When will 'In the Dark' Season 3 return? Here's what we hope to see in Murphy's future
The year 2020 has been a very different one due to the coronavirus pandemic that is still ongoing. Like many other industries, the entertainment industry has been affected as well with this year's fall schedule looking very different. While some networks are still bringing back their shows in 2020, they will be delayed and will premiere closer to the end of the year. The CW has taken a more extreme route, with many of its normally fall-scheduled shows set to return only in 2021.
With the fall schedules being affected, we can only imagine that the spring schedules will be too. The CW usually has a good number of shows premiering new seasons in April every year, but again, with how everything is planned out now, things will look different. One of the shows we expect will be affected is The CW's 'In the Dark', which ended its second season earlier this year in July.
We know for a fact that 'In the Dark' is returning -- it was renewed for a third season before Season 2 ended.
Where we left off
When we last saw Murphy Mason (Perry Mattfeld), a lot had gone on. The second season saw quite a few casualties — much more than in the show's freshman season. Central characters like the Chicago crime boss Nia Bailey (Nicki Micheaux) and corrupt cop Dean Riley (Rich Sommer) bit the dust as the plot got a whole more complicated. With Murphy's friends, Jess Damon (Brooke Markham), and Felix Bell (Morgan Krantz) having stolen Nia's money in Season 1, the trio were forced to work for Nia. What started with money laundering quickly became drug trafficking and it ended in murder.
By the end, somehow, Murphy was able to save herself and her friends from Nia's clutches with her on-again-off-again love interest, Max Parrish (Casey Deidrick). She struck a deal with Nia's rival Josiah (Maurice Compte), which led them to a race against time to get him Nia's stash which was hidden by the eternal thorn in their backs, Ben (Chris Perfetti). Ben was another character who died, but perhaps, viewers were only happy to see him go.
It would have ended all well and good had Murphy not gravitated towards the IRS agent, Josh Wallace (Theodore Bhat) who was investigating Nia. Murphy used her closeness to Josh — who first approached Murphy for guidance as he was going blind — to get information that could save her and her friends. By the end of the season, she genuinely had feelings for him, even telling Max that it is over.
However, Josh eventually figures out the truth and realizes that his case against Nia was always failing because of Murphy's interference. Before Josh can do anything else, Murphy leaves him in her apartment in the dark (pun intended), grabs Jess from her room and makes a move to run.
What we would like to see
A few new characters were introduced in the second season including Josh and Dean's partner, Gene Clemens (Matt Murray). Gene turned out to be a more upstanding cop than Dean and even efficient at his job. For the most part, Gene did not know of Dean's hidden secrets and he was sidelined for much of it. While we are certain Josh will return, we hope to see more of Gene as well.
Murray, who played a cop in 'Rookie Blue' is a charming addition to the cast and we hope his character Gene is given more time to shine in the new season. Another Season 2 character we hope to see more of is Sterling (Natalie Liconti), Jess's love interest whom she proposed to. We really want to see more of Jess's life outside her friendship with Murphy and Sterling brings out a side of Jess we don't get to see otherwise.
While we have always rooted for Murphy, we cannot deny that she had been quite frustrating in the second season. Her tendency to move from one man to another so easily irks us because it's a wasteful way to move her story forward. We expect character growth over multiple seasons and while she begins to show it sometimes, it just goes all out the window.
Of course, we are also certain that her relationship with Max is really over like the latter says it is because now both of them will be on the run from the law. Already it seems predictable with what might happen between them, but we hope we are surprised.
One thing we really appreciated this season was how well we got to know Felix as he banded with Murphy while they worked for Nia. There was a new understanding established between them and we certainly hope to see more of this friendship.
When is it returning
Under normal circumstances, we would have expected 'In the Dark' Season 3 to premiere in April 2021. But with many of The CW's shows only returning in January 2021, we expect that midseason premieres will be delayed to summer 2021. The article will be updated as soon as The CW releases the date of the season's premiere.