Spoiler alert: This story includes details from episodes of Season 1 of "The Hunting Wives."
When "The Hunting Wives" dropped on Netflix on a quiet Monday, July 21, showrunner Rebecca Cutter was hopeful but held her breath. She knew the series was special with all the right ingredients for a summer binge, including its juicy and intriguing storyline, but at the end of the day, it’s always the audiences that call the shots.
"I let myself fantasize that maybe it would be (a hit) because I knew it was special when we were making it," Cutter told USA TODAY over Zoom on Thursday, July 31. "I knew it was pretty juicy, the chemistry and performances good, but I never wanted to put the cart before the horse. I never really let myself think about going to number one."
But when the show hit number four on Netflix's Top 10 in less than a week, Cutter said she had a feeling it could happen.
"It's been just really so exciting," she said.
The series, adapted from May Cobb's best-selling 2021 novel of the same name, follows Sophie O’Neil (Brittany Snow), who moves from Boston with her family following a traumatic incident to a small East Texas town. Once there, she finds herself pulled into seductive socialite Margo Banks' (Malin Åkerman) exclusive circle of affluent girlfriends, known as the Hunting Wives.
While it's all fun, games and guns initially, things quickly spiral out of control when the body of a young girl, Abby (Madison Wolfe), is found, sending shockwaves throughout the small community, with Sophie, Margo and the Hunting Wives finding themselves entangled in the mystery.
"Underneath the Southern charm lies a world of temptation and dangerous liaisons," the series synopsis says. "Margo's magnetic charm and the group's intoxicating allure awaken Sophie’s dormant passions, leading her down a treacherous path lined with jealousy, deadly suspicion, and murder."
When Cutter was approached by the show's executive producer, Erwin Stoff, who had reached out to her with Cobb's novel, she devoured the book, reading it in "pretty much one sitting on a plane." Cutter, who was in contract with Lionsgate, had previously developed "Hightown," which was also a success.
"I loved how juicy it was. I loved how horny it was," Cutter said about Cobb's novel.
Book vs. series
While the book laid out the groundwork for the series, Cutter decided to carve her own path for the show. She started by taking a trip down to Texas, where she met Cobb and her best friend from high school, and the trio visited a bunch of small towns in the state, soaking in the culture and surroundings.
One of the things that struck Cutter was the easy gun culture in the Lone Star State.
"I was surprised by how comfortable and how many guns there were," Cutter said. "Even though I knew that was in the book, but being there, I was like, 'Oh, it's just like, everybody has it all the time. And that's considered totally normal.'"
Cutter said she "leaned into how fun it was," and practiced a few shots herself with an AR-15 and handgun to "see what the fun is".
One of the major differences between the book and the series is the identity of Abby's killer. In the book, Jill (played by Katie Lowe in the series) kills Abby, while in the show, Abby is killed by Margo after the former finds out her boyfriend Brad Thompson (George Ferrier) impregnated Margo, with whom he was having a secret affair.
"My favorite, favorite thing in the book was when you think that Margo is sort of framing Sophie for the murder, and when it turned out not to be that in the book, I was like, 'Can I get away with it?'" Cutter said. "It's hard, but can you get away with it being the most obvious person? And so that was the challenge I set out for myself."
"Also, she dies in the book, and no fricking way is that character dying," Cutter added about Margo.
"The Hunting Wives," adapted from May Cobb's best-selling 2021 novel of the same name, is streaming on Netflix.
Kent Smith / Lionsgate
Despite being set in a small, conservative town, "The Hunting Wives" does not shy away, and the series comes with a whole lot of steamy sex scenes, which Cutter says were intentional and "done in the name of character and plot development."
"Nothing is just to show boobs," Cutter said. "Even that first scene in the bathroom (where Margo drops her dress, baring her upper torso) in the first five minutes of the show was a hundred percent character thing."
"That is a power move by Margo to say, 'I am so comfortable, I don't even care that you're here,'" Cutter explained. "So, every single scene has a purpose."
Will 'The Hunting Wives' return for Season 2?
While Cutter did not have a definitive answer for whether the series is expected to return for Season 2, the showrunner said she is "very encouraged by the numbers and by the response."
"There has not been an official Season 2 order yet, but I'm feeling very hopeful, and even confident that there will be, just because the fans are demanding it," Cutter said. "I want to give the people what they want."
The final episode of "The Hunting Wives" lays a lot of the groundwork for a potential Season 2, and Cutter says she is brimming with ideas for the next season.
"Season 1 ends in a place where it could go a lot of different directions, and I have an idea of what I think is the right direction," Cutter said.
The showrunner explained, the murder mystery storyline and the personal relationships between the wives, "particularly Sophie and Margo," drive the show, so a potential Season 2 would have to "weave those things together."
Malin Åkerman as Margo Banks and Brittany Snow as Sophie O’Neil in "The Hunting Wives."
Kent Smith / Lionsgate
In the season finale, after Sophie learns it was actually Margo who killed Abby, thanks to a tiny tampon, the two have a major falling out despite Margo's efforts. Sophie then attempts to drown her sorrows in alcohol. As she's heading back home from the liquor store, she is stopped by Margo's brother, Kyle, who says he wants to talk to her. However, Sophie, in a moment of panic, runs over him and appears to instantly kill him.
Cutter explains that putting Sophie in that position was intentional.
"I wanted to go one step beyond the tampon moment and see what happens next and to get them on more equal footing because Sophie, after the tampon moment, has the total moral high ground over Margo," Cutter said.
Malin Åkerman as Margo Banks and Brittany Snow as Sophie O’Neil in "The Hunting Wives."
Kent Smith / Lionsgate
Does Cutter see that as Sophie going back to her old ways, or does she see her as Sophie walking down Margo's path?
"A little bit of both," says Cutter. "She certainly is going back to her old ways, but throughout the season, she (Sophie) is becoming Margo-ized."
Initially, it's all positive when it's just the girls hanging out and posing with their guns for Instagram, but when Sophie gets accused of murder, "she has to put on her big girl panties like Margo and get tough, really fast," says Cutter.
"She learns all that (survival) from Margo," she adds. "By the end, she has sort of fully realized herself as a killer. They both have."
What to know: Will Netflix's 'The Hunting Wives' have a Season 2?
How to watch 'The Hunting Wives'
All eight episodes of "The Hunting Wives" are available to stream on Netflix.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at
[email protected] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
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