All three learn of their respective husband's infidelity during their time in the house: The second season focuses on one storyline set in 1949, with Alma Fillcot, a plain Jane middle-aged housewife who decides to join a Garden Club, and Rita Castillo, the same woman inside who despises Alma and the series of murders that follow.

In 1984, socialite Simone Grove lives in the mansion with Karl, her third husband of ten years who owns a successful art gallery.

While waiting to be treated at the hospital, Rob acknowledges that he is growing distant from Beth Ann, but stops short of admitting his infidelity.

Once treated for his injury, Rob leaves the mansion for an apparent dinner with business partners despite Beth Ann's attempts to make him stay, knowing that he is really meeting with April.

Naomi Harte reveals to Simone that she has known about Karl's infidelity for over a year, although she is unaware of his sexual orientation.

Feeling betrayed by Karl and Naomi, Simone begins an affair with Tommy, who is now a legal adult.

Forced to remain in the office to recreate the project, Rob cancels his plans with April, who invites Beth Ann to go out with her.

At the nightclub, April reveals to Beth Ann that she is not pursuing a serious relationship with Rob and has no intention of getting married, preferring to instead focus on becoming a singer.

She then interrupts their date to reconcile Brad and Amy, and mends her relationship with Tommy by wearing the watch he gifted her.

When Naomi finds out Tommy's been leaving the house at all hours of the night, she signs him up for a housekeeping service to water neighbor's plants to keep him busy.

At a dinner party, a woman approaches Simone in the bathroom, saying she is Karl's doctor's wife and also a nurse in his practice.

Beth Ann changes her mind about leaving Rob, and forgives Claire on the condition that their conversation stay between them.

Naomi isn't satisfied, saying she will continue her tirade, but Tommy overhears her and angrily ends his relationship with his mother.

In 1963, Beth Ann tells Rob she has bought a gun that she will keep loaded in the kitchen due to break-ins in the neighborhood, then initiates a scheme with Mary to cause their husbands to kill each other.

Six months later, Simone is forced to sell off her art collection to pay for Karl's medical bills after they lose their insurance.

Seeing an AIDS victim take a turn for the worse convinces Simone to help Karl end his life without pain.

Decades later, Taylor and Eli meet Simone, who has become a philanthropist active in AIDS research, while Tommy is revealed to have become a successful painter.

The series was created by Marc Cherry who was also expected to executive produce alongside Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo, Michael Hanel, and Mindy Schultheis.

Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Imagine Entertainment and CBS Television Studios.

[19] Cherry stated at the 2019 Television Critics Association that there will be "three deaths at the end of the series, and they will all be committed by women.

We look forward to bringing fans even more of this wonderfully soapy dramedy in its second season and can't wait to see what themes Marc explores next.

Cannon, Jordane Christie, Matthew Daddario, Veronica Falcón were cast to star for the second season.

[11][13] In November 2020, Virginia Williams, Jessica Phillips, Eileen Galindo, Cynthia Quiles, and Kerry O'Malley joined the cast in recurring roles for the second season.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Though Why Women Kill falls short of its ambitious premise, fans of Marc Cherry and his impressive cast will find much to like in its darkly soapy and stylish delights.

"[31] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 63 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

[32] While the aesthetic of the series received praise, critics found that Why Women Kill lacked character development.

Robyn Bahr of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "We're supposed to marvel at the changing roles of women over time, but it's hard to get there, intellectually, when none of the three leads feels like a semblance of a real person.

"[33] Vulture reviewer Angelica Jade Bastién agreed with the focus on aesthetics more than plot, stating, "Why Women Kill is akin to an overly complicated craft cocktail, boasting an intriguing brightness, namely in the form of Goodwin's performance, but lacking balance in its competing flavors.

It's full of baffling tonal and narrative decisions that undermine what does work about the show—a handful of the performances, the over-the-top, nearly camp production design, the costuming—and undercuts its dramatic potential with broad, nearly slapstick humor that distances us from the characters rather than illuminating who they are.

What began as an artistic trio of stories dancing around a singular idea, quickly blossomed into one of the best shows of the year.