Mare of Easttown

Mare of Easttown is an American crime drama television miniseries created and written by Brad Ingelsby for HBO. Directed by Craig Zobel, the series premiered on April 18, 2021, and concluded on May 30, 2021, consisting of seven episodes. It stars Kate Winslet in the title role, who investigates a murder in a small town outside Philadelphia. Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart, Angourie Rice, Evan Peters, Sosie Bacon, David Denman, Neal Huff, James McArdle, Guy Pearce, Cailee Spaeny, John Douglas Thompson, and Joe Tippett appear in supporting roles.

Mare of Easttown
Promotional poster
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Brad Ingelsby
Written by	Brad Ingelsby
Directed by	Craig Zobel
Starring	Kate Winslet Julianne Nicholson Jean Smart Angourie Rice David Denman Neal Huff Guy Pearce Cailee Spaeny John Douglas Thompson Joe Tippett Evan Peters Sosie Bacon James McArdle
Music by	Lele Marchitelli
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	7
Production
Executive producers	Paul Lee Mark Roybal Craig Zobel Kate Winslet Brad Inglesby Gavin O'Connor Gordon Gray Ron Schmidt
Producer	Karen Wacker
Production locations	Delaware County, Chester County, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[1]
Cinematography	Ben Richardson
Editors	Amy E. Duddleston Naomi Sunrise Filoramo
Running time	58–66 minutes
Production companies	Zobot Projects Mayhem Pictures Juggle Productions Low Dweller Productions wiip
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	April 18 (2021-04-18) – May 30, 2021 (2021-05-30)

The series received critical acclaim for its story, characters, acting, and representation of women. It has also been noted for its cast members speaking in a mostly accurate Philadelphia accent, a dialect seldom heard in mainstream media. Mare of Easttown received sixteen nominations at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards and won four, including Outstanding Lead Actress for Winslet, Outstanding Supporting Actress for Nicholson, and Outstanding Supporting Actor for Peters.

Premise

In the fictional suburb of Easttown, Philadelphia, police detective Marianne "Mare" Sheehan investigates the recent murder of a teenage mother while trying to keep her own life from falling apart. Mare is a local hero, having scored the winning basket in a high school basketball game that won Easttown its first state championship 25 years earlier. She has also been unable to solve the case of another missing young girl for a year, leading many in the community to doubt her detective skills. Her personal troubles include a divorce, a son lost to suicide, and a custody battle with her son's formerly heroin-addicted girlfriend over Mare's grandson.^[2]

Cast and characters

Main

• Kate Winslet as Marianne "Mare" Sheehan,^[3] a detective sergeant in Easttown, Pennsylvania, who is investigating the murder of one young girl and the disappearance of another
• Julianne Nicholson as Lori Ross,^[3] Mare's closest friend
• Jean Smart as Helen Fahey,^[4] Mare's mother
• Angourie Rice as Siobhan Sheehan,^[3] Mare's daughter
• David Denman as Frank Sheehan,^[3] a teacher and Mare's ex-husband
• Neal Huff as Father Dan Hastings,^[3] Mare's cousin, a Catholic priest and the pastor of St. Michael's Church
• Guy Pearce as Richard Ryan,^[3] an author and creative writing professor
• Cailee Spaeny as Erin McMenamin,^[3] a teenage single mother who is treated badly by her ex-boyfriend
• John Douglas Thompson as Chief Carter,^[3] Mare's boss at the police department
• Joe Tippett as John Ross,^[3] Lori's husband and cousin of Erin's father Kenny
• Evan Peters as Detective Colin Zabel,^[3] the county detective called in to assist Mare
• Sosie Bacon as Carrie Layden,^[3] the mother of Mare's grandson Drew and ex-girlfriend of Mare's deceased son Kevin
• James McArdle as Deacon Mark Burton,^[3] a Catholic deacon reassigned to St. Michael's after sexual misconduct allegations at his previous parish

