The series, which debuted to rave reviews, began pulling in millions of viewers weekly after it premiered on August 26, 2018.
According to the BBC, Bodyguard season finale was the most-watched drama in the U.K. in 2018, and the most-watched BBC drama in a decade.
The finale episode, which pulled in 14.34 million viewers (figures published by Barb take into account total viewers seven days after broadcast), was also the fifth most-watched TV show in the U.K. since 2010.
U.S. viewers who might have been wondering what all the fuss was about across the pond were happy when Bodyguard became available on Netflix on October 24. Following the huge success of the series on BBC One, Netflix acquired the rights to stream the series to the rest of the world.
Since the season finale aired on BBC One in September 2018 and the series became available to international viewers on Netflix in October, fans have been asking whether there will be Bodyguard Season 2 and when it will premiere on BBC One and Netflix.
To answer your questions, we bring you everything we know so far about Bodyguard Season 2.
Is Bodyguard Season 2 coming?
BBC One has not yet renewed Bodyguard for Season 2, but if the stellar ratings performance and huge viewership numbers for Season 1 are any indication, it is almost certain that we will get Bodyguard Season 2.
Season 1 finale gave fans a neat and tidy happy ending. David Budd (Richard Madden) reconciles with his family and gets the opportunity to go for PTSD treatment.
Bodyguard’s Season 1 storyline was self-contained because the showrunners had thought that the series would end with Season 1.
The runaway success of Bodyguard Season 1 took everyone by surprise.
“We never intended to make another one,” Madden said, according to the Daily Mail. “I’m excited to see what he’s got, especially because David had quite a busy couple of months. So what do we do with him next?”
But despite the fact that the major plot threads were resolved in the season finale, the conclusion of the series was still sufficiently open-ended to make a Season 2 continuation possible.
The coming of the series to Netflix, which means it is now available to a wider international audience, provides added incentive for BBC and Netflix to try to build on the success of Season 1 by ordering another batch of episodes for Season 2.
Although there is still no official confirmation of Bodyguard for Season 2, the series creator Jed Mercurio has said he hopes that Bodyguard continues for three or four seasons.
“It’s fair to say we would probably approach any thoughts of a second series with the idea that it would create an opportunity for a third or fourth,” he told The Sun back in September 2018.
Mercurio also confirmed during an appearance on the British show This Morning in September that he was “just beginning talks” with the BBC about a possible Bodyguard Season 2.
“We’re just beginning that conversation with the BBC,” he said. “We know that people out there are loving [the show] and that there would be an appetite for [another season].”
His Twitter joke about Good Morning Britain’s Susanna Reid appearing in Bodyguard Season 2 suggested that Mercurio was already thinking about what was next for the series.
The Golden Globe-nominated series star Richard Madden, has also indicated that he is ready to reprise his role as David Budd in Bodyguard Season 2.
The Game of Thrones actor told Deadline in October that he had scheduled a meeting with Mercurio to discuss what was next for Budd.
“I’m going to meet Jed in a couple of weeks to have a chat and see what’s in his brilliant brain,” Madden told Deadline in October. “So I’m like, what can happen next… Where do you go with this guy?”
When Ellen DeGeneres asked him on The Ellen Show (see YouTube below) in December 2018, whether there would be Bodyguard Season 2, he said he hoped so.
“We hope so. We’ve been talking about it a lot. It’s kind of been quite mad this year, so we are gonna have next year to throw some ideas around and talk. So hopefully so,” he answered.
Most recently, Madden told EW during an interview in January 2019 that they were already (see YouTube below) talking about Bodyguard Season 2.
“We’re talking about it, we’re going to see what happens over the coming year,” he said. “I think the character needs a little break — I think he had quite a tough couple of months during the show so we’ll see what happens.”
But he dithered when EW asked whether fans should expect a long break between Seasons 1 and 2.
“We’re gonna see,” he said. “I think there’s lots of conversation happening now so it’s up to Mercurio.”
Bodyguard Season 2 release date
Although the BBC has not yet officially confirmed Bodyguard for Season 2 and it is not yet clear when the new season will premiere, it appears that it is only a matter of time before Bodyguard returns for Season 2.
But so far, indications are that it is unlikely we will see Bodyguard Season 2 in 2019. It seems that the earliest we can expect Bodyguard to return for Season 2 is early in 2020.
Some fans have expressed concern that the main hurdle to an early return for Bodyguard Season 2 could be the breakout star’s availability to shoot Season 2 due to an expected busy schedule.
Mercurio has also expressed concern that Madden’s breakout as David Budd in Bodyguard could mean he won’t be able to find the time to return to reprise his leading role.
“[He’s] the genuine article, a real leading man. And I think this role has put him very much in the spotlight for bigger things,” Mercurio told Radio Times in November. “So the practicality may be that we have to work round his availability, if we are lucky enough to get him back.”
