The Hunting Wives
GenreDrama
CreatorRebecca Cutter
ShowrunnerRebecca Cutter
Starring
Open theme"King of Possibilities" by Goldie Boutilier
MusicJeff Danna
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Num seasons1
Num episodes8
Executive producer
Producer
  • Joan Cunningham
  • Jeremy Beim
Cinematography
  • Richard Rutkowski
  • Michał Sobociński
  • Bryce Fortner
Editor
  • Jason Hellmann
  • Sarah C. Reeves
  • Erick Ferrerman
  • Christina Noel
  • Louis P. Bravo
Runtime46–55 minutes
Company
NetworkNetflix
First airedJuly 21, 2025
Last airedpresent

The Hunting Wives is an American drama television series based on the novel of the same name by May Cobb. It stars Brittany Snow, Malin Akerman, Evan Jonigkeit, Katie Lowes, George Ferrier, Dermot Mulroney, Jaime Ray Newman, and Chrissy Metz. The series premiered on Netflix on July 21, 2025. In September 2025, the series was renewed for a second season which is set to premiere in 2026. A third season is in development.

Premise

Sophie, a wife and mother who moves from Massachusetts to the fictional East Texas town of Maple Brook with her husband, Graham, is drawn into the glamorous, dangerous world of a socialite named Margo and her elite clique, the "Hunting Wives". As Sophie gets closer to Margo, she becomes entangled in a web of obsession, secrets, and ultimately murder, when a teenage girl, Abby, is found dead in the woods where the Hunting Wives meet.

Cast and characters

Main

  • Brittany Snow as Sophie O'Neil, a young woman from Cambridge, Massachusetts, who recently moved with her husband to Maple Brook, Texas, after she killed a pedestrian in Cambridge while driving under the influence, and becomes captivated with Margo, the wife of her husband's boss
  • Malin Akerman as Margo Banks, the leader of an elite socialite group of wives known as the Hunting Wives, who takes an interest in Sophie
  • Evan Jonigkeit as Graham O'Neil, Sophie's husband, an architect
  • Katie Lowes as Jill, Brad's mother, the wife of Reverend Clint, and a member of the Hunting Wives
  • George Ferrier as Brad, Jill's teenage son
  • Dermot Mulroney as Jed Banks, Margo's older, wealthy husband and Graham's boss, who is an oil tycoon and Texas gubernatorial candidate
  • Jaime Ray Newman as Callie, the number two of the Hunting Wives and the town sheriff's wife
  • Chrissy Metz as Starr, a working-class single mother who is not part of the elite socialite group. Her daughter, Abby, is dating Brad
  • Hunter Emery as Deputy Walter Flynn (season 2;[1] recurring season 1), a Sheriff's Department officer who is investigating the murder of Abby with his partner, Deputy Salazar
  • Karen Rodriguez as Deputy Wanda Salazar (season 2;[1] recurring season 1), Deputy Flynn's partner at the Sheriff's Department, who is investigating the murder of Abby with him

Recurring

  • Chosen Jacobs as Jamie, Brad's friend
  • Branton Box as Sheriff Jonny, Callie's husband
  • Madison Wolfe as Abby, Brad's girlfriend and Starr's teenage daughter
  • Jason Davis as Reverend Clint, Jill's husband, Brad's father, and the megachurch Holy Horizon's reverend
  • Michael Aaron Milligan as Kyle, Margo's brother, who lives in a trailer in Alba, Texas
  • Abigail Rhyne as Nina, Abby's friend who is a teen mother
  • Paul Teal as Pastor Pete, Holy Horizon's youth pastor
  • Kim Matula as Nadia Kelly (season 2)[2]
  • Alex Fitzalan as Lincoln Trout (season 2)[2]
  • John Stamos as Chase Brylan (season 2)[3]
  • Cam Gigandet as Gentle John Moffitt (season 2)[3]
  • Dale Dickey as Zelda Moffitt (season 2)[3]
  • Angel Reese as Trainer Barbie (season 2)[4]
  • Casey Mills as Nico (season 2)[5]

