A streaming platform has ordered a second season of its historical drama, expanding the run to eight episodes and moving production to begin early next year after the first season recorded unusually high completion rates.
The first season ran to six episodes and was released in full rather than weekly. The platform said completion rates, meaning the proportion of viewers who finished the season once they began it, were among the highest recorded for its original drama slate.
What changes
The writing team returns largely intact, with two additional writers joining for the longer run. The original director will oversee the first two episodes and hand the remainder to two directors working in blocks, a standard arrangement for series of this length.
Production moves to a purpose built exterior set rather than the location shooting used in the first season. The producers said the change was driven by scheduling rather than budget, since the first season lost several days to weather.
Six episodes forced us to compress things we wanted to sit with. Eight gives the middle of the story room to breathe.
The principal cast is confirmed to return. Two new roles have been announced, both recurring rather than regular, covering a strand of the story that the first season established only briefly in its closing episode.
No release date has been set. On the production timeline described, the season would not be expected to reach the platform before the latter part of next year.
