The Affair: Maura Tierney reveals season 3 time jump

The Affair‘s second season ended with Noah (Dominic West) protecting Helen (Maura Tierney) by saying he was the one who killed Scott (Colin Donnell), but despite the cliffhanger, Tierney says season 3 will pick up three years later.

“When season 3 starts it’s three years later, so quite a bit of time has passed,” she tells EW. “We go back and forth — sometimes it’s a year-and-a-half later, sometimes it’s three years later. So everyone has moved on quite a bit, and Helen’s in a new relationship and Noah is sort of beginning a new relationship.”

French actress Irène Jacob has been cast to play Noah’s new love interest, Juliette Le Gall, according to Variety, who is running from her own secrets. The Affair co-creator Sarah Treem revealed today at the TCAs that the audience will see events from Le Gall’s point of view, making her the fifth such character.

The season 2 finale finally revealed the two-year-long mystery about which character had run over Scott — a drunk Helen was driving with Noah in the passenger seat, while Alison (Ruth Wilson) was arguing with Scott and pushed him into the road. For that reason, Tierney says everyone will be dealing with the repercussions of their actions.

“The season will sort of be about for her… all of them kind of dealing with the consequences once again of their actions in the previous season,” says Tierney. “Everybody did it, not just Helen. Because Alison pushed him and Cole wouldn’t let them be apart. Everybody played a role. Noah wouldn’t drive, so we all did it. It’s not only Helen’s fault.”

The Affair returns to Showtime on Nov. 20 at 10 p.m. ET

Watch EW’s full interview with Tierney above.