A Discovery of Witches season 2: Everything you need to know
Note: Contains spoilers for A Discovery of Witches.
2018 was a big year for A Discovery of Witches. Not only was the Sky One show, based on Deborah Harkness's All Souls literary trilogy, the network's most popular drama of the year, drawing in a respectable two million viewers, it was also renewed for two more seasons.
They will follow the second and third books, Shadow of Night and The Book of Life.
Sarah Dollard (Doctor Who, Being Human) and Susie Conklin (The Musketeers, Cranford), were tasked with writing the second season, and Conklin has also been acting as executive producer alongside Bad Wolf production company co-founders Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner, as well as Lachlan MacKinnon and Harkness herself.
Tranter said: "We were absolutely thrilled that A Discovery of Witches was such a hit with viewers. There was a real sense of community throughout the run as fans old and new joined together to watch each week.
"We cannot wait to continue the journey with them and, as the show continues to sell around the world, bring a global fanbase to these engaging and fascinating characters."
Sky's head of drama Anne Mensah added: "Season one was a brilliant introduction to the All Souls world and the love story between Diana and Matthew. We can't wait for the show's fans to continue the journey with seasons two and three, become more enchanted by the characters, and watch the magic further unfold."
"Given how warmly the season was received, I'm thrilled that we will be continuing with the story of the All Souls Trilogy," said Harkness. "There is so much to look forward to as we travel into Matthew's past and delve further into the mysteries surrounding Diana's power and Ashmole 782."
So, what can we expect from Shadow of Night? Here's everything we know.
A Discovery of Witches season 2 air date: When will it return?
Sky hasn't said when the drama will be back on our screens – so for the time being, we're in the dark.
But considering the first season aired halfway through September, it's highly likely the second instalment will arrive towards the end of 2019, or the first half of 2020.
Palmer told Collider that she began filming in July, with the rest of the cast starting earlier because she was having a baby.
"It was funny, the reaction of some of the fans, when I announced my pregnancy," she said.
"Everyone was like, 'But what does this mean for Season two?!' Fear not, it's still happening!"
A Discovery of Witches season 2 cast: Who's returning, and will there be any new faces?
Diana Bishop (Hacksaw Ridge's Teresa Palmer) and Matthew Clairmont (Downton Abbey and The Good Wife's Matthew Goode) will once again feature as the show's protagonists, alongside Sarah Bishop (Doctor Who and Arrow's Alex Kingston), Emily Mather (Half & Half’s Valarie Pettiford), Nathaniel Wilson (Daniel Ezra), and Sophie Norman (Aisling Loftus from Mr Selfridge).
"I'm thrilled to be working again with Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner," Kingston told RadioTimes.com of her casting.
"They brought me into Doctor Who and introduced me to Cardiff. And I am back again…a home from home, with a terrific cast and crew."
And those aren’t the only familiar faces fans can expect to see – Line of Duty's Aiysha Hart will return as Miriam Shephard alongside Killing Eve's Edward Bluemel as Marcus Whitmore, The Honourable Woman's Lindsay Duncan as Ysabeau de Clermont, The Girl King's Malin Buska as Satu Järvinen, Game of Thrones' Owen Teale as Peter Knox, Waking the Dead's Trevor Eve as Gerbert D'Aurillac, and Being Human's Gregg Chillin as Domenico Michele.
Speaking about her casting, Duncan added: "It was only a matter of time before I was asked to play a vampire. At last!
"I'm thrilled to be involved in the series. I know Bad Wolf will make something really special."
That's as much as we know about the second season cast at the moment, but keep tabs on this page for any updates.
A Discovery of Witches season 2 trailer: When can we see it?
Without an official premiere date on the table, we're probably going to be waiting quite a while for a new trailer to land, which gives you more than enough time to re-watch the first season and get yourselves fully up to speed.
A Discovery of Witches season 2 UK: Where can we watch it?
For those of us here in the UK, Sky One and NOW TV are your go-tos.
And in the US the first season aired on streaming sites Sundance Now and Shudder.
A Discovery of Witches season 2 spoilers: What will happen?
If you're so inclined, Harkness's books are available for purchase, so you can find out every little detail before the second season airs.
On her website it reads: "Book Two of the All Souls Trilogy plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies and subterfuge, and a coterie of Matthew's old friends, the mysterious School of Night.
"The mission is to locate a witch to tutor Diana and to find traces of Ashmole 782, but as the net of Matthew's past tightens around them they embark on a very different journey, one that takes them into heart of the 1,500 year old vampire's shadowed history and secrets. For Matthew Clairmont, time travel is no simple matter; nor is Diana's search for the key to understanding her legacy."
Sky also offered fans a taste of what to expect: Diana and Matthew are "hiding in time in the fascinating and treacherous world of Elizabethan London — here they must find a powerful witch teacher to help Diana control her magic and search for the elusive Book of Life.
"Back in the present day, Diana’s beloved aunts, Sarah and Em, must take shelter with notorious witchhunter Ysabeau de Clermont at her ancestral home, Sept-Tours.
"Meanwhile, in Oxford, Marcus and Miriam take on Matthew's mantle to protect daemons Nathaniel and Sophie, whose pregnancy is advancing. And Gerbert, Knox, Satu and Domenico are determined to hunt down every clue they can to Diana's and Matthew's disappearance, and the secrets their allies are keeping from them."
Speaking to Collider about what to expect from her character in season two, as well as the new environment Diana and Matthew find themselves in, Palmer said: "I think that, for the next season, things are probably gonna get even more dangerous, but also even more adventurous and exciting."
Basically, there’s a lot to sink your teeth into, and we can't wait.
Before the first season aired, Teale appeared on Sunday Brunch to chat about the main difference between the books and the TV series – and that will no doubt continue as the show rolls on.
"Well, I would say it's quite a departure because the books are written in first person so everything she encounters, you're in her [Diana] head and that's... when people exist, it's through her," he explained.
"Of course, when you're doing a TV series, you have to give life to all these people and what they're doing when she's not with you.
"This is the lead character, this is Diana Bishop, who's a reluctant witch."
He added: "I'm sort of the political leader... I'm a big witch. Well, Peter Knox...some might say he's a bit of a bad guy, but he's just got some issues. He's got some tactics which are a bit underhanded, but his main thing is to put witches back where they belong on top.
"The vampires have held us and oppressed us for too long. So it's survival, and he's willing to live and let die."
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