'The End of the F***ing World' Season 2 Is Officially Happening

Season two of The End of the F***ing World was confirmed at this year’s Edinburgh Television Festival following much speculation from fans. It is now definitely happening; all the further important details are yet to be confirmed. Judging by standard production and release timelines, the show could be expected to come back to Channel 4 in the UK roughly mid-way through 2019, before being released on Netflix.

The first season of the show first aired on Channel 4 in the UK in 2017 before landing on Netflix and going on to be a huge success, becoming the most-watched series ever on the broadcaster’s video-on-demand platform All4. Shorter than the majority of other binge-worthy shows, the season consisted of six episodes that lasted thirty minutes, making the drama, comedy, and horror quick, concise and brilliant. With the new season in the early stages of production, it is yet to be announced if the next season shall follow the same format or be longer due to popular demand.

The End of the F***ing World writer Charlie Covell has spoken out about the news, saying, “I’m completely thrilled that we’re going again, and I’m delighted to be back working with such a great team." There was much speculation over whether or not a season two would happen, as the announcement was delayed for almost a year. Moreover, for those reading this that don’t know, the first season ended on quite the dramatic and incredibly vague cliffhanger.

Spoilers ahead!

James and Alyssa’s runaway adventure turned deadly when James murders a serial rapist and murderer. The leading duo was squatting in his house when he returned home to find Alyssa alone and tried to attack her. With the police cornering them on the beach, James confesses to the murder and says Alyssa had nothing to do with it. However, in an effort to protect James, Alyssa knocks out DC Noon so James can escape. He, in turn, hits Alyssa so she can't run away. Alyssa is grabbed by the police as he flees across the beach. A shot rings out and the show cuts to black.

It seemed to be the perfect bittersweet ending for James. Having set out to originally murder Alyssa after fantasizing about his first human kill, he grew feelings for her and realised he perhaps wasn’t a complete psychopath. The show also ended on his 18th birthday; going forward into a second season, he would be facing the consequences of his actions as an adult.

It seems a given that Alex Lawther will be back as James and Jess Barden will be reprising her role as Jess. Lawther confirmed previously this year during an interview with iNews that he would willingly return to the show. It would be a huge shift for the show to return either without James or a completely new cast altogether.

The first season was in fact based on cartoonist Charles Forsman’s violent coming-of-age graphic novel with the same title. Though the show differs in many ways from its source material with regards to minor detail and time span (in the comic Alyssa and James travel for months as opposed to roughly a week), the comic wraps up with James killing a cultist cop that has been chasing them across the country as another points a gun directly at him from behind. His death is far less ambiguous than in the series; maybe the writers were always hopeful for a second season and chose this method intentionally.

One thing is for sure, the first season has set the show's standards incredibly high, giving its following season a tough act to follow. Nevertheless, audiences should prepare to expect more of the same dark humour and turmoil, hopefully with James’ deadpan commentary intertwined Alyssa’s sassy, "f*ck this" attitude.