The Assassin Season 2: Release Guide, Returning Cast, and the Season 1 Ending Decoded

Short version: The Assassin blew up on Prime Video UK, and now the people who make it are gearing up for a second season. Amazon, of course, is pretending it has nothing to announce. Classic.

So, is Season 2 actually happening?

Deadline reports that Two Brothers Pictures, the All3Media-backed company behind the show, is actively planning The Assassin Season 2. There is no official renewal yet, and Amazon declined to provide any update. Translation: there is no signed deal, but development is moving forward behind the scenes.

Why Amazon would be silly to say no

Season 1, which dropped in July, became Prime Video UK’s highest-rated original drama of the year based on official seven-day BARB figures. It stars Keeley Hawes as a retired professional killer named Julie and Freddie Highmore as her estranged son, Edward. It is very much their show, and the audience numbers back that up.

What Season 1 set up

The finale jumps three months ahead and finds Julie, Edward, and Kayla on a boat together, hunting for their surrogate mother. That is not exactly a low-drama mission, so expect complications if Season 2 moves forward. The ending tees up a few threads the show can pull:

• They are clearly heading into trouble, possibly bumping into criminal ties from Julie’s past.
• Julie herself feels primed for a darker stretch, with her history catching up at the worst possible time.
• The sibling dynamic looks ready to shift, especially with Kayla in the mix.
• There is messy fallout brewing between Kayla and Ezra. If Ezra really killed Aaron, Kayla finding that out would be nuclear, both personally and for the business. And remember: Kayla was shown making multiple copies of that letter, which could come back to bite someone.

Who might be back

No cast confirmations yet. It is a safe bet the show would bring back the leads: Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore. The source also points to Shalom Brune-Franklin and Devon Terrell as likely returnees if the new season goes ahead.

How big was it on Prime Video UK?

Per Deadline’s rundown of seven-day BARB numbers for Prime Video UK original dramas, The Assassin led the pack with its highest-rated episode hitting 1.6 million viewers. The rest of the top five this year:

• The Assassin - 1.6M
• The Girlfriend - 973,435
• The Rig (Season 2) - 739,612
• Harlan Coben's Lazarus - 715,000
• Fear - 548,175

Outside the scripted-drama lane, Clarkson's Farm Season 4 pulled around 5 million views in May, and LOL: Last One Laughing UK hit about 3.3 million in April. Big months for Amazon UK overall.

Bottom line

The Assassin is exactly the kind of breakout that gets a second season. Two Brothers Pictures is lining it up, Amazon is keeping quiet, and the Season 1 finale already laid the tracks for a rough, interesting road trip. I would be surprised if this does not get over the line.

The Assassin is streaming on Prime Video.