Supporting

• Kate Arrington as Faye, Frank's fiancée
• Ruby Cruz as Jess Riley, Erin's best friend
• Ned Eisenberg as Detective Hauser, a county detective
• Enid Graham as Dawn Bailey, an Easttown resident whose daughter, Katie, has been missing for over a year
• Deborah Hedwall as Judy Zabel, Colin's mother with whom he lives
• Caitlin Houlahan as Katie Bailey, a girl who went missing from Easttown a year prior
• Cameron Mann as Ryan Ross, Lori and John's son
• Jack Mulhern as Dylan Hinchey, Erin's ex-boyfriend
• Patrick Murney as Kenny McMenamin, Erin's father
• Chinasa Ogbuagu as Beth Hanlon, Freddie's sister and Mare and Dawn's close friend
• Phyllis Somerville as Betty Carroll, an elderly Easttown resident; this was Somerville's final role before her death in 2020
• Robbie Tann as Billy Ross, John's brother, Lori's brother-in-law and Kenny's cousin
• Madeline Weinstein as Becca, Siobhan's stoner girlfriend

Other

• Rosa Arredondo as Tammy, a former sex worker and friend of Mare's who works as an informant for her
• Debbie Campbell as Katherine Hinchey, Dylan's mother
• Gordon Clapp as Pat Ross, John and Billy's father
• Eisa Davis as Gayle Graham, Mare's therapist
• Sasha Frolova as Missy Sager, an escort
• Jeremy Gabriel as Steve Hinchey, Dylan's father
• Connie Giordano as Patty Del Rasso, Brianna's mother
• Justin Hurtt-Dunkley as Officer Trammel
• Dominique Johnson as Freddie Hanlon, Beth's opioid-addicted brother
• Izzy King as Drew Sheehan, Mare's grandson, born to her son Kevin and his girlfriend Carrie Layden
• Cody Kostro as Kevin Sheehan, Mare's late son who died by suicide prior to the events of the series
• Jeb Kreager as Wayne Potts, a resident of Easttown
• Katie Kreisler as Trish Riley, Jess' mother
• Mackenzie Lansing as Brianna Del Rasso, Dylan's girlfriend
• Patrick McDade as Glen Carroll, Betty's husband
• Kiah McKirnan as Anne Harris, a DJ at the Haverford College radio show where Siobhan's band performs
• Patsy Meck as Jan Kelly, an employee at the Easttown police station
• Eric T. Miller as Tony Del Rasso, Brianna's father, a restaurant owner
• Kassie Mundhenk as Moira Ross, Lori and John's daughter, who has Down syndrome
• Anthony Norman as Nathan Forde, a member of Siobhan's band
• Drew Scheid as Geoff Gabeheart, one of Siobhan's friends, drummer in Siobhan's band Androgynous
• Sadat Waddy as Sean, Dylan's friend

