Killing Eve, the thrilling crime drama starring Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer, and written by Fleabag scribe Phoebe Waller-Bridge, became a bona fide hit after its 2018 first season. The BBC America show boasted growing ratings every week after debuting in April, was critically acclaimed, and quickly became a viewer favorite for its dark twists, outrageously good performances, and wicked-meets-weird humor. The show updated the spy-pursues-psychopathic-killer trope with sloppy but passionate MI6 agent Eve (Oh) and luxury-goods fan—and assassin—Villanelle (Comer), who follow each other on a twisty path through murder, mutual obsession, and...shopping. (If you haven't watched it yet, get onto it.)
Fans will be delighted to know that a second season of the show is coming very soon. The first season ended on a huge cliffhanger and, naturally, we all want to know what's next. Here's everything you need to know about season 2 of Killing Eve.
When will it premiere?
Clear your calendar for Sunday, April 7, at 8 P.M.
Who will be in it?
The full cast has not yet been announced, but Sandra Oh (Eve Polastri) and Jodie Comer (Villanelle) will reprise their lead roles. Fiona Shaw will also return as the mysterious MI6 operative Carolyn Martens.
Last year, Deadline announced additions to the cast for the second season: Nina Sosanya (who was recently in Juliet, Naked and eagle-eyed movie fans will recognize as the Prime Minister's right-hand woman in Love Actually), and newcomer Edward Bluemel (The Commuter, A Discovery of Witches). Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh) will make a guest appearance, and Shannon Tarbet and Henry Lloyd-Hughes will both feature in new roles. But there's no word yet on who they'll play.
Is there any footage?
Yes! So much to watch and mull over. In February, BBC America dropped the season 2 trailer:
A nervous and blood-stained Eve is on a call with someone, admitting that she may have killed Villanelle—all while ruining a happy engagement happening right in front of her. Then, we see Villanelle trying to escape her hospital bed (of course, the stab wounds she received from Eve in the season 1 finale make it difficult) and slip back into her old habits, as she breaks into a stranger's home looking for a kitchen knife.
From there, it just gets even crazier. Who is this in the pig mask? Why is Eve crying? What is Villanelle up to now?
Elsewhere in the trailer, Carolyn (Fiona Shaw) can be heard saying, "Why are you and Villanelle so interested in each other?" as Eve receives a floral arrangement of her name from an unknown sender. Wonder who? Then, it looks as if Eve and Villanelle finally come face to face with one another again. What will come of this encounter?
Then, in March, there was another trailer! It's so good. Set to a creepy cover version of Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet," it shows Villanelle in a pink wig and pink outfits, and...is that her in a pink pig costume?
In January, we saw a tiny teaser that showed Eve pushing back her long, dark hair—which, fans will know, is part of the reason Villanelle is so obsessed with her.
What will it be about?
BBC America revealed in a press release that the new season will open just 36 seconds after the end of the previous season. "Beginning just after the end of the final episode of season one, Villanelle has disappeared, and Eve is left reeling, having no idea if the woman she stabbed is alive or dead," the release reads. "With both of them in deep trouble, Eve has to find Villanelle before someone else does…but unfortunately, she’s not the only person looking for her." But if you think you can guess what Villanelle will do, think again. Comer told ELLE: "It may not be what [viewers] think it’s going to be...But that’s all I can say.”
Executive producer Emerald Fennell told Entertainment Weekly that Eve and Villanelle's distinct personalities will start to seem less different: “There’s a duality and a sense of self-examination—both women learning a lot about who they are,” she said. “We’re starting to see the mirror-image similarities between them, for the good and the bad. What does it look like when a psychopath starts to learn how to feel things, and when a woman who’s incredibly empathetic and intuitive starts to lose those parts of herself? At what point do they meet?”
That startling season finale leaves Villanelle feeling a little unsettled, Comer told EW, because she's not as in control as she thought—and wants to figure out "what she feels Eve’s reasoning is for doing this." In the same interview, Oh explained that in season 2, Villanelle's very angry at Eve: "It’s a bad relationship! This is what also is so complicated in the relationship. I feel that they communicate on a completely different plane, where things like stabbing the other person mean different things."
On Eve's part, she's going to become even more obsessed with Villanelle—at least to some extent. Oh told EW: "Then it becomes not even about Villanelle; it’s just like, what is she pursuing that she cannot let go of?… Eve’s drive or desire to get the job done...is a big driving force with her character and her movement in the second season. And I think it bites her [affects British accent] in the buttocks." Be careful, Eve!
'Killing Eve: Codename Villanelle' by Luke Jennings
What questions have been left unanswered?
The first season left many threads open. What is the mysterious organization, Twelve, that sends Villanelle to do their bidding? How will Villanelle and Eve respond to each other if they meet again in the future? Who is Konstantin (Kim Bodnia) really, and what is Carolyn's (Fiona Shaw) deal? Will Eve and her husband Niko (Owen McDonnell) stay together? There is really a lot to fill in. A lot. If you want to get as close to the truth as possible, Killing Eve is based on Luke Jennings' crime novellas; there are two books so far: Codename Villanelle and No Tomorrow.
