It's never too early for a TV show to start preparing for its next chapter. In fact, it's a very encouraging sign that, despite its first season having just ended, the showrunners are doing everything in their power to ensure that their material stays crisp. From the looks of it, those working on the hit Apple TV Plus series Foundation understand this and are doing just that.
The Apple TV Plus show, based on the popular book series authored by the revered Isaac Asimov, premiered on the streaming service this past September. With all the acclaim and fanfare it received following its release, the show was renewed for a second season the following month. Because they wanted to strike while the iron was still hot, Foundation wasted no time adding new dimensions to the show by naming more actors to its cast.
Apple TV Plus held nothing back regarding the number of new cast members to sign on either. Far from it in fact. It brought in ten actors in total to play new characters in Foundation season 2, which include Isabella Laughland (as Brother Constant), Kulvinder Ghir (as Poly Verisof), Sandra Yi Sencindiver (as Enjoiner Rue), Ella-Rae Smith (as Queen Sareth), Dimitri Leonidas (as Hober Mallow), Ben Daniels (as Bel Roise), Holt McCallany (as Warden Jaegger Fount), Mikael Persbrandt (as The Warlord of Kalgan), Rachel House (as Tellem Bond), and Nimray Kaur (as Yanna Seldon). They will join Emmy Award nominees Jared Harris and Lee Pace, who reprise their roles from Foundation season 1.
This many new characters should bring plenty of intrigue to the upcoming season of Foundation. However, if they continue the ten-episode format, they must handle these additions delicately, or it may feel like they've overstuffed themselves with too many new characters in too short a time. If these characters serve to build on what's already working for Foundation, then this could take it to new heights.
Those who have tuned in should honestly be pretty excited for what's to come of this show. Thanks to the invention of streaming services, we're seeing popular book series get better adaptations when being converted to the television medium as opposed to a full-length movie - think Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events for example. With more runtime to adapt the story, they can use that time to develop both the characters and the show's themes. Suffice to say, Foundation is off to a good start.
Alas, one of the painful truths about the age of streaming services is that, while new hit shows can dazzle their audience in the first season, they're not quite able to replicate the same magic in later seasons because the first one perfectly said what the show had to say at the beginning. Thankfully, because this is based off a popular book series from a well-repped author, the odds of Foundation falling into this same trap are much less likely than some of the others we've seen.
Foundation premiered on Apple TV Plus on September 24th, 2021.
Source: Apple.com