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by [5]	Written by [6]	Original release date [7]	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Miss Lady Hawk Herself"	Craig Zobel	Brad Ingelsby	April 18, 2021 (2021-04-18)	0.600[8]
In the small community of Easttown, Pennsylvania, Detective Mare Sheehan is ordered to reopen the year-old investigation into the disappearance of young Katie Bailey when the girl's mother, Dawn, complains on the news about the unsolved case. Adding to Mare's frustrations, her ex-husband Frank is remarrying and has invited Mare's whole family—including her mother Helen, teenage daughter Siobhan, and 4-year-old grandson Drew—to his engagement party on the same night Mare and her high school basketball teammates are being honored on the 25th anniversary of their state championship win. At a bar, Mare meets Richard, an author who has recently moved to the area, and they end up having sex. Meanwhile, Erin McMenamin, a teenage single mother who lives with her alcoholic father Kenny, argues with her baby's father, Dylan, and his new girlfriend Brianna when they come to get the baby for a weekend visit. Erin is later lured into the woods and beaten by Brianna in front of Dylan and other teenagers. Siobhan sees the fight and rescues Erin, who walks away into the woods alone. The next morning, Erin's dead body, nearly naked and with a large head wound, is found in a local creek.
2	"Fathers"	Craig Zobel	Brad Ingelsby	April 25, 2021 (2021-04-25)	0.735[9]
Mare responds to the call about Erin's body and notifies Kenny, who immediately blames Dylan. Against Mare's wishes, county detective Colin Zabel, known for recently solving a nearby cold case, is brought in to help investigate both Erin's murder and Katie Bailey's disappearance. Under interrogation, Dylan denies killing Erin, but omits important details of their last encounters. Cell phone video of Brianna's attack on Erin surfaces; Mare publicly arrests Brianna for assault at her family's restaurant. Brianna's upset father Tony begins stalking Mare. Mare and Frank worry that Drew might have inherited the mental illness that caused his father, their son Kevin, to take his own life two years previously. Drew's mother Carrie, a recovering addict, seeks full custody of Drew. Mare accepts Richard's invitation to meet him at a reception in his honor, but their date goes poorly. Erin's best friend Jess tells Mare's friend Lori Ross that Erin confided in her that Dylan is not the real father of her baby; Jess thinks Frank, who briefly taught Erin in school, is the real father. A grieving Kenny abducts and shoots Dylan, leaving him for dead.
3	"Enter Number Two"	Craig Zobel	Brad Ingelsby	May 2, 2021 (2021-05-02)	0.918[10]
Kenny confesses to shooting Dylan, who has survived. Frank admits he helped Erin by buying her baby items, but denies any sexual relations or involvement in her murder. Mare gathers DNA samples from Frank and Dylan for paternity testing. The medical examiner reports that Erin's finger is missing from a gunshot and that there is no evidence of rape. The finger is later found in a local park, and Mare then finds a bullet, indicating that Erin was killed there and her body subsequently moved. Erin's phone records reveal that her last call was made after the fight with Brianna to Deacon Mark Burton, who claims that he only provided her with counsel. Mare is romantically pursued by Richard and also propositioned by a drunken Zabel, both of whom share stories of their own difficult divorces and family dysfunction. Unbeknownst to the police, Deacon Mark has Erin's bicycle, which he secretly throws into the river. Desperate to prevent Carrie from gaining custody of Drew, Mare plants heroin from the evidence room in Carrie's car; Chief Carter immediately discovers the truth and puts Mare on administrative leave, ordering her to get grief counseling.
4	"Poor Sisyphus"	Craig Zobel	Brad Ingelsby	May 9, 2021 (2021-05-09)	1.049[11]
Zabel becomes lead investigator on the case when Mare becomes suspended; however, she continues to investigate on her own. Paternity tests show that neither Frank nor Dylan fathered Erin's baby. Another girl, Missy Sager, goes missing. While searching Erin's dresser for clues, Mare finds a heart-shaped necklace engraved with a date. Zabel learns that Deacon Mark was transferred from his previous parish after allegations of inappropriate behavior with an underaged girl. Carrie gets Drew for the night, but begrudgingly returns him to Mare when he becomes homesick. Mare remembers Kevin and Carrie violently abusing her and robbing her for drug money. Siobhan struggles with her own feelings about Kevin and her family. She ends her relationship with Becca and begins a new relationship with Anne, who she met through a gig her band did. Richard and Zabel both ask Mare for a date on the same night. Dawn Bailey receives a call claiming that her daughter Katie is alive and demanding $5,000 for her return. When she goes to meet the caller, she finds out the culprit was Freddie Hanlon. Missy Sager is imprisoned in a soundproof room in the attic of a tavern, and finds Katie Bailey alive and being held captive there.
5	"Illusions"	Craig Zobel	Brad Ingelsby	May 16, 2021 (2021-05-16)	1.064[12]
Mare learns that Erin stayed with Billy Ross, her father's cousin, for a couple of months following the death of her mother. Brianna grows suspicious of Dylan, who was absent from their bed for some time on the night of Erin's death. Dylan and his friend meet with Jess to burn Erin's hidden journals, but Jess secretly keeps a photograph from one of them. Mare goes on a date with Zabel, but it sours when she continuously brings up the case. Later, Mare and Zabel interview a girl who narrowly escaped kidnapping by a man in a blue van. Zabel admits to Mare that he did not really solve the case that made his career, but instead relied on files obtained from a private investigator. Using a partial license plate number provided by the girl, Mare and Zabel track down the kidnapper, Wayne Potts. Katie and Missy bang on a pipe to alert Mare and Zabel to their presence in Potts' attic, causing Potts to shoot Zabel in the head and wound Mare in the arm. An unarmed Mare flees through the house, eventually retrieving Zabel's gun and killing Potts as backup arrives.
6	"Sore Must Be the Storm"	Craig Zobel	Brad Ingelsby	May 23, 2021 (2021-05-23)	1.210[13]
Katie and Missy return home, but Potts had an alibi the night of Erin's murder. With Zabel dead, Chief Carter lifts Mare's suspension and puts her back in charge of Erin's murder investigation. Brianna tells Mare about Dylan's unexplained absence the night of the murder, and Dylan invokes his right to a lawyer. Mare learns that Erin attended a Ross family reunion at a lake, on the date engraved on her heart-shaped pendant, and that Erin and her father, Kenny, stayed in the same cabin as Billy. Pop Ross tells his son John that Billy came home covered in blood the night of Erin's murder. John talks to Billy, who tearfully states that he killed Erin. John tells his wife Lori, adding that Billy and Erin had an incestuous relationship that began at the reunion and that Billy fathered Erin's child. John and Billy go on a last fishing trip together; their tackle box contains a gun. Despite John telling Lori to keep it a secret, Lori tells Mare about Billy. Mare calls Chief Carter to let him know she is driving to the fishing spot to arrest Billy for Erin's murder. Jess comes to the police station with her mother to give Chief Carter the photograph she took from Erin's journal. Upon viewing the photo, Chief Carter orders his men to get Mare on the phone.
7	"Sacrament"	Craig Zobel	Brad Ingelsby	May 30, 2021 (2021-05-30)	1.520[14]
The photo shows Erin in bed next to a sleeping John. Jess tells Chief Carter that she and Dylan burned the journals to hide any compromising information and to keep Erin's baby in the care of Dylan's parents. At the fishing spot, John points the gun at Billy intending to kill him and let him take the fall for Erin's murder, but Mare arrives just in time to subdue John. John confesses that he himself had the relationship with Erin and fathered her child, and that Erin called him away from Frank's engagement party to meet her at the park, where she threatened to shoot herself. John says he accidentally shot her while struggling for the gun, and that he and Billy moved her body to the woods to draw suspicion towards the other kids who were there that night. John admits he convinced Lori to lie and tell Mare that Billy killed Erin. John asks Lori to raise his and Erin's son. John and Billy go to jail, but Billy is let out on bail and Deacon Mark is released. Carrie, who is using drugs again, returns to rehab and drops her custody case, allowing Drew to remain with Mare. Glen Carroll tells Mare that his vintage handgun of the type identified as firing the fatal bullet recently disappeared from his shed, and was returned with two rounds missing. The only other person with access to the shed was John and Lori's 13-year-old son Ryan. Ryan confesses that he, not John, met Erin at the park, planning to use Glen's gun to scare her into staying away from his family. Ryan killed her after his attempted intimidation became a physical struggle, and his father John and uncle Billy covered it up to protect him. Ryan is sent to juvenile detention, causing Lori to angrily rebuff Mare. Later, Lori and Mare reconcile, and Mare finally brings herself to revisit the attic where Kevin died.

