After more than two years of waiting, Gentleman Jack Season 2 is almost here. The new series will premiere on Monday, April 25, on HBO Max, with episodes dropping weekly on the platform.
The historical drama follows the story of Anne Lister, often considered the "first modern lesbian" and her romance with the wealthy landowner, Ann Walker. The witty series will once again draw upon Lister's real-life diaries, consisting of over 7,700 pages and five million words, which were often written in code.
Ahead of the highly anticipated new series, stars Suranne Jones and Sophie Rundle, who play power couple Anne Lister and Ann Walker, respectively, told Newsweek all about what fans can expect in the new series.
At the center of Gentleman Jack is Lister, an industrialist from a landowning family in Yorkshire, taking an interest in landscaping, mining, railways and canals. Despite her successful business pursuits in Season 1, Lister is back for more.
Speaking to Newsweek, Jones joked Season 2 is like watching "Anne Lister on speed."
She added: "She is very busy. I keep saying it's like Anne Lister on speed.
"She's got the wife, she's got the money. She's got plans, she's got adventures up her sleeve, she's excited about...not only the coal but the canals, the railway, there's so much going on for her and I think that she's a slightly different person.
"If you can possibly imagine Anne Lister more. Grander, she's grander because of all of that. Her peacock feathers are out and she is showing off it's great, because then we see the downfall of you know, what living life like that does, and everyone's trying to keep up with her."
Season 2 of Gentleman Jack will also continue the romance between Anne Lister and Ann Walker. Fans will remember at the end of Season 1 the pair exchanged vows. As women couldn't legally marry each other in the 19th century, Lister and Walker took the sacrament, declaring themselves "wife and wife."
Now, Lister is hoping to take the next step with Walker, by moving her into Shibden Hall and combining their estates, however.
Jones shared that societal pressures will play a role in their marriage, but on the other hand, the nature of their marriage makes for a "more interesting" season compared to the first run.
She said: "She's [Anne Lister] built herself up, in her own mind in a way this season of everything she wants and all her fantasies that she's making realities.
"It's just that sometimes reality of real life, crashes in and bringing her wife home, who still has issues with her mental health and to live in plain sight and she's slightly misjudged societal pressures.
"So it's such an interesting way of making the season, it's almost more interesting than season one because now we're looking at the realities of life with Lister and Walker, which is great and you know what that means to a marriage."
'Coming Out of Her Shell'
As for Ann Walker, audiences will see her "coming out of her shell a bit" thanks to her marriage with Lister.
Speaking to Newsweek, Rundle shared: "I think she's [Ann Walker] coming out of a shelter a bit. I think she's been emboldened by her relationship with Anne Lister. I think the season one we really saw Anne Lister work to encourage her and build her up and I think she is better. I think she'll never be completely comfortable and happy and she'll always battle with her demons but she is a better version of herself because of her relationship with Anne Lister.
However, things will not be easy for the married couple, with Rundle teasing that Walker will experience some "dips" that will make for an "interesting" watch in her marriage to Lister.
She said: "So I think that she is growing and sort of blossoming a bit but then that dips and she goes back and forth with herself. She's definitely a bolder version. And then it's interesting to watch that in relation to Anne Lister and sort of seeing how that works in their marriage."
Thankfully, fans of Gentleman Jack do not have too long to wait for Season 2, with the brand new series premiering on Monday, April 25.
The remaining seven episodes in the series will drop every Monday on the streaming platform.
Gentleman Jack Season 2 airs Sundays on BBC One in the U.K. and Mondays on HBO Max in the U.S.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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