With Furious officially returning for season two, series creator Liz Meriwether (New Girl, Single Parents) and star Emmy Rossum (Shameless, The Phantom of the Opera) already have some ideas about where the Hulu drama could go next. According to an interview with Deadline, the first season, which is now streaming, was inspired by the 1987 thriller Black Widow.
Rossum told Deadline that one sequence from the film was particularly appealing when thinking about FBI Agent Alice Black’s eventual meeting with Catherine Grace, played by Lola Petticrew (Tuesday, Bloodlands). In Black Widow, the two central characters share a tense scuba-diving sequence after becoming friends.
Rossum hoped Furious could create its own version of the scene and joked with Meriwether about saving enough of the production budget for filming on Croatian beaches. Instead, Alice and Catherine finally met at a New York City sex work shelter during the winter. Rossum joked that the show’s recent season two renewal could provide another opportunity to get that beach sequence.
Deadline notes that beyond potential new locations, Meriwether said the series will remain focused on the experiences of Alice and Catherine as two very different survivors of abuse. Rather than placing the predator at the center of the story, she wants Furious to examine the women who must continue living with what happened to them.
Meriwether also said conversations with female FBI agents and other women working in law enforcement became a major part of developing the series. Those discussions helped the creative team explore people who recognize flaws within the justice system while continuing to work within it.
Rossum similarly wanted Alice to avoid fitting into a simple idea of what a survivor should look like. The character is both a survivor of abuse and someone who enjoys BDSM, a combination Rossum pointed to when discussing the complicated ways trauma can affect people.
To prepare for the material, Rossum spoke with survivors of violence and trafficking as well as psychologists. She explained that these contradictions were important because survivors do not always fit the image of a “perfect victim” that others may expect.
As Furious moves toward season two, Meriwether does not appear interested in providing simple answers. Instead, the series will continue exploring its two central women, their experiences with abuse and the complicated systems surrounding their attempts to find justice.