Production

Development

In January 2019, it was reported that Brad Ingelsby, creator of the show, would write all episodes, with Gavin O'Connor directing. Executive producers include Ingelsby, O'Connor, Kate Winslet, Paul Lee, Mark Roybal, and Gordon Gray.^[6][15][16] In January 2020, it was announced that Craig Zobel would replace O'Connor as director due to scheduling issues and also serve as executive producer.^[17]

Regarding the setting, Ingelsby stated "sort of an amalgam" which he explained "It’s Coatesville, it’s Aston, it’s Drexel Hill."^[18] Ingelsby stated that he chose the name Easttown because "it sounded like such a generic town name."^[18]

Casting

It was announced in January 2019 that Kate Winslet had been cast to star in the miniseries.^[19] In September 2019, the cast was rounded out with Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart, Angourie Rice, Evan Peters, Cailee Spaeny and David Denman.^[20] John Douglas Thompson, Patrick Murney, Ben Miles, Katie Kreisler, James McArdle, Sosie Bacon, Joe Tippett, Neal Huff were cast in October 2019.^[21] In February 2021, it was announced that Guy Pearce joined the cast, replacing Miles in his role. In the same month, Mackenzie Lansing, Kate Arrington, Ruby Cruz, James Easter Bradford, Elisa Davis, Enid Graham, Justin Hurtt-Dunkley, Izzy King, Jack Mulhern, Anthony Norman, Drew Scheid, and Madeline Weinstein were cast.^[22][23]