Production

Development

In October 2023, it was announced Starz had given the series an eight-episode order, with Rebecca Cutter set to adapt the novel of the same name by May Cobb, and serve as executive producer and showrunner. Lionsgate Television and 3 Arts Entertainment will produce.[6] In an interview with Vulture, Malin Akerman revealed that the creative team used Melania Trump as reference for her character Margo Banks.[7] In September 2025, Netflix acquired the series as a global original for an eight-episode second season.[8] A third season is in development and set to shoot in the fall of 2026.[9]

Casting

In January 2024, Malin Akerman joined the cast of the series.[10] In February 2024, Brittany Snow, Dermot Mulroney, and Evan Jonigkeit joined the cast.[11][12][13] In March 2024, Chrissy Metz, Jaime Ray Newman, Katie Lowes, and George Ferrier joined the cast.[14] In November 2025, Hunter Emery and Karen Rodriguez had been promoted to series regulars for the second season.[1]

In December 2025, Kim Matula, Alex FitzAlan, John Stamos, Cam Gigandet and Dale Dickey were cast in recurring roles for the second season.[2][3] In January 2026, Angel Reese joined the cast in a recurring capacity for the second season.[4] In February 2026, Casey Mills was cast in a recurring role for the second season.[5]

Filming

Pre-production began on January 18, 2024, in North Charlotte, with 18 weeks of filming shortly following.[citation needed]

Principal photography began by March 2024, in North Carolina. Downtown Mooresville was turned into an East Texas city. Many surrounding locations were also used for principal photography. Production wrapped in June 2024.[15][14]

In an interview with Variety, Akerman said they had Lizzie Talbot, an intimacy coordinator, on set to make sure they felt comfortable with the nudity and sex scenes.[16]

Filming for the second season began on November 17, 2025 and concluded on March 13, 2026.[1][17]

Music

Jeff Danna composed the series' score.[18]

Release

Following the spin-off of Starz Inc. into an independent company separate from Lionsgate Studios, Lionsgate Television acquired rights to The Hunting Wives back from Starz. In June 2025, Netflix licensed U.S. rights to the series for a year, with the series premiering on the platform on July 21.[19] Netflix does not have the series in Canada and Australia, where the rights are held by Crave and Stan respectively.[8] The second season is scheduled to premiere in 2026.[20]

Reception

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 81% approval rating, based on 31 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads: "Brittany Snow and Malin Akerman are diabolically fun to watch in The Hunting Wives, a risqué soap that turns bad behavior into highly bingeable fun."[21] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave a score of 73 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[22]

Accolades

AwardYearCategoryRecipientResultRef.
Astra TV Awards2026Best Comedy SeriesThe Hunting Wives[23]
Best Actress in Comedy SeriesMalin Akerman
Brittany Snow
GLAAD Media Awards2026Outstanding New TV SeriesThe Hunting Wives[24]
Gotham TV Awards2026Outstanding Lead Performance in a Drama SeriesMalin Akerman[25]
Queerty Awards2026Outstanding TV DramaThe Hunting Wives[26]

Audience viewership

For the week of July 21–27, The Hunting Wives ranked third on Netflix's English-language TV list, drawing 5.2 million views.[27] According to Luminate, the series was the most-streamed series in the United States for the week of July 25–31, accumulated over 2 billion minutes viewed.[28]

