Season one of Peacock's One of Us Is Lying centered around a murder mystery. But in season two, the characters must keep a new murder a mystery to everyone else.
The Murder Club—a.k.a. Addy (Annalisa Cochrane), Nate (Cooper van Grootel), Cooper (Chibuikem Uche), Bronwyn (Marianly Tejada) and Janae (Jess McLeod)—successfully solved the murder of classmate Simon (Mark McKenna), but at their own expense.
The real culprit, Jake (Barrett Carnahan), was shot and killed during a fight over evidence proving his guilt, and now, the Bayview High students must suffer the consequences of their actions at the hand of the Simon Says—an anonymous person who threatens to reveal their involvement in Jake's death if they do not obey their twisted wishes.
As for how season two ups the ante of season one? "There's the fact that they are no longer running from something that they're accused of," Uche exclusively told E! News. "They know they have a literal role in someone's actual death."
And nothing brings people together more than a shared secret. As Murder Club continues to grow closer to each other, Cochrane said that "there's going to be more strife and tension" between them all, adding, "It all definitely raises the tension."
Season two's story might not be familiar to fans of the book series by Karen M. McManus. Rather than adapting the series' second novel One of Us Is Next, the new episodes pick up right where season one left off.
Continuing Murder Club's story was a "really fun" yet "nerve-wracking" task for show creator Erica Saleh, who told E! News, "We were really conscientious and really wanted to make sure that we were delivering the characters that people love."
This new chapter will continue to explore the relationship between Bronwyn and Nate, whose brief romance fizzled out following Jake's death. But "Natewyn" fans need not worry, as Tejada revealed that the two will "go on a journey that deepens their relationship."
She added, "I think the fans are gonna be happy."
Exploring a new story was an exciting task for the cast, as well, who told E! News they are most excited for fans to check out episodes five and six of the season.
Van Grootel called the fifth episode a "big surrender to the moment" for the high schoolers, during which, "They are able to go out and do the things that they've always wanted to do while still being murder suspects."
And when it comes to episode six, McLeod teased that viewers have "never seen One of Us Is Lying like this before," and fans will have to tune in to find out why.
Hear more from the cast in the interviews above.
Season two of One of Us Is Lying premieres Thursday, Oct. 20 on Peacock.
(E! and Peacock are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)