Aahana Swrup
‘The Chestnut Man’ season 2 takes the story in unexpected places, setting up a whole new playing field for the series’ potential expansion. Titled, Hide and Seek,’ the season jumps forward in time as Naia Thulin finds herself faced with a new, cryptic case involving a serial killer. As fate would have it, her former partner and ex, Europol agent Mark Hess, is also in town, setting the two up for yet another partnership.
This time, their target seems to be a killer who harasses their victims with stalking and threatening nursery rhymes before going in for the kill. More crucially, this time, in pursuit of the killer, one of the two agents loses their life, casting a gloomy shadow over the rewarding conclusion of the investigation and subsequently the season. As such, in the event of a season 2, which hasn’t been announced yet, fans can expect big changes in the show’s future. Given the project’s unpredictable record, a new season, once greenlit, can come out anywhere from 2028 to even 2031.
The Chestnut Man Season 2 Will Most Likely Swerve From the Canon of Søren Sveistrup’s Next Book
‘The Chestnut Man’ is a crime series based on the eponymous novels by Danish author Søren Sveistrup. The latter was involved in the making of the series in season 1, ensuring accuracy between the on-screen project and its literary inspiration. However, reportedly, the same wasn’t true for the development of season 2, which is largely based on Sveistrup’s second ‘Naia Thulin’ novel, ‘Hide and Seek.’ The second season takes significant departures from the novel, including the notable death of the protagonist character, Naia Thulin. Therefore, with this death, the show’s future becomes somewhat more ambiguous. While the author is continuing the series with both Thulin and Hess at the center of the narrative, there’s no way for the series to do that in a potential season 3.
For the same reason, going forward, fans can expect the show’s potential future to retain an instrumental distance from Sveistrup’s work. At best, the series can keep a similar or near-identical resemblance to the crime/mystery plot in the yet-unpublished novel. However, instead of Thulin, only Hess can be expected to helm the narrative as the new central protagonist. Following the same line of reasoning, it won’t be surprising if the show introduces a new partner for Hess, especially in a professional capacity. Season 2 already pitches a new character, Sandra, in an optimal position to step into that role. Yet, with Thulin’s death, the series will inevitably experience a major overhaul in terms of emotional and character-driven arcs.
The Chestnut Man Season 2 Might Omit One Crucial Cast Member
‘The Chestnut Man’ operates on a format that introduces a new overarching plotline with every season. In season 1, the killer, whose calling card was the titular chestnut man, terrorized the narrative. Inversely, season 2 saw the reign of terror of the nursery rhyme stalker. Yet, across these two narratives, a small group of characters remained as familiar touchstones in the story. With Thulin’s death, the story loses one such significant character. Therefore, while Mikkel Boe Følsgaard can be expected to reprise his role as Mark Hess, it’s likely that the other co-lead, Danica Curcic, will not be returning as Thulin.
On the other hand, a number of other characters, closely connected to Hess, are likely to return for another potential season. This includes characters like Aksel (Anders Hove) and Le (Liva Forsberg), whose familiar ties to Thulin will keep them in the former Europol Agent’s orbit. Additionally, if the show chooses to keep Sandra as a new central character, Katinka Lærke Petersen will also have a high chance of making a comeback. However, other than these grounding characters, a new season will most probably introduce new faces as victims, suspects, and eventually killers.
The Chestnut Man Season 3 Might Explore the Result of Hess’ Decision to Stay in Denmark
At the end of season 2, Hess makes a pivotal decision that promises to change his life in new and unexpected ways. So far, the Europol agent’s line of work has saddled him with the tendencies of a flight risk. He’s unable to stay at any one place for too long and put down any roots. It’s the same reason why his relationship with Thulin crashes and burns. Therefore, in the aftermath of his partner’s death, he realizes how necessary grounding elements are in his life. For the same reason, he makes the decision to quit Europol and buy an apartment in Denmark.
Notably, Hess’ decision is driven by his desire to be closer to Le, Thulin’s daughter, who sees him as an important, if unreliable, parental figure in her life. As such, a potential season 3 will inevitably dive into the consequences of this life-altering decision. On a more emotional level, fans can expect to see Hess’ more fatherly side come out as he continues to be a consistent and dependable figure in Le’s life. On the other hand, it’s also possible that he will eventually join the local law enforcement department, settling into a detective or detective-adjacent role. Either way, if the story continues down the same paths it has paved in the past few seasons, we can expect plenty of new mysteries and personal development in Hess’ future.
Read More: The Chestnut Man Hide and Seek Ending Explained: Who is the Killer?
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