Julia Roberts leaving Homecoming, will not return for season 2
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Julia Roberts is not going to be coming back to the critically-acclaimed drama series from Sam Esmail, following a fantastic arc that she had as Heidi in the first season of the show. She will continue on as an executive producer on the series. This news should not come as a huge surprise given the way the first season of the show ended, as it seemed as though there was a way the story could progress without Heidi being a major part of it.
At the moment, the status of many of the show’s other series regulars moving forward remains unclear. Roberts only had a one-year deal for the series, and her story did come to a very satisfying conclusion. The idea here is that now that viewers are committed, they’ll keep watching even if Julia is no longer in the cast and Heidi’s story is over. There’s no question though, that Amazon marketed the first season heavily around Roberts, featuring her in promo art like the one above and focusing on her through most of the show’s press tour. While there are some other fantastic actors in this cast, she was the one with the most name recognition by a mile. Hopefully the story being as good as it was in the first season (this was the best new show of the year and it wasn’t even close) will give viewers enough trust to come back even without Roberts as the star.
While details surrounding the already-renewed season 2 are scarce, all indications suggest that Homecoming will be deviating more and more from the podcast that inspired it. It’s moving forward in its own creative direction and using that more as a launching pad than a legitimate inspiration for every single thing that is coming up. The main objective of the series remains the same — to present a fascinating mysterious world, create discussions among viewers, and challenge the way you think about the show’s characters.
Hopefully, Homecoming season 2 will premiere on Amazon a little bit later this year, but Esmail has a history of taking his time in order to make sure his stories are perfect. He also has the final season of Mr. Robot on his plate, so don’t be altogether shocked if we don’t end up seeing more of the series until 2020. One way or another, it’s going to have a chance to prove that the first season wasn’t just a one-hit wonder and that there is plenty more story still to tell.
Is there still hope for Roberts appearing down the line? The new report doesn’t rule it out, but we wouldn’t bet on it at the moment. The story would really need to make sense for her return and with the way the first season of the show ended there really isn’t a need for that.
Related News – Be sure to check out some of our episode reviews for Homecoming season 1
What do you think about Roberts leaving Homecoming after just one season? Be sure to share right now in the comments! (Photo: Amazon.)