Filming

Filming of the show began in the fall of 2019 around suburban Philadelphia and was reported to still be in progress as of March 2020, with plans to continue through April.^[19][24] However, production was shut down early due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[25] In early September 2020, a Philadelphia news station reported that filming was set to resume within the month.^[26]

Because the story is set in a fictionalized version of Easttown Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, where series creator Brad Ingelsby was born (the show moves the location east to Delaware County, which is adjacent to Easttown Township), there were discussions about whether to use the "Delco accent", a version of Philadelphia English common in Delaware County. It was Winslet who insisted that the accent be used, despite being a particularly difficult accent to learn, because she felt the community itself was an important character in the story, and the authentic accent would help emphasize that.^[27] "There were a lot of things I could have really leant into that would have made it sound like I was doing something a bit gimmicky and I didn't want that to happen," Winslet said. "So I just had to drill it and drill it and drill it."^[18] She claimed that learning the accent was so difficult that it caused her to "throw things".^[28] Dialect coach Susanne Sulby assisted the actors.^[18]

Filming locations include a train station and high-school gymnasium in Coatesville, Pennsylvania (a city in Chester County), and an American Legion hall in Ogden, a community in Delaware County.^[29] Inglesby has said that many of the filming locations were around Aston Township, in Delaware County.^[30] Winslet reportedly said that, while filming the show, she became obsessed with Wawa convenience stores. "Wawa was a big part of my life for well over a year," she said.^[30] Wawa stores were used as scouting locations for the production's costume designers.^[31]

Release and reception

The seven-episode series premiered on April 18, 2021,^[32] and concluded on May 30, 2021. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on September 14, 2021.^[33]

Critical response

Winslet was praised for her performance, receiving a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe, Critics Choice and SAG Award among others.

Mare of Easttown received critical acclaim. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 95% based on 128 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Grounded by a career-best Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown's ambitions at times exceed its reach, but its central mystery is supported by such strong sense of place and character it hardly matters."^[34] On Metacritic, the series has a weighted average score of 81 out of 100 based on reviews from 42 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[35]

Winslet received widespread praise for her performance, including from Lucy Mangan of The Guardian who wrote, "If you can have a defining performance this late in a career, this is surely Winslet's. She is absolutely wonderful."^[36] Alex Abad-Santos of Vox described Winslet's performance as "mesmerizing", adding that "she allows us to see the ugliness Mare is capable of and how obsessive, perhaps even abusive, she can be when she's threatened."^[37] The Wall Street Journal's Dorothy Rabinowitz noted "Winslet's eloquent command of the role is obvious from the outset".^[38] Ben Travers of IndieWire wrote, "Winslet's immersed performance could carry a far lesser work by itself", while adding that her East American dialect is "convincing and her physical work is flawless."^[39] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times declared, "Winslet adds to a long list of magnificent, disappear-into-the-character performances...one of the most resonant performances of her career."^[40] Caryn James of the BBC wrote, "Winslet makes an unglamorous return to TV...and her fierce, ordinary heroine is gloriously real."^[41]

Inkoo Kang of The Hollywood Reporter gave it a mostly positive review describing it as "uneven, but masterfully suspenseful".^[42] Kang compared the series with British crime drama Happy Valley,^[42] a comparison echoed by Fiona Sturges of The Independent, who wrote that "addiction, abuse and death were woven into the fabric of life" in both dramas, while acknowledging similarities between both shows' protagonists.^[43] The New York Times was dismissive in its review, with television critic Mike Hale writing: "Some style in the direction or honest feeling in the screenplay could have mitigated the dreariness, but 'Mare' doesn't offer much beyond Ben Richardson's burnished cinematography."^[2] A plot twist in the final episode received lukewarm reviews from various outlets. For The A.V. Club, Joshua Alston wrote, "While [the final episode] is a triumphant conclusion to Mare's emotional arc, as a conclusion to a mystery, it's a mixed bag [...] the whole thing just feels arbitrary and confusing and lacks the emotional logic this show is normally so good at."^[44] In Decider, Sean T. Collins agreed but praised the leads' performances, writing, "The resolution of the mystery is a bit 'twists and fake-outs for twists' and fake-outs' sake.' But each new revelation came with an emotionally devastating payload for the characters, with Winslet and Nicholson in particular doing their best work of the series."^[45]

