There were a lot of things to enjoy about season one of Prime Video’s The Peripheral, including its sleek but gloomy vision of the future (both near and far-flung) and its strong protagonist in Chloë Grace Moretz. Not so great was its tangled season finale — but with today’s news that the show’s getting a second season, there’ll be more room to dive into its complex ideas.
According to a press release from Prime Video, a second season of the William Gibson adaptation is officially on the way. “We are thrilled to continue the journey into season two and delve deeper into the incredible world that Gibson created,” said Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, whose Kilter Films co-produces the series; you might recognise their names from their work on Westworld. “On behalf of [creator and showrunner] Scott Smith, [director] Vincenzo Natali, and the entire team, we’re grateful to our partners at Amazon and, most of all, to the fans.”
The Peripheral follows Flynne (Moretz), a young woman living in rural North Carolina in the near future who uses her virtual-reality gaming talents to earn extra money to support her family. It’s a lucrative gig that, incredibly, ends up connecting her with the actual future thanks to technology developed then with an eye toward changing the past. Things soon get violent and messy in both time periods as Flynne and her brother (Midsommar’s Jack Reynor) slip between decades, becoming entangled in a murder mystery and dodging a ruthless assassin, among other unsettling events.
Season one ended with Flynne outsmarting a power-hungry villain in the future (deliciously played by The Haunting of Bly Manor’s T’Nia Miller) and teaming up with a police official (Alexandra Billings), also in the future, to try an avert a disaster that changes the course of human history. So, uh, there’s a lot to cover in season two! The season one cast also included Gary Carr, Eli Goree, Louis Herthum, JJ Feild, Charlotte Riley, Adelind Horan, Alex Hernandez, Katie Leung, Julian Moore-Cook, Melinda Page Hamilton, Chris Coy, and Austin Rising.Not all of their characters survived season one, of course, but you have to assume the main players, including Moretz, will be back for more.
No word yet on when The Peripheral might return, but 2024 seems like the earliest possible bet.