Forever has raced to second place on the Netflix top 10 chart and for good reason. The new TV show is a thoughtful take on young love, leading to questions about whether a Season 2 will go ahead.
Mara Brock Akil helmed the new Netflix series, which adapts Judy Blume’s 1975 novel of the same name for a modern audience, exploring social media, parents’ concerns, and Black teens coming of age in white America.
Power Book III: Raising Kanan star Lovie Simone and The Inhabitant’s Michael Cooper Jr. take on the respective roles of Keisha Clark and Justin Edwards, a young couple in LA who experience the ups and downs of a first love.
Since landing on the streaming service on May 8, many have binge-watched the whole thing in one go, and now talks are turning to whether there’ll be a Forever Season 2 – and there’s only one way it could work.
Forever Season 2 would need to move beyond Judy Blume’s novel
Since the Netflix series ends with a breakup in the same way Blume’s novel does, and there is no sequel to the book, Forever Season 2 would need to move beyond the story set out in the pages and forge its own path.
Blume’s Forever ends with the central couple, Katherine and Michael, parting ways. While Katherine doesn’t regret their relationship, she decides she’s “not ready for forever”.
Similarly, Akil’s Netflix adaptation sees Keisha and Justin decide to break up. Keisha heads to Howard University to start a new chapter of her life, while Justin defers his Northwestern admission to pursue his dream career in music production.
It’s heartbreaking, as they clearly still love each other. But it’s a case of the right person, wrong time – a realistic, bittersweet end that mirrors the way many first loves go as life pulls people in different directions.
Despite their shared endings, it doesn’t mean there’s no room for a second season. If the Forever TV show were to return, it would need to go beyond Blume’s original narrative and imagine what comes next – perhaps a reconnection years later, or an exploration of how that first love continues to shape their adult lives.
This wouldn’t be the first time a TV series has outgrown its literary source. Netflix’s You expanded far beyond Caroline Kepnes’ books, creating entirely new plotlines and characters.
Big Little Lies famously added a second season after adapting Liane Moriarty’s novel, with the author stepping in to help develop new material. The Handmaid’s Tale also went well past the pages of Margaret Atwood’s original work.
If Forever does continue, it would be in new territory, but it could still happen.
Forever showrunner teases Season 2
This rings especially true after Akil’s recent comments, demonstrating she’d game for a Season 2 if Netflix gives it the go-ahead and the audience wants more.
When asked by Entertainment Weekly whether she’d be interested in continuing the show, Akil replied, “There’s absolutely room for that.
“In this art form, I don’t make it for myself. I’m making it for an audience. I believe that the audience wants character-driven, complex love stories. If the audience wants more, I want more. Let’s go do it.”
The Last of Us Season 2 Episode 6 trailer reveals emotional Joel & Ellie scene