Critics and viewers have also particularly praised the series and Winslet for convincingly replicating the Philadelphia regional accent, an oddity in mainstream media. The specific version of the Philadelphia accent is known as the "Delco accent", after Delaware County to the southwest of Philadelphia.^[46] The characters' accents, along with their fondness for Wawa, were parodied in a May 2021 Saturday Night Live sketch.^[47]

Ratings

Mare of Easttown proved to be a record breaking ratings hit. The massive viewership resulted in HBO Max servers crashing shortly after the finale was released on the streaming service.^[48]

The final episode of Mare of Easttown drew four million viewers over the holiday weekend across HBO and HBO Max, with nearly three million viewers Sunday night (all platforms), marking a series high for both linear and digital, according to HBO. The finale also set the record as the most watched episode of an original series on HBO Max during its first 24 hours of availability, besting the finales of The Undoing and The Flight Attendant over the same period of time. Mare of Easttown also joined The Undoing as the only series in HBO's history to see consecutive growth week-to-week.^[49]

Viewership and ratings per episode of Mare of Easttown

No.	Title	Air date	Rating (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Miss Lady Hawk Herself"	April 18, 2021	0.08	0.600[8]	0.06	0.575	0.14	1.175[50]
2	"Fathers"	April 25, 2021	0.10	0.735[9]	0.07	0.703	0.17	1.438[51]
3	"Enter Number Two"	May 2, 2021	0.12	0.918[10]	0.08	0.773	0.20	1.691[52]
4	"Poor Sisyphus"	May 9, 2021	0.16	1.049[11]	0.10	0.869	0.26	1.918[53]
5	"Illusions"	May 16, 2021	0.15	1.064[12]	0.09	0.922	0.24	1.986[12]
6	"Sore Must Be the Storm"	May 23, 2021	0.22	1.210[13]	—	—	—	—
7	"Sacrament"	May 30, 2021	0.27	1.520[14]	0.08	0.696	0.35	2.215[54]

