The Flight Attendant season 2 on HBO Max: What to expect

The Flight Attendant, one of HBO Max‘s first original series after the WarnerMedia streamer launched in May 2020, became a huge, buzz-worthy hit, and a welcome distraction in the early, uncertain days of COVID-19.

Kaley Cuoco, best known for roles in 8 Simple Rules and The Big Bang Theory, shone brightly as the star of this sleeper hit about a flight attendant pulled into a dark world of murder and espionage after a bender overseas. Cuoco nabbed well-deserved Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her inspired performance.

Equal parts Alfred Hitchcock and workplace comedy, The Flight Attendant was a 2020 standout.

The first season of The Flight Attendant premiered November 26, 2020, on HBO Max. It was HBO Max’s number one series overall during its run. The show was a huge hit with critics too, and it earned several award nominations.

With season 1 well behind us, what’s next? Read on for everything we know about The Flight Attendant season 2.

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What happened in season 1 of The Flight Attendant?

Season 1 of The Flight Attendant follows Cassie Bowden, the titular flight attendant who quickly gets embroiled in a deadly conspiracy involving one of the travellers on her flight to Bangkok.

Cassie wakes up after a characteristically boozey one-night-stand with the handsome, fabulously wealthy Alex Sokolov. But there’s a problem. Her bedmate is dead, seemingly murdered while she slept beside him.

The Flight Attendant is a dark, witty, and fun modern-day send-up of Hitchcock classics like The 39 Steps and North By Northwest.

Afraid of taking the blame (or that maybe she did it before blacking out drunk), Cassie returns home to New York, where she juggles FBI agents, assassins, suspicious friends, rich people behaving badly, a thorny family history, and Alex’s ghost.

Cassie has to fight for her life and to find out what happened in Bangkok in this dark, witty, and fun modern-day send-up of Hitchcock classics like The 39 Steps and North By Northwest.

When does The Flight Attendant season 2 come out?

HBO Max announced a second season of The Flight Attendant December 18, 2020, just one day after the first season finale.

The new season comes as something of a surprise, as season 1 was billed as a limited series. The Flight Attendant joins shows like HBO’s Big Little Lies and The Great which earned second seasons despite being launched as mini or limited series.

So far, very little is known about when production is set to start on The Flight Attendant season 2. HBO Max stated that the new season will bow in spring 2022. No firm premiere date has been revealed.

“To say that I am elated would be an understatement! The positive response to our show has surpassed all of our expectations and I’m so proud of the entire team behind its success,” said star and executive producer Cuoco. “We are committed to delivering diverse and quality entertainment, including an exciting (and probably a little crazy) TFA season 2!!”

Is it still based on the same book?

Season 1 of The Flight Attendant is based on the novel of the same name by Chris Bohjalian.

It’s safe to say season 2 will move away from the novel’s inspiration since the whole thing was adapted in the first outing.

Setting aside plot differences between the book and series, The Flight Attendant novel has no sequels as of yet. Its story is complete, and it already played out onscreen.

That means the show’s writers will have to come up with a new storyline. It’s still based on the novel, in that the characters are borrowed from Bohjalian, but anyone who’s done the reading ahead of time will go in just as unspoiled as the rest of us.

Who’s involved in The Flight Attendant season 2?

Kaley Cuoco is back as Cassie in The Flight Attendant season 2. But beyond that, the show could go in just about any direction, adding new characters and maybe leaving some behind.

Depending on who’s asked back and how negotiations go, safe money is on the return of Cassie’s friends and colleagues, as well as her brother. We may see more of Rosie Perez, Zosia Mamet, Michelle Gomez, T.R. Knight, and Griffin Matthews, among other season 1 cast members.

And maybe Cassie’s not quite finished with her visions of Alex, who was played by Michiel Huisman in season 1.

Behind the camera, the first season was produced by Warner Bros. Television, Berlanti Productions and Yes, Norman Productions. Greg Berlanti, Kaley Cuoco, Steve Yockey, and Sarah Schechter served as executive producers. Suzanne McCormack co-executive produced.

What can we expect from season 2?

HBO Max has not shared a lot of information about season 2 of The Flight Attendant yet. Still, we can piece together a few details from the information we do have.

“Season 2 will feature Cassie in a new adventure,” HBO Max said in a statement soon after announcing the second season. But the streamer has been pretty mum about any other details.

Cuoco has told Deadline that season 2 will likely focus on Cassie’s “sober journey” following the booze-heavy first season. “I think she’s going to learn very quickly that this is a life-long struggle and she’s going to be way over her head.”

“The CIA is definitely interested in her,” she added. That means the espionage and intrigue of season 1 should still be a big part of season 2. And presumably the Hitchcock influence will be too. Before the renewal, showrunner Steve Yockey told The New York Times that, “If we did have a second season, it probably would be a whole new adventure, like a new Hitchcock movie for Cassie to stumble into.”

That’s everything we know about The Flight Attendant season 2, heading to HBO Max in spring 2022. We’ll be sure to update you as soon as we learn more.