Mercurio’s concern that Madden might be unable to return for Bodyguard Season 2 appears justified. The actor has been in high demand lately.
He recently wrapped up filming the Elton John biopic Rocketman and is now widely rumored to be one of the top contenders to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond, despite previous rumors that Tom Hiddleston was the favorite for the role.
However, Mercurio might find that his concern about Madden is unwarranted since the series star has already expressed interest and enthusiasm to participate in Bodyguard Season 2.
On the contrary, Mercurio’s schedule with Line of Duty could be what delays production on Bodyguard Season 2.
Fans will recall that Line of Duty Season 5 was delayed so that Mercurio could finish work on Bodyguard Season 1.
Mercurio had insisted in a September 2018 interview with The Sun that Bodyguard Season 2 would have to wait until he had finished work on Line of Duty Season 5.
Filming of Line of Duty Season 5 ended a few days before Christmas but Mercurio said that editing would continue after the New Year.
“We’re going to be shooting right up until a few days before Christmas and doing all our editing early in the New Year so I’m full-time on Line of Duty,” he told The Sun.
Line of Duty Season 5 is expected to launch in April 2019, but Mercurio insisted that he wouldn’t start working on Bodyguard Season 2 until mid-2019.
He also avoided suggesting a potential premiere date for Bodyguard Season 2.
“I’m really not going to speculate on that [Season 2 launch date] because there’s so many factors that would go into it,” he told The Sun.
“It’s all about the script development, the production schedule and a whole bunch of things that are all part of a giant jigsaw puzzle which have to be put together with any production.”
Based on Mercurio’s comments, it is unlikely that Bodyguard will return for Season 2 in 2019. Early to mid -2020 is the earliest that we can expect to see Bodyguard Season 2.
Bodyguard Season 2 details
Bodyguard Season 1 is a six-part drama series that follows Afghanistan war veteran David Budd (Richard Madden), a police sergeant who serves in the Royal and Specialist Protection Command of London’s Metropolitan Police as a Principal Protection Officer.
Budd, who is suffering from untreated PTSD, is assigned to protect Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes), an ambitious and controversial politician who is pushing for invasive surveillance powers ostensibly to enhance national security.
Budd finds himself struggling with the conflict between his opposition to the Montague’s politics and his duty to protect the politician.
Bodyguard premiered in August 2018 to rave reviews and an enthusiastic audience response. Netflix acquired the international streaming rights to the series and it became available on the streaming platform to U.S. viewers on October 24.
The series is created by Jed Mercurio who is also the creator and showrunner for BBC’s Line of Duty (TV series 2012- ) which streams on Hulu.
An estimated 10.4 million U.K. viewers watched the Season 1 finale live on BBC One. Views on the BBC’s iPlayer
The numbers made Bodyguard the most-watched BBC drama of 2018 as well as the most-watched in a decade.
According to Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos, Bodyguard was viewed by more than 23 million households during the first four weeks after it became available on the streaming platform.
The series has received rave reviews, scoring a 94% approval rating (based on 63 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes, and a “generally favorable” score of 79/100 based on 12 reviews on Metacritic.
Bodyguard Season 2 official trailer
An official trailer for Bodyguard Season 2 is not yet in sight. We will update this page as soon as BBC One and Netflix release an official trailer for the hotly anticipated Bodyguard Season 2.
Meanwhile, enjoy the Season 1 trailer.
Bodyguard Season 2 cast
Mercurio has suggested that Bodyguard TV series could have only a few regular characters, with every new season featuring a new supporting cast.
“We certainly weren’t the first to rotate casts,” he told Radio Times. “Line of Duty established that it works very well.”
Eve if the showrunners choose to feature an entirely new supporting cast in Bodyguard Season 2, members of the main cast sure to return include the series star Richard Madden as the war veteran David Budd.
Before playing Budd in Bodyguard, Madden was best known for his role as Robb Stark in Game of Thrones. He played Prince Charming in the live-action movie Cinderella (2015). He will also appear in the upcoming Elton John biopic Rocektman (2019) as John Reid, Elton’s manager.
Sophie Rundle will return as Vicky, David Bud’s estranged wife with whom he has two children, Ella and Charlie.
Other Season 1 cast members who may reprise their roles if Budd returns to his role as a specialist protection officer with the Metropolitan Police include Gina McKee as Cmdr. Anne Sampson, who leaked the damming kompromat that forced the prime minister and the MI5 boss Stephen Hunter-Dunn (Stuart Bowman) to resign.
Nina Toussaint-White could return as DS Louise Rayburn and Ash Tandon as DCI Deepak Sharma.
Based on the ending of the Season 1, cast members less likely to return — especially if Season 2 introduces an entirely new and self-contained storyline — include Vincent Franklin as Mike Travis, David Westhead as Minister John Vosler, and Pippa Haywood as CS Lorraine Craddock.
