Prime Video raised the buzz when the series finale of Expats aired. The series starred Nicole Kidman chronicles “the vibrant lives of a close-knit expatriate community: where affluence is celebrated, friendships are intense but knowingly temporary, and personal lives, deaths and marriages are played out publicly—then retold with glee.”
Following the emotional tsunami of the series’ penultimate episode, the finale delves deeper into introspection, focused on the trio of Margaret (Nicole Kidman), Hilary (Sarayu Blue), and Mercy (Ji-young Yoo).
Following Margaret and her family as they dealt with the aftermath of Gus’s abduction, we learned that their youngest boy had also vanished while in Mercy’s care in a busy night market. The story continued by exploring this mystery.
A Quick Recap
Three American ladies residing in Hong Kong are Margaret, Hilary, and Mercy. Margaret and her family—husband Clarke, children Philip and Daisy—make the city their home. As she and her family try to get over the death of Gus, their three-year-old son, she prepares Clarke’s fiftieth birthday celebration.
Inviting Hilary and her husband David to the celebration is her attempt to mend fences with Hilary, whom she has been estranged from. David is having an affair with Mercy.
While Hilary’s marriage fell apart due to her husband’s initial accusations, Mercy was left to deal with a life burdened by guilt as a result of the case.
There were a few twists and turns in the series finale that left viewers wondering what happened to the characters in the next episodes. Is Season 2 of Expats in the works? Spoilers for the Expats series finale are ahead, so proceed with caution if you want to know everything that we know so far.
Expats finish on a cliffhanger, but Prime Video has decided not to extend the show for a second season.
Based on just one novel, the drama has always been said to be a limited series, thus it’s doubtful that more than one season was ever planned. However, we will need to wait for the publication of the final episode to determine if that alters anything.
Season 2 Future is Under Wraps
Our guess is that production on a second season of Expats would go more quickly than on the original. Season one took place in 2021, during the height of Hong Kong’s COVID-19 quarantine restrictions; as a result, some members of the cast and crew were had to spend over 50 days in isolation.
We can almost guarantee that filming will take less time now that Hong Kong has loosened its constraints; thus, a release date window of 2025 or 2026 could be in the cards if the series is renewed shortly.
Potential Continuing Story of Their Intermingled Lives
Our best guess is that the events of the series finale will set the stage for what might be a second season of Expats. Hilary, Mercy, and Margaret all met separately in the finale to talk about how they really felt about what had happened in the past year.
Everyone had changed for the better as a result of what had happened, but they appeared to have finally accepted each other. In Janice YK Lee’s original work, The Expatriates, this was significantly different; after Mercy gave birth to her daughter, Margaret, and Hilary went to see her in the hospital.
Given that Mercy has only recently told her mother that she is pregnant, it is expected that any future season will depict her going through the remainder of her pregnancy and giving birth. This raises questions about the involvement of David (Jack Huston) and Hilary’s ability to overcome her husband’s treachery. In the series finale, David consoled Hilary following the death of her father in the United States, and it appeared like everything was going swimmingly for the couple.
Although Margaret’s family returned to the US without her, viewers will be surprised by her unexpected decision to remain in Hong Kong and seek justice for Gus. Even though fans would be hoping for Gus’s return in a second season, it’s more probable that we’ll keep seeing the day-to-day effects of her son’s disappearance.
Conclusion
We would not be surprised to see Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Blue, and Ji-young Yoo return for another season of Expats if the tale were to stick with the same people.
Given the breadth of Expats’ theme, the show might switch gears and center on a different group of characters in an anthology format. However, it’s highly probable that we’d stick with the same trio of ladies as they face fresh challenges.