Jennifer Garner on Judy Greer’s role, the Season 2 release schedule and why the show diverges from the book

Jennifer Garner said the arrival of Season 2 of The Last Thing He Told Me brings both reunion and recalibration — personally with longtime friend Judy Greer and narratively as the series moves beyond its original source material. The new season begins its weekly rollout on Friday, February 20, 2026, and will run for eight episodes.

What happened and what’s new

The Last Thing He Told Me returns with a second season that picks up after a five-year time jump from the first season’s finale. The series again centers on Hannah, played by Jennifer Garner, whose husband Owen — revealed to have used the name Ethan — vanished after becoming entangled with a crime syndicate and attempting to help law enforcement. Hannah and her stepdaughter Bailey, played by Angourie Rice, are drawn back into danger when Owen reappears.

The new season includes Judy Greer in the cast as Quinn, identified as the eldest daughter of the Campano crime family. The season is scheduled to premiere Friday, February 20, 2026, with episodes released weekly on Fridays at 3: 00 a. m. ET. There are eight episodes in total, with the season finale set to air Friday, April 10, 2026.

Behind the headline: Jennifer Garner and the new season

Jennifer Garner, 53, framed the season’s reunion with Judy Greer as both personal and professional. She described a two-decade friendship that created a shorthand on set and pushed her work: Greer’s presence in key scenes prompted Garner to elevate her performance, especially when acting opposite another woman rather than a male co-star. That dynamic is a deliberate creative angle for the show’s second season.

At the same time, cast commentary makes clear the season’s relationship to the written sequel is more fluid than it was for Season 1. Angourie Rice said the production overlapped with the sequel novel being written and that the creative teams were not always making the same choices at the same time. Judy Greer described catching up with the novel only later in the process, and the showrunner acknowledged there were moments when the book and the series diverged during production.

What we still don’t know

• Exact plot differences between the televised Season 2 and the sequel novel beyond being a looser adaptation.
• Which specific episodes contain major deviations from the book and how those will affect character arcs.
• Any additional casting or storyline developments that may be revealed after the weekly releases begin.
• Production details about the timing and sequencing that led to the show and book being out of step.

What happens next

• Weekly rollout continues: New episodes arrive every Friday at 3: 00 a. m. ET through the season finale on April 10, 2026; early audience reaction each week will determine the immediate cultural conversation.
• Viewer comparison: Fans and critics will compare each episode to the sequel novel as it is consumed, highlighting deviations and prompting discussion of adaptation choices.
• Cast and creative commentary: Additional interviews or statements from principal actors and the showrunner could clarify why certain changes were made, especially if public response focuses on differences.
• Longer-term franchise choices: If the adaptation strategy is seen as successful, future seasons or companion projects may take a similarly independent approach from source texts.

Why it matters

For audiences, the combination of a high-profile return and intentional divergence from the sequel book shapes expectations in two ways: emotionally and narratively. Emotionally, Jennifer Garner’s onscreen reunion with a longtime friend signals a performative chemistry that can reframe character relationships. Narratively, the admission that the season will not strictly follow the published sequel raises questions about adaptation strategy and the balance between honoring a book and shaping a television drama.

Near-term implications include a week-by-week engagement pattern as viewers react to each installment and compare it with the book’s events. For the show’s stakeholders — cast, creative team and the platform releasing the series — early audience and critical responses will influence the tone of subsequent publicity and any decisions about future seasons or related projects.

Summary: Jennifer Garner’s return anchors a second season that reunites her with Judy Greer, follows an eight-episode weekly release schedule beginning February 20, 2026, and has been created in parallel with, and in at least some ways deliberately apart from, the sequel novel; key plot divergences and production choices remain to be clarified as episodes roll out.