The English Game season 2: cast, air date and more for the Netflix football series
There might be more mileage in Julian Fellowes' series about the origins of the sport
With professional football having ground to a halt in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Netflix's historical drama The English Game has been providing footy fans with their fix.
The series, from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, documents the origins of the sport, in particular the roles played by two men – tough tackling toff Arthur Kinnaird (Edward Holcroft) and spirited Scot Fergus "Fergie" Suter (Kevin Guthrie).
But will Netflix be blowing the whistle on The English Game after one season, or will it play on into extra time? Here's everything you need to know.
Is The English Game renewed for season 2?
Netflix has yet to officially order any more episodes of The English Game beyond its initial six. However, given the first season only dropped on 20th March, fans shouldn't be too concerned.
The streaming service typically makes a decision on the future of a show around a month after the latest season has dropped, waiting for 28 days before deciding whether it's hit its targets.
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So the very earliest we could expect news on a renewal for The English would be late April. As for when it’ll air…?
When is The English Game season 2 out on Netflix?
The English Game was originally announced in April 2018. Filming got underway on the first season in May 2019, with the series landing on Netflix 10 months later.
Under normal circumstances, if the show were to be renewed in April/May, then it'd be reasonable to expect scripting/pre-production for season two to run through late 2020, with possibly an early 2021 shoot for release later that year or in early 2022. (Julian Fellowes is a very busy fellow, of course, working on projects including HBO series The Gilded Age and, potentially, a second series of ITV's Belgravia.)
However, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will certainly push back production of any potential second season: with film and TV production currently at a standstill, it's unclear when exactly things will return to normal. So even if Fellowes and co. get the green light from Netflix, it could be a while before filming can begin.
The English Game season 2 story: What will happen?
The first season of The English Game tells a complete story, beginning with Fergus Suter joining Darwen football club and his first skirmish with Arthur Kinnaird, and ending with Suter's new team Blackburn Rovers besting Kinnaird's Old Etonians in the FA Cup final, becoming the first working man's team to ever lift the trophy.
However, RadioTimes.com understands that it's possible the show could continue as an anthology series, exploring the early days of football in different places and periods.
Surely the origins of women's football, and the FA ban on women playing the sport that followed from 1921 to 1971, would make for some choice drama? Or maybe, with a slight tweak of the title, the show could go international and introduce us to The Italian Game, or The Brazilian Game?
The English Game season 2 cast: Who will appear?
If the show does go down the anthology route, that will almost certainly mean an entirely new cast, so we've probably seen the last of Edward Holcroft as Kinnaird, Kevin Guthrie as Suter and the rest of the season one cast. Unless Fellowes goes the route of employing the odd flashback?
Right now, it's wide open...
The English Game is streaming now on Netflix – check out what else is on with our TV Guide
