It looks like AMC wants to continue unraveling the enigma that is Carolyn Martens. Reportedly, the network is considering a spinoff focused on the Killing Eve intelligence agent.
News that Killing Eve was looking into potential spinoffs first circulated a year ago. (The same time the announcement dropped that season 4 would be the show’s last.)
Now, it appears the proposed spinoff would focus on the early life of Carolyn Martens – her up-and-coming spy days, as it were. At this time, the project is in early development, so we don’t have many details. For instance, we don’t know if the series would time jump between present and past Carolyn, so we don’t know if Fiona Shaw would reprise her Killing Eve role. (Or indeed, if Imogen Daines, who played a younger Carolyn in flashbacks this season, would take part in the spinoff.)
The potential spinoff also does not yet have a set airing location, like BBC America or AMC+.
Could a Carolyn Spinoff Work?
So, would a Carolyn Martens spinoff work? I’m kind of on the fence about it, honestly.
On one hand, Carolyn has been a great character across all four seasons of Killing Eve. It’s so hard to pin down her intentions and motivations at any given moment, which makes her fascinating to watch. Plus, she’s pretty much been the backbone of the “spy” element to Killing Eve throughout its run. (She’s the only one doing “real” spy stuff, when you think about it.) Her selfishness, ambiguous morals, and all-around cleverness do set her up to be a solid anti-hero and probably a strong lead.
On the other hand, while in-universe Carolyn is a great spy, I would definitely describe the international espionage plot as the weakest part of Killing Eve as a series. I mean, the show didn’t really care about the Twelve for two seasons, and then it really cared about the Twelve for two seasons… but did the audience ever really care? Fans of the original series know the true driving force was Eve and Villanelle – the spy drama was just the sprinkles on top.
Basically, I’m not sure how many fans would cross over from Killing Eve to the Carolyn spy spinoff. But I suppose since the new show could mostly stand alone, maybe it could build up a new set of fans. Again, I think Carolyn has the depth of character to lead a series. I just also think announcing a spinoff for her shows how much the network has misunderstood what really worked about Killing Eve.
You can catch present-day Carolyn in the series finale of Killing Eve April 10.
So, what do you think? Will you try out a Carolyn Martens prequel spinoff? Let me know in the comments below.
Source: Deadline