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2021	Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards	Best Broadcast Network or Cable Limited Series, Anthology Series or Live-Action Television Movie	Mare of Easttown	Won	[55] [56]
		Best Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Movie	Kate Winslet	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Movie	Evan Peters	Won
		Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Movie	Julianne Nicholson	Nominated
			Jean Smart	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series	Paul Lee, Mark Roybal, Craig Zobel, Kate Winslet, Brad Ingelsby, Gavin O'Connor, Gordon Gray, Ron Schmidt, and Karen Wacker	Nominated	[57] [58]
		Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	Kate Winslet	Won
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	Evan Peters (for "Enter Number Two")	Won
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	Julianne Nicholson (for "Sacrament")	Won
			Jean Smart (for "Sacrament")	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	Craig Zobel	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	Brad Ingelsby	Nominated
	Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	Avy Kaufman, Diane Heery, and Jason Loftus	Nominated
		Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	Ben Richardson (for "Illusions")	Nominated
		Outstanding Contemporary Costumes	Meghan Kasperlik, Francisco Stoll, Taylor Smith, Laura Downing, and Jennifer Hryniw (for "Miss Lady Hawk Herself")	Nominated
		Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling	Shunika Terry, Lawrence Davis, Lydia Benaim, and Ivana Primorac (for "Sore Must Be the Storm")	Nominated
		Outstanding Makeup (Non-Prosthetic)	Debi Young, Sandra Linn, Ngozi Olandu Young, and Rachel Geary (for "Sore Must Be the Storm")	Nominated
		Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	Amy E. Duddleston and Naomi Sunrise Filoramo (for "Fathers")	Nominated
			Amy E. Duddleston (for "Miss Lady Hawk Herself")	Nominated
		Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More)	Keith P. Cunningham, James F. Truesdale, and Edward McLoughlin	Won
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	Joe DeAngelis, Chris Carpenter, and Richard Bullock (for "Sore Must Be the Storm")	Nominated
	TCA Awards	Program of the Year	Mare of Easttown	Nominated	[59]
		Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials		Won
		Outstanding New Program		Nominated
		Individual Achievement in Drama	Kate Winslet	Nominated
2022	Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards	Best International Drama Show – Television	Mare of Easttown	Nominated	[60]
		Best International Lead Actress in a Show – Television	Kate Winslet	Won
	American Cinema Editors Awards	Best Edited Limited Series	Amy E. Duddleston and Naomi Sunrise Filoramo (for "Fathers")	Nominated	[61]
			Amy E. Duddleston (for "Illusions")	Won
	American Society of Cinematographers Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Motion Picture, Limited Series, or Pilot Made for Television	Ben Richardson (for "Illusions")	Nominated	[62]
	Art Directors Guild Awards	Excellence in Production Design for a Television Movie or Limited Series	Keith P. Cunningham	Nominated	[63]
	British Academy Television Awards	Best International Programme	Mare of Easttown	Nominated	[64]
		Best Actress	Kate Winslet	Nominated
	Cinema Audio Society Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Non-Theatrical Motion Pictures or Limited Series	Richard Bullock, Joseph DeAngelis, and Chris Carpenter (for "Sore Must Be the Storm")	Won	[65]
	Costume Designers Guild Awards	Excellence in Contemporary Television	Meghan Kasperlik (for "Miss Ladyhawk Herself")	Nominated	[66]
	Critics' Choice Awards	Best Television Miniseries	Mare of Easttown	Won	[67]
		Best Television Movie or Miniseries Actress	Kate Winslet	Won
		Best Television Movie or Miniseries Supporting Actor	Evan Peters	Nominated
		Best Television Movie or Miniseries Supporting Actress	Julianne Nicholson	Nominated
			Jean Smart	Nominated
	Directors Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Miniseries or TV Film	Craig Zobel	Nominated	[68]
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Miniseries or Television Film	Mare of Easttown	Nominated	[69]
		Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film	Kate Winslet	Won
	Golden Reel Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Limited Series or Anthology	Bradley North, Tiffany S. Griffith, Jordan Wilby, Antony Zeller, Zane Bruce, and Stephanie Lowry (for "Illusions")	Nominated	[70]
	Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards	Best Contemporary Makeup in a Television Series, Limited or Miniseries or Television New Media Series	Debi Young, Ngozi Olandu Young, Sandra Linn, and Rachel Geary	Nominated	[71]
		Best Contemporary Hair Styling in a Television Series, Limited or Miniseries or Television New Media Series	Lawrence Davis, Shunika Terry, Lydia Benaim, and Ivana Primorac	Nominated
	Producers Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Producer of Limited or Anthology Television Series	Mare of Easttown	Won	[72]
	Satellite Awards	Best Miniseries	Mare of Easttown	Won	[73]
		Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film	Kate Winslet	Won
		Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film	Evan Peters	Won
		Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film	Julianne Nicholson	Nominated
			Jean Smart	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture Made for Television or Miniseries	Evan Peters	Nominated	[74]
		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture Made for Television or Miniseries	Jean Smart	Nominated
			Kate Winslet	Won
		Outstanding Performance by Stunt Actors in Television	Mare of Easttown	Nominated
	Writers Guild of America Awards	Outstanding Writing – TV Original Long Form	Brad Ingelsby	Won	[75]

Potential second season

The show was released as a limited series. However, Winslet stated in August 2021 that she "would love to return" as Mare, and that for a potential second season, Ingelsby "has shared some very cool ideas. We will see what happens. 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."^[76]

In November 2024, creator Brad Ingelsby addressed the speculations of turning Mare into a regular series and the possibility of a second season: "Mare's journey in that show was so emotional... it's hard to come up with an emotional story that could compete with losing a son and having to confront that." He came up with the story for Task, which "felt like it lives in the same world as Mare," though always intended to be a standalone series.^[77]