Chuck Lorre‘s latest comedy has arrived on Netflix as comedian Leanne Morgan takes center stage in the streamer’s multi-camera series Leanne.
The show, which follows the eponymous character as she grapples with the unexpected twist her life has taken after her husband of over 30 years cheats on her with a younger woman. The 16-episode comedy showcases Leanne’s relationships with her kids, sister Carol (Kristen Johnston), her estranged husband Bill (Ryan Stiles), and her budding romance with boyfriend Andrew (Tim Daly).
It also highlights the ups and downs of being a woman as she goes through big changes like menopause and finding her place in an evolving world. But will there be more stories on the horizon?
“Yes, I hope it goes a second season,” Morgan tells TV Insider.
“It’s definitely set up to hopefully continue,” Johnston adds. For those who have binged the season, they’ll recall that the finale episode saw Andrew whisk Leanne away on a weekend getaway, only for it all to be disrupted by her daughter-in-law going into labor with her granddaughter.
Patrick Mcelhenney / NetflixTurning around, Leanne arrived at the hospital in time for the birth, but it also coincided with Bill’s hospitalization with chest pain, which turned out to be a panic attack. The episode concluded with Leanne holding her granddaughter and imagining the future ahead.
So, what does Morgan want to see next for her character? “Whether it’s romantic or a job, you know, she’s tended to her family all of her life, put everybody else first, I want people to see what she’s gonna do,” Morgan tells TV Insider.
Meanwhile, Johnston echoes, “It’s just the first season, it’s really setting everything up. If we get to go another season, I think there will be some really big payoffs that we’ve heard rumors about, but we’ll see.”
As part of the Chuck Lorre TV universe, the star from his series that Morgan and Johnston would most like to see on Leanne is Mom‘s Allison Janney. Johnston previously starred on the former CBS series, but she adds, “Jaime Pressly was basically built for this show. Any of those Mom gals would be amazing, or The Big Bang [Theory], I mean any of his shows, we’d take any of them.”
Executive producer Nick Bakay teases that there are a few directions a second season could take as he says, “There’s always stuff that didn’t make Season 1, and you realize that’s a Season 2 area. So you always have some things up your sleeve, and certainly, the course of the first season tees up a lot. But you have to get back in the room and start rolling up your sleeves and kind of start from scratch.”
Meanwhile, series co-creator Lorre doesn’t want the team to get too ahead of themselves as he adds, “We’ve always discovered the show on the fly. When you plan so far ahead. You rob yourself of learning, and you take away the opportunity to watch the actors perform a scene, and go, ‘Oh, that presents a whole world of possibilities.’”
“God willing, if there is a second season, if you’ve outlined the whole thing, then there’s nothing,” Lorre continues, noting, “It kind of robs you of that [freedom].”
Do you want to see more of Leanne? Let us know in the comments section below, and stay tuned for any updates about the show’s future. In the meantime, check out the full interview above.
