In what is likely the saddest twist for Amazon’s thriller Homecoming , series star Julia Roberts will not be returning to star in the second season of the hit show.
A source confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the actress will not reprise her role as caseworker Heidi on the Sam Esmail-directed series but will instead stay on in a more critical role as an executive producer.
When asked by the entertainment news outlet how her role would develop during Season 2, the actress did not answer the query directly.
Instead, she replied, “I don’t know if I’m at liberty to share that.”
According to EW , the series did reach an ending in the love story between Heidi and PTSD-affected soldier Walter Cruz (Stephan James).
The series was initially only to run for two seasons.
Homecoming creators Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg wouldn’t commit to an answer if Roberts would remain in the character of Heidi when asked about the actress in November of 2018. Said Horowitz to EW , “We can say it’s not anthology show. The story continues.”
The Hollywood Reporter first reported news of Roberts’ decision that she would be departing her role on Homecoming in front of the cameras. She will maintain a presence in the show in her role as an executive producer.
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Sources told the Hollywood Reporter that Roberts’ initial deal for Homecoming was for a one-season commitment based purely on the Amazon drama’s creative storyline.
Roberts will still remain involved as an executive producer alongside showrunner Sam Esmail on the Amazon series.
THR reported that it is unclear if there will be any other major cast departures for Season 2 or if any of the other Season 1 leads, including Stephan James, Bobby Cannavale, Shea Whigham, Alex Karpovsky, and Sissy Spacek, would return.
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The second season of the show, if it followed the podcast format on which it was based, would have had Heidi spending the entire second season searching in vain for Walter (named James on the Amazon version of the series).
Amazon’s version had Heidi conclude her search for Walter at the end of the show’s first season, according to THR .
THR broke the news of Homecoming’s second season twists, which include “further exploring the storyline of Colin Belfast (Cannavale) and his newly minted Geist Group superior Audrey Temple (Hong Chau) squaring off, with Audrey calming her nerves with a mysterious medicine after the encounter.”
The series along with Roberts and James were all nominated for Golden Globes for the first season.
