“Not Dead Yet” canceled – What would have happened in season 3 according to Gina Rodriguez

(Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the two-parter Not dead yet Season 2 finale: “Not the end yet/No ghost yet.”

Not dead yet was canceled by ABC after two seasons. The network announced the cancellation on Friday, May 10, a few weeks after the second season finale. The two-part season finale of the charming workplace/supernatural comedy aired on April 24 and delved into the story of its lead actress’ supernatural abilities. It also ended with a major cliffhanger that won’t be addressed now.

The series stars Gina Rodriguez as Nell Serrano, a print journalist in the obituaries section of a Southern California newspaper who is haunted by the ghosts of her obituary subjects on her first day in her new job. Nell, a mess trying to get her life back together, has learned valuable lessons over the last two seasons about not wasting the time you have with these ghosts and their living friends at work. So far, she is the only person in the series who knows about her powers.

In the April 24 finale, the comedy made its first attempt to break out of its typical ghost-of-the-week format. The first of two episodes was spent with the SoCal Independent Employees (including Hannah Simone and Joshua Banday) trying to convince a company representative (Quentin, played by guest star Malcolm Barrett) not to destroy their jobs after CEO Duncan (Everyone loves Raymond(Brad Garrett) put the paper up for sale. The second episode hit Duncan with a powerful blow from Karma’s momentum.

“Not a Ghost Yet” was all about Duncan, who had a cardiac emergency that repeatedly brought him to the brink of death. Every time he came close to death, Nell could see him as a ghost. She spent the finale teaching Duncan what the previous ghosts (one of whom was played by Jenifer Lewis in “Not the End Yet”) had taught her: Don’t waste the time you have left. Nell urged Duncan to meaningfully connect with his daughter Lexi (Lauren Ash) if he survived. Nell’s conversations with Duncan’s ghost also revealed a theory we haven’t heard before: Nell believes her powers may have been inherited from her grandmother, a supposed medium. There was no previous explanation as to why Nell could see dead people.

Luckily for Lexi (who remains the show’s funniest character even in a serious spiral), her father made it work. He’s not a ghost…yet! At first, Duncan had no memory of his time as a ghost. But in the final moments of the finale, he remembered everything and ended the series on a major cliffhanger. What would have been next for Nell after the first living human discovered her abilities? Rodriguez told TV Insider what could be in store for Season 3.

Disney/Temma Hankin

This cliffhanger plot could have led to a “really tasty and tasty” storyline in a third season, Rodriguez tells us, “and presented a lot of hurdles for Nell, who is still trying to keep this very secret because she…” I know not really what it is… It just offers a lot of possibilities, opens up a lot of plot, a lot of fun.”

By the finale, the series has confirmed that Nell’s powers are “less a breakdown and more something she intuitively possesses.” Jane the Virgin Alum reveals. The clue was that he was able to “touch Duncan when he was virtually not breathing.” “How long can she continue seeing people in between?” She asks.

“It was a development in her ability to talk to the deceased,” Rodriguez continues. “It wasn’t completely passed on, but it was in that in-between stage. And what else can you do if she manages to meet people in an in-between place? What other type of intervention can she do? So I’m excited to see how deep this goes.”

Rodriguez confirms that the Duncan cliffhanger meant Garrett would have returned for season three.

One of the main goals of Not dead yet In season 2, a real friendship should develop between Nell and Lexi. Season 1 showed them vying for their mutual best friend, Sam (New Girl‘s Simone) full attention. With the addition of a romantic affair between Nell’s autistic roommate Edward (Rick Glassman) and Lexi this season, Nell and her boss have had no choice but to spend more time together. The addition of Lexi’s incredibly wealthy father to the cast added more intrigue and hilarity.

“When they presented me with the idea of ​​what would happen to Duncan, I fell in love with it,” Rodriguez says of the finale. “It helps restore the relationship between Duncan and Lexi and continues to build a relationship between me and Lexi, which has also been tumultuous. Now that she and Edward are together, it makes for a wonderful development and is set against the backdrop of this workplace comedy.”

Disney/Temma Hankin

The bond between Nell and Lexi was a priority because, as Rodriguez notes, “The show is really about the love between friendships, with Sam, with Lexi.” This beautiful relationship (with Lexi) is like a rose from a thorn. But she definitely wants what fans have wanted since Season 1: a romance between Nell and Edward.

“I also want to see what happens if we continue to tinker with the relationship between Edward and Lexi, but then the relationship between Edward and Nell started to exist in this way. “You could see that Edward liked Nell (at the end of the first season),” Rodriguez explains. “What happens if this relationship between Edward and Lexi doesn’t work out? … We kind of took sides there (last season), so I would love to see that trio develop further.”

Nell and her Season 2 romantic interest, Jesse Garcia’s TJ, broke up after a few great dates because they didn’t agree that they wanted kids (Nell decided to freeze her eggs in Episode 8), so she’s not there yet forgive! But more important than any romance in the supernatural comedy, according to Rodriguez, “is the female friendship and the way these women support each other through all of their different journeys, be it divorce, freezing their eggs, or a beautiful, loving and healthy relationship .” ”

Rodriguez says this ensemble was “just butter” on set. The cast and crew all bring their children to work because they trust the environment they have created. Rodriguez, who was, as she describes it, “heavily pregnant” in Season 1, says her son Charlie was often in her arms during rehearsals for Season 2.

“It’s nice when people understand that you can make it a great environment or not, and if everyone decides to make it a great environment, that’s just great. And we do fun work too!” she raves. Rodriguez was “really” hoping we’d get another season. “It’s like the house I want to go back to.”

Not dead yetSeasons 1 and 2 available now, Hulu