George & Tammyisn’t likely going to have a second season, given the premise of the show and where it decided to end the story.George & Tammypremiered in December 2022, and the fantastic biopic tells the story of legendary country musicians, George Jones and Tammy Wynette, covering their relationship together as well as their careers. Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain star as the titular characters, being nominated and winning numerous awards for their respective performances. Alongside Chastain and Shannon were performances by Steve Zahn andWalton Goggins before his incredible role inFallout.
Despite being well-received and featuring a pair of standout career performances from Shannon and Chastain,George & Tammyonly ran for one season, and a total of six episodes on Showtime. With the series not following Tammy Wynette up to her tragic death, it was unclear if a second season would continue the story, but the show was never intended to go beyond what was already planned, for one big reason.
George & Tammy Season 2 Likely Isn’t Happening Because It Was Intended As A Miniseries
Some Miniseries Evolve Into Traditional TV Shows, But George & Tammy Probably Won’t
Since streaming services have continued to be the dominant form of movie and TV consumption, it feels like there has been an uptick in miniseries, a one-season TV show that originally had no plans for any more seasons, set to tell a contained story in the pre-planned timeframe. Since its inception,George & Tammywas always intended to be a miniseries. It was marketed as one, and it was nominated and won multiple awards in that very category.
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Still, there are times when a miniseries decides to continue past its initial story.Some recent popular ones includeWhite Lotus,which went an anthology route, whileShōgundecided to move past the initial source material, with more seasons ahead. There is always a sliver of a possibility, but forGeorge & Tammy, there really isn’t much more story to tell, as it feels like the show ended in the proper way, telling the story of George Jones and Tammy Wynette’s relationship.
Why The George & Tammy Creator Didn’t End With Wynette’s Death
Tammy Wynette dealt with health problems for most of her life and died in 1998 at just 55 years old. It was a tragic end to one of country music’s most influential singers, and it feels like most shows would have tried to exploit it in some way. ForGeorge & Tammy, it was different, as the series opted not to cover her death at all. In aVarietyinterview with the showrunner of the series, Abe Sylvia,he opened up about not depicting Wynette’s passing, instead ending on a more hopeful note, stating:
There are more traditional biopic ways we could have gone, but we leave the audiences with their voices… We are not going to a funeral or getting into the very sad details of Tammy’s death. We wanted to leave her, in particular, in a place of tension and beauty, not in tragic resolve.
A lesser biopic would have completely tried to incorporate the tragedy at the end of Wynette’s life, but ending the series in a different way, with a thread of hope throughout, makes it all the more satisfying narratively. In the story ofGeorge & Tammythere wasn’t a need to exploit her death, andthe choice to end the series with them singing after a performance is more poignant than anything elsethe show could have done instead.
George & Tammy
Cast
George & Tammy (2022) is a drama series that explores the tumultuous relationship between country music legends George Jones and Tammy Wynette, starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain, portraying the highs and lows of their careers and personal lives.
