Jessica Barden almost didn't return for The End Of the F***ing World season 2

From Cosmopolitan

The End of the F***ing World is one of those guilty pleasure shows that we wish we didn't binge watch in 24 hours, but did. Series one aired on Channel 4 in October 2018, before later dropping in full on Netflix. The good news is a season 2 is definitely happening. The bad news is we are still desperately trying to work out what happened during that cliffhanger at the end of series one. Will James and Alyssa be arrested? Who got shot? Will we get another adventure?

Here's everything we know about The End Of The F***ing World season 2 so far.

Why did The End Of The F***ing World Season 2 almost not happen?

Jessica Barden, 27, who plays Alyssa, in The End Of The F***ing World reveals she almost didn't want to come back for series 2. The actress wasn't sure she felt comfortable stepping into the shoes of a much younger character, until she realised a time jump was introduced for the second series.

"I wasn’t going to do this, I just realised,’ Jessica told Metro.co.uk of series 2. "It’s not like I wasn’t going to do it, but I did have a really long time, about a year before I came back and did it, I did start to feel insecure about it because I felt I was so much older than the characters.

"I think the only thing that writer Charlie Covell told me in advance was she was making the character older to deal with more adult things. Because I was kind of like, I can’t really play a teenager anymore. So she told me that side of it."

Is there a trailer for The End of The F***ing World Season 2?

There certainly is! The first trailer for The End Of The F***ing World's second series dropped ahead of its launch on Channel 4 next month, and it looks great. Other than knowing that Alyssa reprises a main role, fans have been left with a lot of questions. Namely: why is she wearing a wedding dress? Who is Bonnie? IS JAMES ACTUALLY DEAD?

When will The End of the F***ing World Season 2 be released?

On 8 October 2019, Channel 4 confirmed The End Of The F***ing World season 2 would first air on Monday 4th November. It's not yet clear what time, or if the series will drop in full on All4 at the same time, but still! It's soon!

This timing is in line with that of the first season, which premiered in October 2018 after starting shooting the April prior. Filming for season 2 started in March 2019, with Jessica, who plays Alyssa, taking to Instagram to reveal the good news.

She posted a picture of the script on Instagram to her one million followers on 5 March 2019, writing "Merry Christmas. See you soon 👋🏼 @teotfw." The show's Instagram page regrammed the picture and added, "And a happy f***ing new year." Exciting!

When was The End of the F***ing World Season 2 confirmed?

"We'll be f***ing back", the official TEOTFW Twitter account wrote on 22nd August 2018, along with the final scene from the last movie and a clip which read, "The End of the F***ing World will be f***ing back for season two."

The second season will drop globally on Netflix except in the United Kingdom, where it will air first on Channel 4. Speaking of the recommission, Beth Willis, Channel 4's head of drama commented:"We're so proud that this global success story began at Channel 4 and that a second series is on its way. Charlie [Covell, who wrote the first series]'s witty, wonderful world is back, and we can't wait to see where she takes it next."

The show's creator Jonathan Entwistle told Thrillist in January 2018 that he was exploring ways in which they could "continue the tone of the show", commenting, "We're looking at what the people who loved the show are saying, to see how we can unpack that and how we could continue the tone of the show. Because I think that is so crucial.

"For me, it's about James and Alyssa – and I think that's what people have connected with. I think a season two would have to involve 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."

Alex Lawther, who plays James, also told Popbuzz in January 2018 that the plot line for series two was currently open ended, commenting, "It was based on a comic book series by Charles Forsman and the comic ends where our episode ends. If there was a series two, it would give Charlie Covell - who wrote and adapted it - a chance to explore something completely from her imagination, which I would be very excited about because I think she's brilliant."

Who will star in The End of the F***ing World Season 2?

We don't actually know, BUT, considering the final episode of season one ends on a massive cliffhanger (spoiler alert!), there's a pretty big question to be answered over whether Lawther will return to reprise the role of James.

Jessica Barden confirmed she is returning as Alyssa, while we're assuming Steve Oram will return as James' father Phil, Christine Bottomley as Alyssa's mum Gwen, and Navin Chowdhry as her abusive stepfather Tony.

Depending on where the story goes, we could (maybe) also expect to see more of Wunmi Mosaku as DC Teri Darego and Gemma Welan as DC Eunice Noon. There's also bound to be the introduction of new characters, surely?

What will happen in The End of the F***ing World Season 2?

In the first series, self-confessed psychopath James decides to kill a human after getting bored with killing animals, while simultaneously setting off on a surreal journey with angsty Alyssa to find her real father.

In the final episode, James tells Alyssa he's going to give himself up to the police for her, which is when he runs down the beach, gun in hand, to draw the attention of the police. The screen goes black, a gunshot is heard, and then nothing.

From here, there are so many directions TEOTFW could go. Who got shot? Do they both go down? Or do they get on a boat and embark on another weird and wonderful road trip? Is there a time jump? We need to know.

Speaking of his dream opening for the second season, Lawther told Digital Spy: "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."

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