to see what unfolds next for Judy and Jen. Plus, after that wild season 2 cliffhanger, Netflix announced that the show would end with its next season, meaning there isn’t much Dead to Me left, sadly. Below, HollywoodLife has all the updates about a premiere date, cast members, and more for season 3 of Dead to Me.

The Show So Far

Dead to Me starts with Jen (Christina) and Judy (Linda) forming a close friendship after their introductions at a grief support group, after both women apparently lost their husbands. But in actuality, Judy’s ex-fiancé, Steve Wood, who is played by James Marsden, is actually alive. Oh, and Judy figures out that it was her who killed Jen’s late husband, Ted, in a fatal hit-and-run. By the end of season 1, Jen discovers Judy’s involvement in Ted’s death, and the two have a bad falling out. Steve, who was in the car when Judy killed Ted, shows up to Jen’s home, and Jen ends up murdering him in a fit of rage. Crazy, right?

That brings us to season 2, where Judy tries to get back in Jen’s good graces to helping her cover up Steve’s murder. The women work hard at hiding the truth, and things get even messier when Steve’s twin brother Ben Wood (also played by James Marsden) shows up. Eventually, Jen’s guilt leads her to confess to Detective Perez (Diana-Maria Riva) about Steve’s murder while trying to protect Judy, but she ends up not getting charged. However, a hiker discovers Steve’s buried body in the woods, opening up Judy’s involvement in the case once again. In the final scene, Jen and Judy are driving around, believing they are free of any law troubles, when a drunken Ben — who had just learned his brother was indeed dead — crashes into them. Ben quickly speeds away, while Jen and Judy awaken to close out season 2.

Will There Be a Season 3 of ‘Dead To Me’?

Yes, season 3 of Dead to Me is absolutely happening. The show was officially renewed for a third and final season on July 6, 2020, just two months after season 2 was released. “From start to finish, ‘Dead To Me’ is exactly the show I wanted to make,” Liz said in a statement announcing the news. “And it’s been an incredible gift. 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.”

When Will Season 3 Premiere? 

Sadly, season 3 of Dead to Me does not yet have a release date. Fans were hoping that some news would come out during Netflix’s TUDUM presentation in September 2021, where the streamer dropped info about other hit shows like Bridgerton, Cobra Kai, and The Crown. Unfortunately, Dead to Me wasn’t mentioned.

Season 3 of the show had actually started filming on May 7, 2021, after most productions were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Liz shared the big news on Instagram, writing, “And… we’re back! Thrilled and grateful to be able to bring this story home.” However, production on season 3 was paused temporarily due to Christina’s multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis, which she announced to the world on Aug. 10. After the news broke, Netflix told The Hollywood Reporter they would be respecting Christina’s wishes of privacy and that show would be put on hold. “We love and support Christina and respect her privacy as she takes the time and space she needs in this moment,” the streamer said. It is unknown if filming on season 3 has resumed. An official episode count hasn’t been revealed either, but it’s likely that like seasons 1 and 2, season 3 will feature ten episodes.

Season 3 Cast

The official cast for Dead to Me season 3 hasn’t been revealed. However, fans can definitely expect to see Christina, Linda and James all back in their starring roles. The investigation into Steve’s murder will likely continue, so odds are that Diana-Maria is back as Detective Perez, as well as Brandon Scott as Detective Nick Prager. Other cast members from season 2 that are bound to be in season 3 include Sam McCarthy and Luke Roessler as Charlie and Henry, Jen’s sons, Suzy Nakamura as Karen, Jen’s neighbor, Natalie Morales as Michelle, Judy’s love interest from season 2, and Katey Sagal as Eleanor Hale, Judy’s mom who is in prison. There’s no word yet on new cast members, but we wouldn’t be surprised if some new faces show up for the final season.

‘Dead to Me’ Cast & Crew Reaction

Since the season 3 renewal news, some of the crew and cast members have spoken about what’s to come for the last hurrah. For starters, Liz previously explained to Deadline her reasoning for ending the show after three seasons. “I always knew from the inception of the show that I didn’t want it to be a long long-running show,” she said. “Then there was a certain point when we were in production on Season 2 when the end of the show came to me, pretty profoundly, so I realized, ‘I know the story that I have to tell’ and Season 3 feels like the right time to do that. It’s just something that came to me organically, and I tend to try to follow the gut feelings I have.”

Now as far as the season 3 storyline goes, James gave fans a tidbit on that in a TV Guide interview. He said of his character, Ben, “Not only is he maybe going to find out that Jen was responsible for his brother’s death, he’s also guilty of a hit-and-run. And they were the victims of the hit-and-run. And his brother was guilty of a hit-and-run in the first season.”

While season 3 is it for Dead to Me, Liz has more work ahead of her at Netflix. When the news broke of the show’s renewal, it was also confirmed that Liz had inked a multi-year pact with Netflix, in which she’ll “develop new original series and other projects” at the streamer, per Deadline. “I am beyond grateful to Netflix for supporting Dead To Me from day one, and I’m thrilled to continue our collaboration,” Liz said about the news.