Armando Iannucci, creator of deeply satirical political dramas like Veep and The Death of Stalin, came out with absurdist space comedy Avenue 5 in February 2020. A sci-fi show about a handful of oddball characters stuck in involuntary isolation turned out somewhat prophetic when a pandemic shut down the whole world a month later. Despite getting renewed even before the first season was done airing all nine episodes, the production on the second season ended up getting delayed indefinitely due to the pandemic.

However, we know that principal photography and shooting for season two wrapped up in November 2021, thanks to Josh Gad. He plays Herman Judd, the billionaire owner of the titular spaceship Avenue 5. He posted about it on his Instagram page along with a photo with some of the returning cast. With that, here is everything we know so far about the upcoming season.

Plot: What We Know

Avenue 5 Hugh Laurie Josh Gad Lenora Crichlow
HBO

Iannucci’s second outing with HBO, Avenue 5, is about a luxury spaceship cruise, captained by the charismatic – or so everyone is made to believe till all hell breaks loose – Ryan Clark (played by Hugh Laurie). Set 40 years in the future, where space travel is as routine as drinking Pumpkin Spice Lattes every fall, Avenue 5 encounters a technical glitch and an unanticipated death that throws the ship off course. This results in all its passengers being stranded in space longer than planned.

Marvelous madness and macabre hilarity ensue as the crew on-board tries to get a grip on the situation with passengers losing their minds. All secrets and shams unravel as jungle law threatens to prevail within the confines of the space shuttle. The wry humour may not be for everyone. The show manages to put the spotlight on several relevant cultural blind spots we are dealing with now, from conspiracy nut jobs who will deny the truth even in the face of factual and scientific proof to our society’s blatant obsession with appearances and wealth over real competence.

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The first season ends on a major cliffhanger with the characters' fates hanging in the air as they end up making a huge gaffe while trying to course correct. The possibilities may not be endless given how their hands are tied by the laws of physics, but the story can progress in various ways. Showmakers can pick up exactly where we left off or fast-forward the story a bit to show how the situation has driven the characters to cooperate or go completely off the rails Lord of the Flies-style.

Upon query about the possible plot points audiences can expect in the second season, Iannucci told The Hollywood Reporter:

“It’s basically about people in isolation. So, we’re just waiting to see what the mood might be as to how we pitch. Is it going to be bleak despair, or is it going to be very, very silly? Or maybe silly despair? I don’t know. We tried to make season one as silly as possible, but it seems to have strangely become a kind of documentary about present-day conditions.”

Cast: Who Is Staying On-Board

Avenue 5 Episode 7
HBO

Even though an official cast line-up has not been announced, since the trapped passengers have limited ways of getting back to Earth, we can expect most of the original cast to be there in the second installment of the show. Given there are several passengers in the background whose stories were never explored in the first outing of the show, we can expect new players in the story as well.

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However, along with Hugh Laurie and Josh Gad, the usual suspects remain. Zach Woods plays Matt Spencer, Head of Customer Relations, undergoing an existential crisis. Rebecca Front is Karen Kelly, a passenger who takes her meme-worthy name a little too seriously once things go awry. Suzy Nakamura plays Iris Kimura, an associate owner of Avenue 5 who has had it with the shenanigans of pretty much everyone. Nikki Amuka-Bird is Rav Mulcair, head of mission control who ends up where she doesn’t belong. Lenora Crichlow plays Billie McEvoy, a second engineer but really the only one who can maneuver the spaceship after disaster strikes, and Ethan Phillips as Spike Martin, a former astronaut and first Canadian on the Moon who’s lost his way in life and now space. Apart from this, we can also expect Andy Buckley (of The Office fame) who plays Frank, Karen's husband; Kyle Bornheimer (of Brooklyn Nine-Nine) as Doug, another passenger; as well as Himesh Patel (last seen in Oscar-nominated Don't Look Up) as Jordan Hatwal, a stand-up comedian who tries unsuccessful escape attempts from the spaceship more than once.

Release Date

The second season of Avenue 5 is tentatively scheduled to release in the United States sometime in 2022, even though some have speculated the release date can be pushed back to 2023. However, an official date has not been announced as of yet. Viewers from around the world can binge the first season on streaming platforms like HBO Max, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and Hulu.