After decades of Octavia E. Butler’s work being under-adapted, FX finally debuted the first TV adaptation of “Kindred,” based on the author’s esteemed 1979 novel, on Dec. 13. The historical science fiction series, now streaming on Hulu, follows the story of Dana (Mallori Johnson), a young aspiring writer who moves to Los Angeles and suddenly finds herself mysteriously traveling back in time to a 19th-century plantation in antebellum Maryland where her late mother somehow exists.
“[W]e want to make sure we get through the story, because if anyone who knows the book, it’s kind of only just now getting good, right?”
Though the new adaptation doesn’t follow Butler’s book exactly, it covers a fair amount of Dana’s strange journey, as well as those of the show’s other characters – Kevin (Micah Stock), Thomas (Ryan Kwanten), Margaret (Gayle Rankin), Rufus (David Alexander Kaplan), Luke (Austin Smith), Sarah (Sophina Brown), and Olivia (Sheria Irving) – in its first season. However, according to showrunner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, there’s still a lot more story to tell. “Yes, of course,” he tells POPSUGAR of plans to adapt Butler’s novel for another season. “We want to make all of the book, all of the book seasons, as long as they (FX) have us. But definitely, we want to make sure we get through the story, because if anyone who knows the book, it’s kind of only just now getting good, right?”
If you’ve already binged all eight episodes of “Kindred,” then you know the series ends on a hell of a cliffhanger. For one, after Dana and her friend Kevin’s many trips back to the past, the unthinkable happens: Kevin gets stuck on the plantation. Yes, even after Dana reassured him that she’d never leave him behind, clearly she hasn’t mastered her time-traveling abilities enough to prevent disaster.
Related: 5 Things to Know About “Kindred” Newcomer Mallori Johnson
Speaking of time travel, at the end of the season one finale, it seems Dana and her aunt Denise (Eisa Davis) finally crack the mystery of their family’s roots. Throughout the season, Dana suspects Thomas and Margaret’s son Rufus of being her ancestor, as she believes he’s the reason she keeps getting pulled back in time. Turns out, her gut is right, because in her family’s bible – which keeps a record of all her family members’ names and birth years – she discovers one of her ancestors, Alice Greenwood, is supposed to have a child with Rufus.
But seeing as though Margaret leaves her husband, Thomas, and flees the plantation with Rufus in tow, it’s unclear how history will stay on course after Dana’s trips seemingly alter the timeline.
If FX gives “Kindred” the green light for season two, there will definitely be plenty of things to address. The most important being: what happens to Kevin since some years pass after he gets left behind? Also, will Dana be able to reunite with Rufus so she can ensure her own existence? Only a second season will be able to answer those questions.
