Sorry, Guys, It Looks Like We’re Not Getting a Second Season of ‘The Queen’s Gambit’
We can count the number of good things that happened in 2020 on one hand. And one of those things is The Queen’s Gambit. The Netflix series, which stars Anya Taylor-Joy as competitive chess player Beth Harmon, came out of nowhere and blew us away in every way. The acting, the story, the wardrobe, the set design—it was perfect from start to finish and, let’s be real, made the year a lot more bearable.
We’re not the only ones who thought The Queen’s Gambit was a hit. It became Netflix’s biggest scripted series ever, achieving 62 million household streams in its first month, Deadline reports. The show also received two Golden Globe nominations: one for Best Limited Series and one for Best Actress in a Limited Series (hey, Anya Taylor-Joy). As with all great shows, it begs the question: Can we look forward to The Queen’s Gambit season 2?
So, is it happening, or what?
We hate to burst your bubble, but as of now, it doesn’t look like there will be more episodes. Remember, it’s classified as a limited series.
“It’s wonderful to know that people loved the show where they want to spend more time with these characters; we never envisioned it that way,” William Horberg, The Queen’s Gambit executive producer, told Deadline. “We felt that the series had a satisfying end point and we’d allow the audience to fill in the spaces as to what happens next for Beth Harmon.”
But what if I reeeeeally want it?
Sorry, Charlie. The team behind the limited series is happy with the way things ended.
“Nothing has changed, despite fans demanding more on my Twitter feed,” Horberg continued. “[Creator] Scott [Frank] and I feel really happy about the completeness of Beth’s story.”
Mmkay, but what does Anya Taylor-Joy think about all of this?
The actress who plays Beth was slightly more coy about the possibility of a second season. “It’s so surreal and very wonderful that people want a second season, because we never thought about it; there was no discussion about it,” Anya told Deadline. “That said, never say ‘never’ in Hollywood.” We’ll take her diplomatic answer as a no, but we appreciate that she’s letting us live in a world where anything can happen.
Anya even had an idea of what a second season could entail: motherhood and Beth’s future. “It would be very interesting to see how Beth would be as a mother, now that she’s sober and more cognizant of the demons that pull her down,” she added.
Sadly, though, it sounds like The Queen’s Gambit season 2 is a big no-go. Honestly, we’re not that upset. It is a far, far better thing to have one perfect season of a show than one perfect one and one potentially botched one. It’s probably for the best that it’s going out on a high note.
How am I supposed to fill my time now?
Excellent Q. You can always read the novel of the same name on which the series was based. The Netflix series stays impressively true to The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis, but if you’re a “the book was better” person, it’s definitely worth a read, if only for the bragging rights of being able to say that you read it.
Although, let’s be honest: Do you actually want The Queen’s Gambit season 2? Or do you just want more Anya Taylor-Joy? It’s probably the latter. We suggest getting your fill of her by watching Peaky Blinders, The Witch, and Emma.
We’ll let you know if anything changes!
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