Warning: SPOILERS for Snowpiercer Season 1's finale.
Here's everything we know so far about Snowpiercer season 2's story, characters, and release date. TNT's post-apocalyptic sci-fi series wrapped up its exciting 10-episode first season in July. Starring Jennifer Connelly as Melanie Cavill and Daveed Diggs as Andre Layton, Snowpiercer season 1 told a new story unrelated to the 2013 feature film directed by Bong Joon Ho and starring Chris Evans.
Snowpiercer season 1 introduced a cavalcade of fascinating characters who are the last survivors of humanity living on the 1,001-car-long Great Ark Train seven years after the world froze in an environmental catastrophe. As the series progressed, Layton, the Train Detective plucked from the Tail section to solve a murder mystery, discovered the train's greatest secret: Melanie Cavill was posing as Mr. Wilford, Snowpiercer's billionaire messiah figure, who wasn't on the train at all. This fueled Layton's desire to liberate the prisoners held in the Tail Section and change the cruel, class-based order Melanie maintained to govern the train.
After a bloody and costly revolution, Layton and Melanie survived by working together against their common enemies only to face a new surprise: the emergence of a second train carrying the mysterious Mr. Wilford aboard. Snowpiercer season 1 ends on a massive cliffhanger with many questions to be answered in season 2.
TNT Has Renewed Snowpiercer For Season 2
Snowpiercer received an early season 2 renewal at the WarnerMedia Upfronts on May 15, 2019. Snowpiercer was originally meant to air on TBS but switched networks to TNT after original showrunner Josh Friedman (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) was replaced by Graeme Manson (Orphan Black). At the 2019 Upfronts, TNT General Manager for TNT and TBS said: "We believe in the longevity of this series and that audiences will be amazed by the fantastical world that brings to life such relevant social, political and environmental issues."
Production on Snowpiercer season 2 was scheduled to be completed at the end of March 2020, but it was halted due to the global coronavirus pandemic. According to actress Lena Hall, the production still needed to finish shooting the final two episodes of the season. It's unknown when restrictions will be lifted so production can wrap the remaining episodes, so it's likely that Snowpiercer season 2 won't air until summer 2021.
Who Will Be In The Cast Of Snowpiercer Season 2
Most of the principal cast of Snowpiercer will return for season 2, including series leads Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs. Based on the events of the Snowpiercer season 1 finale, other actors who will reprise their roles will be Alison Wright, Annalise Basso, Mickey Sumner, Lena Hall, Susan Park, Mike O'Malley, Steven Ogg, Iddo Goldberg, Sheila Vand, Jaylin Fletcher, and Sam Otto.
Two major additions will join Snowpiercer season 2: Rowan Blanchard (Girl Meets World) will play Alexandra Cavill, Melanie's teenage daughter. Blanchard appeared as Melanie in Snowpiercer's season 1 finale, which also promised the long-awaited arrival of Mr. Wilford himself, who will be played by Sean Bean (Game of Thrones). Bean has already lent his voice as Mr. Wilford in Snowpiercer season 1.
What Snowpiercer Season 2's Story Will Be About
Snowpiercer season 1 ended on a startling cliffhanger with the discovery of a second train controlled by Mr. Wilford, which docked with and stopped Snowpiercer. The train had just survived two simultaneous attempts at a revolution: the Tail section joining with Third Class to take control of Snowpiercer and a coup by the First Class passengers led by the Folgers, which Melanie and Layton stopped together. With her secret out that she was posing as Mr. Wilford for the past seven years, Melanie Cavill formally ceded command of Snowpiercer to Andre Layton.
Unfortunately, the sudden appearance of a second train and the promise of Mr. Wilford's arrival threatens to upend the representative government Layton was trying to establish to govern Snowpiercer. For many aboard the 994-car-long train, the possible restoration of Mr. Wilford's "perfect order" is welcome news, but for those in the Tail who just won their freedom, it could be a disaster. Melanie Cavill herself will have to answer for stealing Snowpiercer and leaving Mr. Wilford behind to die seven years prior. Fans can only imagine what further twist and turns are in store for the last human survivors of the frozen Earth in Snowpiercer season 2.