The adaptation made us beam and cry in equal measure, and stars Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones sparked new rumors about Normal People Season 2 in 2024.
Connell and Marianne’s unlikely romance from Sally Rooney’s novel was translated to screen beautifully in the romantic TV series, but the series ended differently than it did on the page.
While the book left things ambiguous, Marianne and Connell parted ways in the series when the latter accepted a place on a creative writing course in New York. The bittersweet finale left some viewers wondering if the BBC would continue the story.
It was one of the best TV shows of 2020, but the realistic probability of Normal People Season 2 ever happening comes down to more than Season 1’s quality.
Is there going to be a Normal People Season 2?
Normal People Season 2 has not been announced.
While Season 1 was a streaming supernova, it’s been four years since it was released. There were no plans to continue the series when it wrapped.
Its leading actors have been booked and busy since they finished Normal People. Mescal’s new movies include Gladiator 2 and The History of Sound, and Edgar-Jones has landed roles in the likes of Twisters.
Additionally, Rooney’s entire book was adapted and completed in Season 1.
All that said, Mescal and Edgar-Jones have said they’d be open to working on more episodes.
What have the cast said?
The Normal People cast hasn’t said Season 2 will happen, but Mescal and Edgar-Jones did confirm they’d like to do it.
On May 28, 2024, Mescal and Edgar-Jones uploaded a photo of themselves together to Instagram. They captioned it, “We’ve got some news to share! Watch this space.”
This whipped the internet into a frenzy, wondering whether they could be ramping up for a Normal People announcement.
Ultimately, there has been no movement on Season 2, even if Mescal and Jones have reunited on multiple occasions to discuss the show. The actors were hinting at a charity raffle to win tickets to a screening on behalf of Pieta and UNICEF.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
In 2021, Mescal told Digital Spy: “I would work with Daisy [Edgar-Jones] again in a heartbeat.”
He continued, “At the moment, there’s nothing at all in the pipeline so I don’t want to be quoted on ‘maybe there’s going to be a Season 2’. There’s nothing at the moment.”
Showrunner Lenny Abrahamson told Deadline’s Award Line Magazine in July 2020, “I have a sneaking thing in the back of my head that if everybody was willing, and if the stars aligned, I’d love to revisit them in five years and find out what happened, where they are.”
He went on, “Is somebody a father or a mother? What relationships are they in that get disrupted by their meeting again?”
While film roles likely take priority, Mescal and Edgar-Jones are good friends and hold the show in high regard. So they could sign on for Season 2 despite other opportunities.
Is there another book to adapt?
There is only one Normal People book, so the TV show has no more material to adapt.
The show would have to create an original story continuation. Depending on how you feel about the later seasons of Game of Thrones, this might sound like a fine or terrifying idea.
A middle ground would be Rooney being involved creatively in a second season. However, the show ended where it was supposed to in the Season 1 finale.
Abrahamson’s time jump pitch sounds compelling. Season 1 was about the couple weaving in and out of each other’s lives. So, seeing them cross paths again to explore the transient nature of their romance further wouldn’t feel forced for the sake of it.
Normal People is streaming on Hulu in the US and BBC iPlayer in the UK.
For more from the cast, read our All of Us Strangers review or find out if Twisters is a remake. We’ve also got lists of new TV shows coming and the best romance movies of all time.
Please note that if you click on a product link on this page we may earn a small affiliate commission.