References

  1. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 17, 2025). "'The Hunting Wives' Promotes Duo To Series Regular, Sets Another Return As Season 2 Starts Production". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  2. ^ Hailu, Selome (December 4, 2025). "'The Hunting Wives' Season 2 Casts Kim Matula and Alex FitzAlan". Variety. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  3. ^ Hailu, Selome (December 9, 2025). "'The Hunting Wives' Casts John Stamos, Cam Gigandet and Dale Dickey in Season 2 (EXCLUSIVE)". Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  4. ^ Strause, Jackie (January 20, 2026). "'The Hunting Wives' Casts WNBA Star Angel Reese in Season 2 (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 21, 2026.
  5. ^ Campione, Katie (February 25, 2026). "'The Hunting Wives' Adds Casey Mills As Recurring Guest For Season 2". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  6. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 4, 2023). "Starz Greenlights 'The Hunting Wives' Series Based On Book From Rebecca Cutter, Lionsgate & 3 Arts". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  7. ^ Hadadi, Roxana (August 7, 2025). "Malin Åkerman Says 'Fear Her Wrath' in Hunting Wives Season Two". Vulture. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  8. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 12, 2025). "The Hunting Wives Renewed, Becomes Netflix Global Original As Season 2 Plot Is Revealed". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
  9. ^ Garner, Glenn (May 23, 2026). "Dermot Mulroney Teases 'The Hunting Wives' Season 2 Has Wrapped, Season 3 In Prep". Deadline Hollywood. Archived May 24, 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 24, 2026.
  10. ^ Cordero, Rosy (January 24, 2024). "Malin Åkerman To Lead New Starz Series 'The Hunting Wives'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  11. ^ Hailu, Selome (February 14, 2024). "Brittany Snow Cast Opposite Malin Åkerman in 'The Hunting Wives' at Starz". Variety. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  12. ^ Cordero, Rosy (February 23, 2024). "Dermot Mulroney Joins Cast Of New Starz Drama 'The Hunting Wives'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  13. ^ Cordero, Rosy (February 23, 2024). "'The Hunting Wives': Evan Jonigkeit Boards Rebecca Cutter Drama Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  14. ^ Porter, Rick (March 18, 2024). "'This Is Us,' 'Scandal' Stars Board 'The Hunting Wives' at Starz". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  15. ^ Ulmann, Jesse (February 20, 2024). "Casting Call: Extras sought in Charlotte for upcoming filming of Starz 'Hunting Wives'". Queen City News. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  16. ^ Gao, Max (July 23, 2025). "'The Hunting Wives' Star Malin Åkerman on Playing a Secretly Queer Republican and Revealing Hypocrisy Around Abortion: 'This Is F—ed Up!' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  17. ^ Snow, Brittany (March 13, 2026). "✨✨✨ Season 2 is wrapped today y'all :( What an amazing 4 months. Somehow, we managed to make an even crazier & better season 2. I love you genius @rebecca_p_cutter, thank you for being the world's best boss & friend. Ty to the family @malinakerman @dermotmulroney @georgeferrier @jaimeraynewman4real @maggiekiley.director @johnakite_ our incredible CREW & everyone at @netflix @lionsgatetv 🤠 @thehuntingwives". Archived March 17, 2026 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 17, 2026.
  18. ^ "Jeff Danna Scoring Netflix's 'The Hunting Wives'". Film Music Reporter. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  19. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 6, 2025). "'The Hunting Wives' Moves To Netflix For U.S. Following Lionsgate & Starz Separation; Premiere Date Set". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  20. ^ White, Peter (January 7, 2026). "Netflix 2026 TV Slate: New Seasons Of 'The Gentlemen', 'Outer Banks' & 'The Hunting Wives' Plus 3 Shows From The Duffer Brothers". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  21. ^ the_hunting_wives. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
  22. ^ the-hunting-wives. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  23. ^ "The Nominees for the 2026 Astra TV Awards Have Been Revealed". The Astras. May 27, 2026. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
  24. ^ Pedersen, Erik (January 7, 2026). "GLAAD Media Awards: 'Heated Rivalry', 'Stranger Things' & 'Christy' Among 2026 Nominees". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  25. ^ Schneider, Michael (April 28, 2026). "'Pluribus', 'Beef', 'I Love LA', 'Big Mistakes', 'Death by Lightning' Among This Year's Gotham TV Awards Nominees". Variety. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  26. ^ French, Kennedy & Malkin, Marc (January 20, 2026). "'Heated Rivalry', Jonathan Bailey, Cynthia Erivo, and Bella Ramsey Among Queerties 2026 Nominations". Variety. Retrieved January 20, 2026.
  27. ^ Campione, Katie (July 29, 2025). "'Untamed' Leads Netflix English TV List Again as 'The Hunting Wives' Puts Up Impressive Debut; 'Happy Gilmore 2' & 'KPop Demon Hunters' Dominate Film". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  28. ^ Campione, Katie (August 5, 2025). "'The Hunting Wives' Soars Atop Luminate's TV Streaming Rankings After Netflix Debut as 'And Just Like That...' Reps HBO Max in Top 25 Amid Cancellation". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 5, 2025.