The season 2 finale of Maxton Hall originally had a very different ending.
“Originally, season 2 was going to end on a happy note,” star Damian Hardung exclusively told Us Weekly during an interview at Amazon Studios. “It wasn’t going to be [super] happy but with foreshadowing. It was going to end with us happily walking across the front yard of the school.”
The finale, which aired on Thursday, November 27, showed James (Hardung) and Ruby (Harriet Herbig-Matten) prioritizing their relationship despite his dad, Mortimer (Fedja van Huêt), doing everything in his power to stop them. He initially pulled Ruby’s scholarship from Alice Campbell (Proschat Madani) and then he framed his son’s girlfriend as the person having an affair with Graham Sutton (Eidin Jalali) even though it was James’ sister, Lydia (Sonja Weißer), who was in a secret relationship with their teacher.
Season 2 ended with Graham being escorted off the property as Ruby cried in James’ arms about being expelled from school, which put her future at Oxford University at risk too. According to Hardung, James and Ruby were meant to be more oblivious about the obstacles headed their way.
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“Graham was going to be presented with that photo and that would have been it. Then we all saw it on the screen and everyone in the cast was like, ‘No. We want to have the emotional impact with the couples — including Lydia and Graham,’” the actor recalled. “So they put it back in and I’m really happy because I feel like that kind of reflects the cliffhanger at the end of season 1, which was — for me — still one of the best cliffhangers there is.”
Hardung continued: “You always have a low point but at the same time you have hope. So it’s [important] to have both of those layers.”
Despite James and Ruby still having to fix everything Mortimer wrecked for them, they ended the season as a united front.
“[Them going into season 3 in a better place as a couple] would be my hope for them. They’ve been through so much. After all this, what else can there be that?” Hardung noted. “That’s why the third book [which inspires season 3] is called Save Us. Because it’s about the two of them actually being together and fighting against the outer world.”
Based on Mona Kasten’s book series, the German-language TV drama introduced viewers to an unlikely enemies-to-lovers romance between private school classmates Ruby Bell and James Beaufort. Maxton Hall, which premiered in May 2024, quickly found record-breaking success, becoming the most-watched non-U.S. title during its first week on Prime Video. It was later renewed for a second — and third — season.
“[In season 3], I would love to get more insight about Mortimer’s backstory. Maybe flashbacks because it always helps me to not lose connection with the antagonist,” Hardung told Us. “If I understand that role, I get where he comes from and it’s an interesting aspect.”
Kasten’s book series only has three installments but could Hardung (and Herbig-Matten) return for more seasons if there was interest?
“I’m 27 now so how long do you think I can be in high school?” he quipped before Us pointed out that there could be time jumps to account for Hardung and Herbig-Matten’s ages. “[We] just keep it going. … [In the future], I would like to see James as an artistic person and explore his love of drawing.”
While Hardung didn’t know what lies ahead for Maxton Hall, he was proud of the work and thought that went into season 2.
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“I really pushed to have that therapy scene — and I even pushed it for it to be longer. We worked on the dialogue for a long time — back and forth. We ended up shooting a few versions of that scene in various lengths,” he recalled. “We just wanted to make sure that there’s enough space for him to really acknowledge the change that he needs to do and the work that he needs to do without going in a full therapy session of a 45-minute sit down. Because that could be quite gruesome for the audience to see.”
He continued: “But I think that was something that I was really happy to showcase because the whole first season is this toxic asshole and suddenly we see this guy opening up and experiencing the idea that there’s a space within where emotions arise. He is reflecting on what Ruby would think and trying to become the person that can really connect in a deeper way in that relationship with her. I think that’s beautiful to see.”
The self growth came after season 2 got off to a rocky start when days into their relationship, James was unfaithful to Ruby.
“I think Mona was saying that in the book, James didn’t kiss Elaine back. That’s his whole discussion right now of did he kiss her back or not? It’s a very complicated issue so we tried to really navigate through that step by step,” Hardung explained about the complex story line. “Obviously it’s something that I was anxious about because you always want to be protective of your character.”
He continued: “That was then the main goal [with] the suffering that he goes through. I think that was the necessity after the cheating because we need to see him rock bottom and to understand why he did what he did and to see him really lose all kinds of reference points within his life. That’s a beautiful thing within that where he can then start to heal and start the journey of healing.”
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Hardung was grateful for how Maxton Hall used the infidelity story from the book to help James and Ruby get to a more honest and hopeful place moving forward.
“It’s super important to have that dialogue scene in episode 5 where James is reflecting and he is acknowledging that the old James would come up with some sort of promise to make her stay and to make up for it,” he noted. “But this James, he just wants Ruby to listen to her heart and follow her heart and not her fears. It makes for so much of a better relationship partner.”
Hardung told Us how thrilled he was to have Herbig-Matten, 22, as his scene partner — and friend — as they weathered Maxton Hall’s success following James and Ruby becoming the internet’s new favorite fictional couple.
“It’s just wonderful to have her on my side, truly. Because as the show is blowing up, it can be — at times — a lonely experience. Because who is sharing that same ride that you’re on — and it’s definitely her,” he shared. “It’s really important to have people around you that you just understand without words and within the scenes. It’s lovely that we got to a point where we know each other so well that just by looking into her eyes I know, ‘Is she in the present moment? Is she in the scene or is she lacking something?’ If she is not giving 100 percent, we can always push each other just because we know there’s still something left. Like, you can go a bit further and I think that tendency we both have is we don’t let each other off easily and it is what helps us to do these scenes.”
Maxton Hall is currently streaming on Prime Video.
