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End of the F***ing World season 2: All you need to know

Photo credit: Robert Chiltern / Clerkenwell Films - Channel 4
Photo credit: Robert Chiltern / Clerkenwell Films - Channel 4

From Digital Spy

Note: Contains MAJOR spoilers for season one.

Dark comedy The End of the F***ing World may not have made much of an impact on Channel 4's streaming service All4 when it first aired, but it hit a wider audience when it landed on Netflix and became a cult pop culture phenomenon.

Based on the comic book series by Charles Forsman, the series follows two teen outsiders James and Alyssa – played by Alex Lawther (Black Mirror) and Jessica Barden (Penny Dreadful) – as they embark on a road trip to find Alyssa's father, with Alyssa unaware that James initially plans to kill her. That, of course, changes over the course of the eight episodes and the duo develop a strange but affectionate bond.

After MONTHS of radio silence about the show's future, Netflix and Channel 4 announced that it had been renewed for a second season on August 21, 2018, with Charlie Covell once again writing the new episodes after a stellar job on season one.

"We're so proud that this global success story began at Channel 4 and that a second series is on its way," said Beth Willis, Channel 4's head of drama. "Charlie's witty, wonderful world is back, and we can't wait to see where she takes it next."

Here's everything you need to know about The End of the F***ing World season two.

The End of the F***ing World season 2 release date: When's it coming?

Having started shooting in April 2017, the first season premiered on Channel 4 on October 24, 2017, with the whole season being released on All4 after the first episode aired, before it arrived on Netflix on January 5, 2018.

The second season renewal didn't come with any confirmed release date, but according to Channel 4's content boss Ian Katz, the new episodes will air first on Channel 4 and won't reach Netflix – in the UK, at least – for at least a year.

"Next time we'll run the whole series on the channel then there will be a conventional hold back of more than a year before people see it on Netflix," he said. "It really bugs me that people think that show is a Netflix show, I really want to reclaim ownership of it – it's absolutely a Channel 4 show."

We now know that the show's second season, which officially begun production in March this year, will air in November 2019

"Oh f***. The End of the F***ing World has started production for S2!" the streaming service's Instagram account wrote, sharing a photo of Alyssa (Barden) ready to start filming.

In case you're wondering why Netflix gets to make the reveal when it actually broadcasts first on Channel 4 in the UK, especially with Ian Katz complaining about the fact people think it's a Netflix series, the streaming service airs the show in the US. So now you know.

And we're sure Channel 4 won't turn their nose up at that level of engagement – over a million likes and counting.

The End of the F***ing World season 2 cast: Who's in it?

It wouldn't be the show it is without Lawther and Barden, but while the latter has been confirmed, there's been no word on James.

We live in hope.

Photo credit: Netflix
Photo credit: Netflix

Away from the lead pairing, the most likely returning characters from the first season would be James's father Phil (Steve Oram), Alyssa's mum Gwen (Christine Bottomley) and Alyssa's sleazy stepfather Tony (Navin Chowdhry).

We imagine Gemma Whelan and Wunmi Mosaku would also be back as DC Eunice Noon and her partner DC Teri Donoghue, respectively, unless James and Alyssa have somehow managed to successfully avoid capture, despite being cornered at a beach in the season finale.

Photo credit: Netflix
Photo credit: Netflix

And excitingly, there's going to be a brand new character. Naomi Ackie (Lady Macbeth, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Game of Thrones prequel) will feature as Bonnie, described as "an outsider with a troubled past and a mysterious connection to Alyssa".

Photo credit: Robert Chiltern / Clerkenwell Films - Channel 4
Photo credit: Robert Chiltern / Clerkenwell Films - Channel 4

OOOOOO!

The End of the F***ing World season 2 plot: How does season 1 set it up?

During their road trip to find Alyssa's father (who turned out to be a worthless scrounger), James and Alyssa took a break in a house that they thought was unoccupied for a while.

Unfortunately, the owner came back to interrupt their fun and what's worse, he turned out to be a serial killer who attacked Alyssa, only for James to protect her by killing him. It was this murder that saw them on the run, and after Alyssa's father had told the police where they were, DC Noon caught up with them.

Photo credit: Netflix
Photo credit: Netflix

James confessed to everything and said that Alyssa had nothing to do with it, but Alyssa tried to stop him by knocking out DC Noon and running away with him. However, James hit Alyssa to stop her running away and as he made his escape across the beach, we heard a gunshot as it cut to black.

Related: The End of the F***ing World creator opens up about ambiguous ending and James fan theory

Interestingly, the ending as originally shot "left it more unlikely that James was alive" according to Lawther, so clearly it was recut with an eye on continuing the story. "I really like [the chosen ending] because it means we can do a second season," he added.

Photo credit: Netflix
Photo credit: Netflix

Lawther had never ruled out a second season because it was an opportunity for writer Charlie Covell to make the show her own. "It would give [her]...a chance to explore something from her imagination. I would be very excited about [that] because I think she's brilliant," he explained.

He also revealed his dream opening to a second season: "Jess [Barden] used to talk about… there are some themes in series one where we're on the beach, and everything's coming to an end.

"She was saying how she would like the second series to start with a musical on the beach — taking a role in a musical version of The End of the F***ing World, which I would be completely up for!

"I'm not sure how Charlie [Covell, series writer] will take that, but we're going to push that idea as far as we can."

While his fate is still unclear, we know that the second season picks up "two years on, with Alyssa still dealing with the fallout of the events of the first series".

Here's a brand new image of Alyssa, wearing a diner uniform, to feast your eyes on.

Photo credit: Robert Chiltern / Clerkenwell Films - Channel 4
Photo credit: Robert Chiltern / Clerkenwell Films - Channel 4

Someone else who was always keen for a second season is director Jonathan Entwistle. "I guess I kind of want to know what happens as well, right? Just as much as anybody else does," he told EW.

He later told Thrillist that it's important any second run keeps the show "fresh and exciting" and features James and Alyssa "somehow": "I just love the world of them out there on the road, doing something in a weird world. So for me, any story that we expand keeps them out there somewhere."

Barden has also weighed in on what season two could be about. "Alyssa and James should be famous in the second series from doing a murder," she told Vanity Fair, with Covell adding: "Jess thinks that they should do something sort of RuPaul-related. I think she wants to channel Liza Minnelli into Alyssa in season two, which would work very well."

The End of the F***ing World season 2 trailer: When can we expect it?

It was a week before its Channel 4 premiere that the first trailer landed, so if they stick to the same pattern, the official trailer is likely to drop in November.

But we should get some teaser material in the weeks leading up to it.

Watch this space.


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