I Hate Suzie Too trailer: People really hate Suzie in new three-episode special

Suzie Pickles (Billie Piper) had it hard enough in the first season of the critically acclaimed series I Hate Suzie, in which her nude photos leaked, her affair was exposed, her marriage imploded, and she lost her job. Things are not looking much better in I Hate Suzie Too, the three-part “anti-Christmas Christmas special” premiering on HBO Max on Thursday, December 22, 2022, unfortunately for Suzie (and very fortunately for the rest of us).

Though Suzie has managed to get a new agent, new PR, and a new job (“dancing for likes” on the reality competition show “Dance Crazee”), the washed-up star is still facing an uphill battle. “Having lost everyone that matters to her, Suzie returns to her first love – the public. Battling ex-husband Cob (Daniel Ings) with the help of best friend Naomi (Leila Farzad), Suzie must try to keep life as stable as possible for her young son Frank (Matthew Jordan-Caws), all whilst staying on ‘Dance Crazee’ long enough to finance her new role as single mom and ex-wife,” reads a synopsis for the sequel series. In the new special, “Suzie fights to regain the love of the British public whilst her personal life spirals out of control. Will she win the hearts of the British public? And restore her reputation? And at what cost?”

I Heart Suzie, co-created by Lucy Prebble and Billie Piper, is very loosely based on Piper’s own life. Like Suzie, she began her career as a teen pop sensation before exploding to popularity on a cult sci-fi series (in Piper’s case, as the legendary Rose Tyler on Doctor Who). She’s also experienced a public divorce. But the actor, who most recently appeared in Lena Dunham’s Catherine Called Birdy, was probably never as reviled as Suzie, which, according to the new trailer, is quite reviled.

“It would be great if we could see a little bit more of the real Suzie. It’s not the Suzie they know,” says her agent in the trailer, to which her client replies: “They hate the Suzie they know.” Some stars might be okay playing the role of the public’s villain, but for Suzie, “it’s not lovely,” she admits. Perhaps that’s why she’s so determined to be “perfect” on the dance show, getting a bit Black Swan in her commitment (and pretty frightening in the clown makeup).

I Hate Suzie Too will be available on HBO Max later this month, and premieres in the U.K. on Sky Atlantic on December 20, 2022.