Kate Winslet says 'Mare of Easttown' will reflect police 'atrocities' if it returns for a second season

• Kate Winslet said a "Mare of Easttown" season two would explore police criminality.
• "Mare of Easttown" follows the story of a small-town police department and its detectives.

HBO's popular police crime thriller "Mare of Easttown" will reflect examples of police criminality if it returns for a second season, according to its star, Kate Winslet.

Winslet — who won an Emmy for her performance as police detective Mare Sheehan on the HBO thriller — was quizzed about the show's depiction of police officers in a recent interview with The Guardian newspaper, which asked whether "Mare" would ever delve into issues of police criminality such as police brutality.

"I don't know if I'm going to be playing Mare again," Winslet responded. "But if we were to do a second season, then for sure these atrocities which have existed in the police force here and in America will find their way into the stories we tell. One hundred percent. You can't pretend these things haven't happened."

The 46-year-old continued to say that she has struggled to find the words to discuss the issue of police wrongdoings.

"We all feel so betrayed and powerless," she said of recent stories of police criminality — The Guardian journalist specifically mentioned the deaths of George Floyd and Sarah Everard.

"We have to turn this moment into something meaningful. We have to use our voices on behalf of people who don't have one. That matters to me now in ways that hadn't even crossed my mind in my 20s."

In "Mare Of Easttown," Winslet's police detective Mare Sheehan attempts to solve the mystery of a teenage girl's murder. The show picked up 16 Emmy nominations and four wins on the night.

Winslet — who also acted as an executive producer on the show — had previously said that she and the show's creators had initially been disinterested in reviving "Mare" for a second season; however, when the show began to receive positive reviews, the idea of a second season became more appealing.

"At the end of shooting we were like, 'Holy hell, we can never do that again. If HBO brings up the idea of a Season 2, we all just have to say absolutely not. There's just no way we could possibly do it,'" she told Entertainment Weekly.

"And then there was talk, like, could there be? Especially when the show was getting such good responses."

The "Titanic" star continued to say that she and the show's creator, Brad Ingelsby, had shared "some very cool ideas" for a second season of the show.

"We will see what happens," she said.

"I also have to figure out if I can do it. Can I go through it again? It did cost me a lot emotionally to be her, and I have to figure out if I can summon it all up again and do it again."