The first season of Issa Rae's excellent HBO series Insecure came to its Twitter-shocking conclusion Sunday, putting the fate of (SPOILER ALERT?) Lawrence (Jay Ellis) and Issa's rocky relationship into jeopardy. The fact that "Broken as Fuck" included the revelation that Lawrence had moved out, many fans have argued, is a sure sign that reconciliation simply isn't in his and Issa's future. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about what lies ahead in season 2, Rae explained that any semblance of a clean break just isn't possible.
"I think this next season will see her start to ask more introspective questions," Rae said Monday. "I think the break up will hit both Lawrence and Issa pretty hard and I think break-ups are rarely ever clean, especially for couples who lived together. So we know that Lawrence won't be completely out of her life forever." Though arriving at the decision to have Lawrence leave Issa didn't come easy in the writers room, Rae drew inspiration from a previous writing experience in which an executive told her that a "lead woman could not cheat" because the audience wouldn't buy it.
"He strongly believed that women could not come back from cheating, and I remember thinking how unfair that was, because I watched shows and movies where women forgive men for cheating all the time" Rae toldEW. "It was also important to me to have Issa cheat precisely at a moment where Lawrence wasn't necessarily at fault; where it wasn't about him, it was about her."
HBO thankfully renewed Insecure for a second season alongside fellow newcomers Westworld and Divorce earlier this month. "Critics and viewers alike have welcomed Westworld and Insecure, as well as the return of Sarah Jessica Parker to the network after 12 years with Divorce," HBO programming boss Casey Bloys said of the renewals, echoing the thoughts of anyone who likes things that are good. While Westworld won't be seen again until "sometime in 2018," Insecure is expected to return next fall.