We can also expect Paul Ready as Rob MacDonald, Stuart Bowman as Stephen Hunter Dunn, Nicholas Gleaves as Roger Penhaligon, Richard Riddell as Tom Fenton, Matt Stokoe as crime lord Luke Aikens, Michael Schaeffer as Richard Longcross, Stephanie Hyam as Chanel Dyson, and Anjli Mohindra as Nadia Ali not to return.
Despite fan theories that Julia Montague could still be alive, Keeley Hawes won’t return for Season 2 in the same role. Montague was killed in a terrorist bombing in Season 1.
Other Season 1 cast members who won’t return for Season 2 because their characters died include Claire-Louise Cordwell as Kim Knowles, Tom Brooke as Andy Apsted, and Shubham Saraf as Tahir Mahmood.
Bodyguard Season 2 plot
Bodyguard Season 1 follows the war veteran David Budd who served in Afghanistan and suffers from untreated PTSD.
After stopping a suicide bombing on a train, he is assigned to protect Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes), an ambitious Conservative who is demanding greater surveillance powers in the interest of national security.
But there are widespread fears that the enhanced powers she wants could infringe on the privacy and civil right of citizens.
Budd has to protect her despite strongly disapproving of Montague’s politics.
Montague becomes the target of assassination attempts and a conspiracy within the government to end her political career.
Montague is eventually killed in a terrorist bomb attack.
Budd is framed for Montague’s murder and to clear his name, he works to uncover an intricate plot involving top members of the police force and organized crime.
He is abducted by crime lord Luke Aitkens (Matt Stokoe) who was behind Montague’s assassination.
Aitkens, who is secretly in cahoots with Budd’s boss Police Superintendent Lorraine Craddock (Pippa Haywood), assassinated Montague because he feared that Montague could prove a threat to his crime empire if she becomes Prime Minister and grants the security services greater surveillance powers.
After Aitkens abducts Budd, he wakes up to find that he has been fitted with a suicide vest.
The tension-soaked season finale sees Budd walking with his wife Vicky through the streets of London to his flat, with a bomb strapped to his chest.
The police suspect that he is involved in the conspiracy that led to Montague being killed. They were going to shoot him but Vicky runs to him to prevent them from shooting him.
He finally gets out of the suicide vest and convinces the police that he is innocent. He reveals the people behind Montague’s assassination and uncovers the conspiracy within the House of Commons and M-15 to sabotage Montague’s career.
We also learn that Nadia is not the helpless victim we thought she was. She is actually part of a bomb-making terrorist group.
In the end, Budd reunites with his family and gets the PTSD treatment he needs. The story ends happily for Budd and his family, but the tidy ending has led to questions about what is next for the series.
If the showrunners decide to continue the plot and storyline of Season 1, Season 2 could attempt to wrap up a few loose ends from Season 1. For instance, we could see the return of the mysterious M15 agent, alias Richard Longcross, who tried to cover up Julia and M15’s plot to overthrow the PM and escaped police custody.
The organized crime group could also try to retaliate against Budd for getting their leader arrested and exposing their links to top members of the police force, such as PS Lorraine Craddock.
But even if Season 2 picks up where Season 1 left off, many fans are expressing doubts that Budd could possibly remain in the Met Police after what he went through in Season 1. So, if he has to face the wrath of the criminals he exposed in Season 1, he may find himself fighting them alone and not as a police officer.
Madden appeared to agree with the view that Budd couldn’t possibly return to police work after what happened in Season 1.
“You know, David Budd, he walks about London with a bomb on,” he told Deadline. “I mean, everyone definitely knows his face now. He can’t really slip back into police work again. What’s his life like after that?”
Madden then suggested that instead of continuing the Season 1 storyline, each new season could tell a new self-contained story.
“Maybe it’s going to be like American Horror Story where, in the second series, it’s a whole different incarnation of it, and I’m a royal and Keeley is on my protection team,” he speculated. “And you get all the rest of the actors back, and we all do different things.”
Mercurio also suggested in an interview with Radio Times that the series could return in Season 2 with a new story that features a returning cast but new antagonists. Budd could return in Bodyguard Season 2 protecting a foreign dignitary, or more likely a member of the royal family, Mercurio also suggested.
Mercurio insisted that he has successfully used the approach in Line of Duty and that it could also work for Bodyguard.
“We certainly weren’t the first to rotate casts in that way,” he argued. “Line of Duty established that it works very well. And audiences understand the concept.”
When Madden appeared on The Ellen Show in December, DeGeneres also noted that the fact that a large chunk of Season 1’s main character were killed off could mean that Season 2 would have to introduce an entirely new storyline.
Based on the comments so far by Madden and Mercurio, it seems likely that Bodyguard Season 2 will feature a new storyline, a small returning main cast and new supporting cast.
More: BBC, Richard Madden