Ella Purnell is officially going to be sharpening her knives for a second season of Sweetpea, as the Sky and Starz-backed production has been given the greenlight for a second season. The Fallout star appeared in the debut installment of the dark comedy as a wallflower named Rhiannon Lewis who discovers she has a taste for blood and follows her new passion wherever it may take her. While no specific plot details for Season 2 have been released at this time, we know that Purnell will reprise her role as the killer queen, with her dark and bloody secret quickly getting out of hand and putting her in the danger zone. To keep herself safe and out of trouble, Rhiannon will need to push things even further and amp up the killings, but in the safest way possible.
Paired with the exciting news, Purnell, who also executive produces the production released a statement that not only expressed her thrill to return to the kill, but also teased what audiences had to look forward to in the sophomore installment.
“Being part of Rhiannon’s coming-of-rage journey has been a career highlight for me, and to see fans engage with and relate to our oddball Rhiannon, in all her complexity, feels truly special. I cannot wait for audiences to see what she does next. Stay tuned.”
The first season of Sweetpea was six episodes in length, and, right now it’s unclear whether the series will continue with that episodic format for its follow-up season or if it will (hopefully) tack on a few extras for the now dedicated fandom. The show’s renewal was something anyone who was paying attention could have seen from a long way off, as the production immediately raked in rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. Because so many folks were on the chopping block during the show’s first season, it isn’t totally clear who will return in the future, but the original cast included the likes of Jon Pointing (Big Boys), Nicôle Lecky (Unsaid Stories), Calam Lynch (Derry Girls), Jeremy Swift (Ted Lasso), Leah Harvey (Tuesday), and more.
‘Sweetpea’ is Based On a Book
As so many wonderfully addictive TV shows are these days, Sweetpea first got its start as a novel by CJ Skuse. However, as readers of the original book already know, the production tends to swing in a different direction than the original story, but don’t worry, because Purnell says the plan is for everything to circle back.
“Also, it’s based on a book, but the show and the book are very different. In the book, she’s a lot more advanced. She’s definitely fully Sweetpea. The show is the making of Sweetpea, but I used the book as my end goal for Rhiannon. Episode six of the show is chapter one in the book, not maybe in terms of what she’s done, but in terms of who she is. You don’t always get that in TV. With TV, a lot of the time, you get the script the day before, and then you just wing it. They could tell you to do anything and they just own you. You’ve gotta do what you’re told. But in this case, it was almost like shooting a movie, where I actually knew my A to B.”
No release window has been set for Season 2 of Sweetpea, but audiences in the U.K. can get caught up on the first season via Sky and its streaming service NOW, while those in the U.S. and Canada can head over to STARZ.