Sweet Tooth Showrunner Opens Up About Changing Character Fates in Season 2 (Exclusive)

Spoilers for ! Last week saw the second season of the hit DC comics adaptation Sweet Tooth premiere on Netflix. Readers of Jeff Lemire’s original comic series were perhaps surprised to see how the season finale went, not only because of where the story seems to be heading in a potential season three, but in the characters that didn’t make it in the end. The final episode of season two saw not only Marlon Williams’ Johnny Abbot be killed in action, but Neil Sandilands’ General Abbot didn’t make it out of the episode alive either. 

As readers may recall, both of these characters made it to the final issues in the source material, and though that’s where the show is now bound neither of them will be making the trip. Speaking with ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview, we asked series showrunner Jim Mickle about these characters being taken off the board and why their stories ended here rather than later on.

“So for some of those characters, we told so much more of their story in the first two seasons than does happen in the comic book. And so at some point, I felt like what the theme was for this season and how those characters aligned with that theme and their story really fell into that. It really felt like this is perfect. This is their story. And I really feel like their story and how they contribute to that, I feel like that story is done. And I never want to be that show that keeps characters on for another season just so they can be there and bounce other characters off of them. And I think that we have a history of whether it’s Will Forte in the pilot, it’s like there’s characters that pass on, and it’s a big part of our show is loss. And dealing with the loss and dealing with the ripple effects of that and the stories that they leave behind is a big aspect of the comic book.”

Mickle continued, “So I don’t think we ever sort of went like, ‘Oh, this is going to be right from the beginning, oh, this is going to be the season where we lose X character.’ But I think, again, it all happened in a very organic way that just felt like, ‘You know what? I think this is this character. I think this is their story.’ And then it’s a difficult thing when you talk to those actors and all that, because they become a part of your family.”

The season 2 finale of Sweet Tooth ends with Gus, Jepperd, Bear, and Wendy, all making their way toward Alaska. This is a similar group to who is headed north in the source material, but is much, much smaller. Jeff Lemire’s comics also feature General Abbott hot on their trails with a group of hybrid dog boys leading the charge. As for the TV series, Rosalind Chao’s Mrs. Zhang is the one holding the leash, and will be chasing after Gus in hopes of using him to cure The Sick. Not to mention Gus’ mom Birdie is still alive out there.

Based on the DC comic book series by Jeff Lemire, Sweet Tooth is executive produced by Jim Mickle, Susan Downey, Robert Downey, Jr., Amanda Burrell, and Linda Moran. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Television. with both seasons now streaming on Netflix.