The Queen’s Gambit: Anya Taylor-Joy addresses possible second season

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Even though The Queen's Gambit was advertised as a limited series on Netflix, the immense popularity that came in its wake has made fans wonder if a second season was possible. The series came into renewed focus once again as it took home to Golden Globe awards, including Best Limited Series or TV Movie and Best Actress in the same category for its star Anya-Taylor Joy in the role of Beth Harmon. The Golden Globe win allowed the actress to address the possibility of a second season and it seems she would jump at the chance to return.

Shortly after her big win on Sunday night, Anya Taylor-Joy spoke with "Entertainment Tonight" and the possibility of a second season came up in the conversation. The Queen's Gambit was always meant to be a limited series so it would be up to the creative team to make that happen but she's very open to returning to continue Beth's story:

Maybe. Not to disappoint anybody, but we just never thought about it. It was always a sapling to tree transition. You see her grow, you leave her in a good place. So we were genuinely surprised when people were like, “Where's season 2?” That being said, I adore the entire team that made it and I would jump at the chance to work with them again.

You can tell that Anya Taylor-Joy loved working on the project. During her acceptance speech when she thanked the show's creator, writer, and director Scott Frank, she exclaimed that "I would do this project again and again and again." Naturally, that was her overall excitement for winning a big award that night but if there was more story to tell I honestly think it wouldn't take much for her to return. 

The Queen's Gambit is based on the Walter Tevis novel of the same name and it follows chess prodigy and addict Beth Harmon from her time at an orphanage all the way to the top of the competitive chess world at the peak of its popularity in the 1960s. Netflix's chess adaptation is likely to remain a limited series since the story that was laid out in Tevi's novel was told completely over the show's seven episodes but that hasn't always stopped a limited series from continuing, especially for a platform like Netflix when the show became their most-watched scripted miniseries after only four weeks.

HBO's Big Little Lies was originally thought to be a limited series after the events of the first seven episodes covered the entirety of Liane Moriarty's novel. Big Little Lies ultimately became a big hit and an awards darling so the show's creators asked Moriarty for a continuation of the story. The author obliged and laid out the story in the form of a novella that would go on to become season two of the show. The difference between Big Little Lies and The Queen's Gambit is that author Walter Tevis passed away in 1984 so the latter show doesn't exactly have the same option that Big Little Lies did. It would appear that it's one and done for The Queen's Gambit.

Would YOU want to see a second season of The Queen's Gambit?