Will House of Guinness Return for Season 2? Release Timeline, Renewal Odds, and What to Expect

Netflix dropped all eight episodes of Steven Knight's Dublin-set drama House of Guinness, and it ends on a big, messy cliffhanger. If you blew through it in a weekend and immediately thought: so... season 2 when? Same.

Full spoilers for season 1 follow.

So, is House of Guinness coming back?

Knight clearly wants to keep going. The show wraps season 1 with a who-got-shot standoff, and he has talked about taking the Guinness saga much further if Netflix gives the nod. Officially, though, there is no renewal yet. As usual with Netflix, it likely comes down to how many people hit play in these first weeks.

"You always have an ambition to take it all the way."

He has also said that, in a perfect world, he would run the story into the 20th century. Then he immediately caveats that nothing is decided and he is not allowed to say anything definitive yet. Translation: he has plans, he just needs the green light.

When could season 2 arrive?

Season 1 was announced in March 2024, filmed over the summer, and landed on Netflix a little over a year later. If Netflix renews quickly and the team follows a similar sprint, late 2026 feels like a realistic target. That is speculation, not a promise.

About that finale: who got shot?

The last scene is a classic cut-to-black. Seamus O'Hara's Patrick fires a shot aimed at Anthony Boyle's Arthur. We do not see the bullet land, so the show leaves several characters in limbo and a lot of leverage on the table for season 2.

The cast is leaning into the mystery. Louis Partridge basically said he just wants to know who took the hit. Boyle joked that he knows the answer because Knight told him, then pretended he was about to spill it. He did not, obviously.

Where the characters could go next

James Norton's Rafferty and Danielle Galligan's Olivia end the season declaring that they will find a way to be together, even as the Guinness brothers consolidate power and Arthur warns them that choosing love means losing everything. Rafferty essentially says he is done with the family and that they will be together one day. Olivia, meanwhile, is caught between ambition and security versus blowing it all up for love. The show deliberately leaves her choice unresolved. Classic slow-burn melodrama, and it works.

Who would be back?

If season 2 happens, expect the core ensemble to return: Anthony Boyle as Arthur, Louis Partridge as Edward, Emily Fairn as Anne, Fionn O'Shea as Benjamin, and James Norton as Rafferty. The only immediate question mark is tied to that final gunshot. Until we see the aftermath, anyone in that room is theoretically at risk, but the show is clearly built around the siblings, so do the math.

• Anthony Boyle as Arthur Guinness
• Louis Partridge as Edward Guinness
• Emily Fairn as Anne Plunket
• Fionn O'Shea as Benjamin Guinness
• James Norton as Sean Rafferty
• Niamh McCormack as Ellen Cochrane
• Danielle Galligan as Lady Olivia Hedges
• Jack Gleeson as Byron Hedges
• Dervla Kirwan as Aunt Agnes Guinness
• Ann Skelly as Adelaide Guinness
• Seamus O'Hara as Patrick Cochrane
• Michael McElhatton as John Potter
• Jessica Reynolds as Lady Christine O'Madden
• Elizabeth Dulau as Lady Henrietta St Lawrence
• Michael Colgan as Reverend Henry Gratton
• David Wilmot as Bonnie Champion
• Hilda Fay as Sultan

Trailer status

No renewal means no footage. If season 2 gets a pickup, we will be waiting a good while for a trailer. In the meantime, the season 1 trailer still plays great if you want to relive the setup knowing where all the bodies are buried.

The bottom line

House of Guinness is streaming now on Netflix. Knight has more story in the tank, the cast wants back in, and the finale all but begs for a follow-up. Now it is on Netflix to crunch the numbers and either pull the trigger or leave us all hanging. I will update when the streamer stops being coy.