Ancil
The binging community has found another gem in one of Netflix‘s releases, The Queen’s Gambit, and we can’t blame if the hooked viewers wish for more. The drama follows Beth Harmon (played by Anya Taylor-Joy), an orphan chess prodigy who’s determined to become the world’s greatest chess player while struggling with emotional issues and drug and alcohol dependency. Set in the 1960s, Harmon wins her way to the top, putting down men who underestimate and scoff at her gender.
The show dropped on the streaming platform on October 23, 2020, and has since been generating a lot of buzz for all the good reasons. With its aesthetic and amazing acting performance, The Queen’s Gambit managed to steal the hearts of viewers and critics alike. The show received an astounding 100% rating from critics and a 97% audience score. Unsurprisingly, the show quickly shot up the Netflix Top 10 list in several regions worldwide. After a highly successful season 1, will there be more? Here’s what we know so far.
Will There Be The Queen’s Gambit Season 2?
We have a couple of good and bad news for fans. Let’s just start with the main bad news. A Netflix spokesperson explicitly said in a statement to Chess.com “There will not be a continuation of the series.” Also, Scott Frank, the Director and Writer of the series, responded to speculation about another season in September 2021, and explained why the second season is not happening.
“I’m so sorry. I hate disappointing anyone, but no. I feel like we told the story we wanted to tell, and I worry—let me put it differently—I’m terrified that if we try to tell more, we would ruin what we’ve already told,” he told Deadline.
The good news: the main cast members are keen to return for more.
“I adore the character, and I would certainly come back if I was asked to.” Anya Taylor-Joy said via Town & Country
Harry Melling, who plays Harry Beltik, also expressed his interest in returning.
“It’d be good, right, a Queen’s Gambit part two?” the actor revealed.
The bad news: The Queen’s Gambit was originally intended to be a limited series. Another bad news: source material has run out.
“The place we end in the limited series is the place we end in the book. I don’t know if there can be another one, but stranger things have happened,” Melling revealed in the same interview.
The Queen’s Gambit is based on a book of the same name by Walter Tevis. He wrote the story of Beth Harmon following a similar fondness for chess growing up. Adding to his interest, the writer also experienced a similar dependency on drugs after getting diagnosed with a rheumatic heart as a child. The condition forced him to take large drug doses, which resulted in dependency.
Unfortunately, Teves never wrote a sequel to the novel, and Netflix has covered everything there is in the book. But as Melling said, ‘stranger things have happened,’ so there’s always hope.
Good News: Some limited series in the past managed to secure renewal.
In the past, miniseries like Big Little Lies managed to get renewed despite being originally billed as a miniseries on HBO. We know how Netflix favors viewership records. Hence there’s a good chance that Netflix will come up with more if the demand is high enough.
Bad News: The creators are already content with how the show ended.
Unfortunately, not everyone on the show’s team is eager to pick up the series again. The Queen’s Gambit writer-director Scott Frank told Entertainment Weekly that he’s already at peace with what he’s created.
“This was the single best experience I’ve had in a 30-some-odd-year career full of really nice experiences. So it’s saying a lot,”
He added: “I have no idea how people are going to take it, but it’s the first time I’m willing to admit just how happy I am. Normally I’m afraid to ever say that.”
The Queens Gambit ended with Harmon in a really good place after finally achieving her goals. But no matter how satisfying the show concluded, there’s no denying how awesome it would be to accompany Harmon on another chess quest.
As to the show’s ending, executive producer William Horberg told T&C: “Maybe we can just let the audience imagine what comes next,”
The Queens Gambit is still available on Netflix. If you haven’t watched the series yet, we’re dropping the official trailer below.
