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Here's What You Should Know About the Possibility of a 'Happiest Season' Sequel

Photo credit: Hulu
Photo credit: Hulu

From ELLE

Warning: This post contains spoilers.

Happiest Season has been in our lives for more than a week now, which means the internet is full of videos, tweets, and essays about the movie, as well as pitches for new queer holiday screenplays. If you've seen the film, you have an opinion about it: either you think it needs to be banned from the list of feel-good holiday movies, or you're tired of rom-coms that gloss over the hard stuff. You might be somewhere in between, but you definitely wanted Abby to end up with Riley.

As for Harper, you probably have all sorts of complicated feelings. It's definitely not fun to watch her treat her perfect girlfriend like she's some friend she brought home for the holidays out of charity. In fact, it really sucks to watch.

"We all have our baggage," director Clea DuVall told IndieWire. "We all have our main triggers and our fight or flight responses, and I think Harper is someone who was operating in this certain way for a long time. It's this devastating moment where your instincts kick in and you realize that you have not come as far as you thought you have, because you haven't really confronted yourself. It's a very humbling moment and something that I think we can all relate to, no matter what it is we're overcoming. You don't overcome it on the first try."

By the end of the movie, Abby and Harper seemed to have worked through their "baggage" enough to get engaged. So, what comes next? It turns out DuVall's already thought about that, and a Happiest Season sequel could be in the future.

Are we really going to get more Abby, Harper, Riley, and John?

In an interview with Variety, DuVall said: "I would love to do a sequel. I mean, I have a couple of ideas."

How long has the idea of a sequel been out there?

Duvall said the cast and crew had so much fun making the movie together (pre-COVID, of course) that talk of a sequel was circulating during production.

"We all had such a great time making the movie that we were talking about it then. But it was also just like, who knew if anybody would care about the movie or not?" she told Vulture. Based on all the internet reactions, people care.

"I definitely am more than open to it," DuVall said.

Is there a chance Abby will end up with Riley next time?

Photo credit: Hulu
Photo credit: Hulu

This doesn't look likely. In an interview with ELLE.com, DuVall and co-writer Mary Holland (who plays Harper's sister Jane) said they understand why people are shipping Riley and Abby so hard, but that plot twist wouldn't be realistic.

"I think as long as you're processing and dealing with things in an open, honest way and making the conscious choice to work through them, then the road to a happy, healthy relationship is bumpy, and you work through stuff, and that’s what makes it stronger," DuVall said. "You don’t go through a hard couple of days after a long period of time, meet a stranger, and cut and run. Even if that person is Aubrey Plaza."

Holland chimed in: "And listen, it's tempting."

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