Murder In A Small Town Boss Promises Season 2 Is Not A 'Will They Or Won't They' Story — Grade The Premiere!

Karl and Cassandra are back and better than ever — but is Mayor Christie Holman going to stand in their way?

We kick off the Murder in a Small Town Season 2 premiere by learning that Cassandra has been elected to the town council. She hopes to use her position to promote art and culture, but her path toward success looks like it'll be a bumpy one. The mayor (played by Marcia Gay Harden) — who also happens to be Cassandra's childhood doctor — doesn't want to collaborate with Gibsons' newest public servant. Holman quickly sets up an uncomfortable dynamic by blackmailing Karl: He can hire more officers to help cover his expanded investigative district, but only if he helps her stifle Cassandra's proposal to build an arts center.

And that won't be the end of it; the mayor is just getting started, creator Ian Weir tells TVLine. Holman's "Machiavellian" nature will facilitate plenty of twists and turns, taking her relationship with Karl and Cassandra to a "really challenging place" later in the season.

"The mayor is very clever, and if the mayor feels she needs to be ruthless, she's capable of being ruthless," Weir says.

The mayor's involvement in Cassandra and Karl's life will not only present professional challenges for the couple, but also personal ones. Weir assures us, though, that Season 2 will not take the duo to the edge of a breakup.

"It's not a 'will they or won't they,'" he promises. Instead, he calls their Season 2 relationship a mature "voyage of discovery."

Might this voyage be heading toward the altar? Weir couldn't explicitly confirm whether or not wedding bells will sound off in Season 2, but he did cryptically say, "That image is glimmering."

Will Cassandra and Karl get their happily ever after in Season 2, or will Mayor Holman stand in their way? Grade the premiere in the poll below, then hit the comments with your thoughts!