Everything We Know About the Second Season of Making a Murderer — So Far

Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos, the filmmakers behind Making a Murderer, spoke at the Stranger Than Fiction panel discussion at NYC's IFC Center in February 2016, where Ricciardi made clear their desire to keep telling Avery and Brendan Dassey's stories:

"From our perspective this story is obviously not over. It's real life and [Avery's and Brendan Dassey's] cases are both still pending. We have no idea when the magistrate will make a decision in Brendan's case. We do know that two potential outcomes are that the judge could order Brendan's release or he could order a new trial. So we are on the edge of seats about that. To the extent that there are significant developments, we would like to continue documenting this [case]."

Thankfully they aren't the only ones interested in continuing the documentary project. Netflix confirmed that Ricciardi and Demos have begun filming new episodes with a press release soon after:

The new installments will take fans of the acclaimed documentary series back inside the story of convicted murderer Steven Avery, and his co-defendant, Brendan Dassey, as their respective investigative and legal teams challenge their convictions and the State fights to have the convictions and life sentences upheld. This next chapter will provide an in-depth look at the high-stakes post-conviction process, as well as, the emotional toll the process takes on all involved. The episodes will offer exclusive access to Avery's new lawyer Kathleen Zellner and Dassey's legal team, led by Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin, as well as intimate access to the families and characters close to the case.

Stephen M. Glynn, Avery's current civil lawyer, attended the same panel as Ricciardi and Demos in February, where he elaborated on how the people of Manitowoc County viewed the docuseries (spoiler alert: not too well):

"There is a lot of hostility toward these two women in Wisconsin. The theory is that [they] have played Wisconsin unfairly. But among those people who think and are a little more educated and thoughtful about these sorts of issues, there is appreciation."

Despite the fact that audiences fell in love with Avery's lawyer Dean Strang over the course of MAM, he's been replaced. Attorney Kathleen Zellner — who is known for overturning wrongful-conviction cases — has taken on the Avery case, and she hasn't wasted any time trying to clear her client's name through advanced forensic testing. "Generally, since 2007, there have been significant advances in forensic testing . . . the clearest way to do this is with scientific testing," she said during an appearance on Dateline in January. "Am I going to tell you exactly what it is? I am not. But it's been a long time. There was a lot of evidence that wasn't tested." In addition to seeing how Zellner takes on Avery's case, Netflix revealed we'll also get a look at Dassey's legal team, led by Laura Nirider and Steve Drizin.

MAM has been nothing short of a pop culture phenomenon, so it should come as no surprise that Avery has suddenly found himself backed by the support of thousands of people who didn't necessarily even know he existed a year ago. Although there's no way of knowing for sure, it seems probable that season two will delve into how Avery is handling "fans" who have gone so far as to make the highly publicized Change.org petition asking for his release. So far, Avery has been communicating with the public through Zellner's Twitter account.

A concrete date hasn't been pinned down yet, but Netflix's VP of original content Cindy Holland said that new episodes will be coming sooner than later while speaking at a keynote conversation at the Realscreen Summit in January 2017. "The story is still ongoing, so you will see new episodes coming sometime this year as this story continues to unfold," she said. "We don't know when for sure new episodes will be coming. Laura and Moira are on the ground [in Manitowoc] shooting regularly and working on what the right story is to tell in the next set, so we're deferring to them on when it will be ready."

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