Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke are back for the last 16 episodes of Netflix's beloved drama.
Firefly Lane has a lot of questions to answer when the second and final season drops on Netflix.
Starring Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke as best friends Tully Hart and Kate Mularkey, the one-hour drama is back for the final 16 episodes, with the first half dropping Friday. Based on the 2008 novel by Kristin Hannah, the series -- which was one of Netflix's most popular of 2021 -- chronicles Tully and Kate's lifelong friendship as it spans the course of three decades.
As the first season culminated in a surprising cliffhanger, viewers were left with a lot of questions over what happened between the formerly attached-at-the-hip BFFs that caused them to no longer be on speaking terms -- a dramatic 180 from their strong bond. ET exclusively premiered the first look at the final season trailer, which revealed what the emotion-filled roller-coaster ride of the final 16 episodes will be for viewers.
With season 2 officially underway, here's everything we know (so far) about Firefly Lane's final chapter.
When Will the Final Season Premiere?
Netflix announced on Oct. 3 that the upcoming second season, which consists of 16 episodes, would be the drama's last. Instead of rolling out the final episodes all in one go, like season 1, the streamer will break it up into two parts.
The first nine episodes, aka Part 1, will premiere Dec. 2, while the final seven, aka Part 2, will drop sometime in 2023.
Which Cast Members Are Returning?
No need to worry, all your favorites will be returning to Firefly Lane! Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke are both back as lifelong best friends, Tully and Kate, while Ali Skovbye and Roan Curtis -- who play teenage versions of the characters -- will return as well. Also back are series regulars Ben Lawson as Johnny, Beau Garrett as Cloud and Yael Yurman as Marah.
There will be several key cast additions, who will add some spice to the final episodes. India de Beaufort has been cast as Charlotte, former Grey's Anatomy regular Greg Germann will play Benedict, Jolene Purdy will be introduced as Justine and Ignacio Serricchio will portray Danny Diaz.
What Is the Final Season About?
With season 1 ending on a shocking cliffhanger, revealing that Tully and Kate are estranged in the flash-forward, many questions loom over what caused the seemingly unbreakable friendship to be irrevocably broken. While Netflix promises that question will finally be answered this season, there are a lot of blanks still left to fill in.
According to the official synopsis, in the present day, Kate (Chalke) grapples with the painful aftermath of Johnny's (Lawson) ill-fated trip to Iraq, while Tully (Heigl) faces a lawsuit after walking away from her talk show and must start her career over. This leads her to search for answers about who she is and where she comes from -- including a journey to find the father she never met, against the wishes of her secretive hippie mother, Cloud (Garrett).
In the '80s, the origins of Kate and Johnny's love story is unveiled, creating drama in the newsroom where they work, as Tully's career rises and she spars with cocky sportscaster Danny Diaz (Serricchio). Meanwhile, in the '70s, teenage Kate Curtis) and Tully (Skovbye) struggle to keep their friendship together as Cloud goes to jail for dealing drugs and Tully goes to live with her grandmother, far away from Firefly Lane. As the girls face the tumult of high school apart, they know the one thing they really need is each other.
The Aftermath of the Shocking Season 1 Cliffhanger
The season 1 finale revealed that in the future, Tully and Kate are no longer on speaking terms as they reunite at the funeral service for Kate's father. The mystery of the event or circumstances that led to such a dramatic rift that the two friends choose to sever ties over any type of reconciliation means the impact of it will reverberate throughout the upcoming season.
"You see them go through so much and they get through it because, at the end of the day, they're just there for each other. They're family. So it's got to be something big," Chalke theorized last February after the first season dropped.
Heigl also offered her own theories on what could have been the catalyst for their fallout: "It cannot be that Tully sleeps with Johnny after they're married," she surmised, adding that it could be connected to Kate's daughter Marah, as it is in the novel. "I don't think any friendship comes back from that."
"I know what it is and I have a plan," creator and showrunner Maggie Friedman promised. "I hope that people watch the show and that we get a season 2... But I have a lot of exciting ideas for a season 2 should we be so lucky."
"One of the beautiful things I will say about this story, and one of the reasons I love it, is that even though there is a love triangle, their relationship is bigger than that," Friedman added of whether Kate and Tully's broken friendship is over Johnny. "Their sisterhood is stronger than any man could come between them. And they are soulmates. I think that's cool because there's a way that story could've been told where it's all about Johnny and them cat-fighting over Johnny. But that's not what it is at all. I feel sympathy for both of them when they're grappling with their different feelings for him. In episode 7, when Tully sleeps with Johnny, it's a real test for their relationship... and hopefully, you're on everybody's side. Ultimately, their friendship matters way more than any guy."
Season 2 Will Answer Everyone's Looming Questions
In an October interview about season 2, exclusively with ET, Heigl and Chalke promised that all the questions in everyone's minds following the first season will be directly answered -- including the cause of Tully and Kate's fallout.
"You’re going to get all of the answers and it's crazy," Chalke teased. "I don’t think it’s going to be what you thought it was going to be. But it's juicy and you’re going to laugh and you’re going to cry and you’re going to do all of the things."
"It's going to feel very similar to season 1 and it’s moving through the decades and the timelines so we'll get to journey with them through all that backstory that led us to that moment, plus some other things," Heigl said. "John coming back from Iraq and Kate trying to deal with him post this traumatic experience, Tully in a storm effect from her career and being sued and not sure what she’s going to do moving forward. So there’s some great character drama for all of us that we go through this season and with the audience. Like Sarah said, there’s just so much. I don’t want to give anything away but it’s so good."
Firefly Lane drops Part 1 of its final season Dec. 2 on Netflix.
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