HBO Max's The Flight Attendant limited series is no longer limited to eight episodes! Just a day after what was supposed to be the series finale released on the HBO streaming service, HBO Max has announced that the Kaley Cuoco-starring series has been renewed for a Season 2. The adventures of Cassie will continue, and Cuoco has ideas.
The renewal is somewhat surprising, since The Flight Attendant was based on a book of the same name that didn't have a sequel. That said, HBO brought back Big Little Lies for a second season despite its original status as a limited series based on a book, so The Flight Attendant getting a second season isn't unprecedented. As long as Kaley Cuoco's Cassie survived the first season, there was no reason that a second season couldn't happen.
The Flight Attendant was also a major hit for a young streaming service, which was far from a guarantee considering the majority of Kaley Cuoco's previous TV experience was on a show that was very different from the darkly comedic HBO Max thriller. Fortunately, Season 1 saw week over week growth in ratings and ranked as HBO Max's top series throughout its run.
In the official renewal announcement, Kaley Cuoco shared that she is "elated" by the order for Season 2 and that the "positive response to our show has surpassed all of our expectations." HBO and HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys expressed similar sentiments, saying that they are "delighted that the show has resonated so strongly with audiences and critics" and he looks forward "to seeing where Cassie will go next."
At this point, the only confirmed details about the plot of Season 2 is that it will feature Kaley Cuoco's Cassie in a new adventure. No other stars have been announced as returning for the second season, and fans can only speculate about what's in store next. That said, Kaley Cuoco and showrunner Steve Yockey already have ideas for Season 2.
Spoilers ahead for the Season 1 finale of The Flight Attendant.
The events of Season 1 as a whole and the climactic finale left Cassie looking to sober up and change the lifestyle that contributed to everything that went so incredibly wrong for her over the eight episodes. That may mean a different Cassie in Season 2, but an altered leading lady was inevitable after everything she went through in Season 1.
Speaking with The New York Times after the finale but before the Season 2 renewal was announced on December 18, Kaley Cuoco and showrunner Steve Yockey weighed in on ideas for what comes next. Cuoco shared:
We have been having some conversations about what a second season would look like. All of Cassie’s antics before, it was always like, 'Well, that’s just Cassie!' What if we go down this route of her living this new lifestyle, trying to be sober and clean up her act, and there is no excuse anymore? And what does work now look like? What does love now look like?... And how do you live an honest life if you’ve never lived an honest life? That’s not going to change in two [Alcoholics Anonymous] meetings.
Cassie may want to sober up and change, but she can't just flip a switch and become a new person with a new lifestyle. Since Season 2 will presumably throw Cassie into a complicated new situation and not just spend the next batch of episodes on her road to recovery, she probably has a lot of challenges ahead of her. Hopefully with fewer unexplainable dead bodies!
Steve Yockey echoed Kaley Cuoco's sentiments, saying:
The drinking was a symptom of the emotional trauma, and all the other stuff was a byproduct of the drinking. So we’ll see when she gets sober. It doesn’t mean that the rest of the erratic behavior calms down.
Cassie should still be Cassie even if she goes fully sober, so fans don't have to worry that the leading lady will be unrecognizable in Season 2 from who she was in Season 1. That said, Steve Yockey and Kaley Cuoco shared their ideas for the second season before news broke of the official renewal, and only time will whether their visions for Cassie's next adventure change once production starts.
End The Flight Attendant Season 1 finale spoilers. There are currently no details about when The Flight Attendant could be back for Season 2. Pandemic protocols have made production on television and movies more challenging over the past several months, and presumably lasting well into 2021. Those challenges could prevent The Flight Attendant from getting back into gear soon. Still, Season 1 finished filming under pandemic protocols, so The Flight Attendant knows how to pull it off.
For now, you can find the full first season of The Flight Attendant streaming on HBO Max. For viewing options in the new year, check out our 2021 winter and spring premiere schedule.
