"House of the Dragon" and more: What’s next for the most popular series hits?

Many popular series will return with new episodes in the future. Everything known so far about the continuation of popular series.

Fans are looking forward to the sequels to their beloved series. But when will the new seasons of “Wednesday”, “House of the Dragon”, “Bridgerton” or “Stranger Things” be released? The overview.

“The Last of Us”

The video game adaptation “The Last of Us” thrilled audiences and critics alike at the beginning of 2023. The apocalyptic series with the stars Pedro Pascal (playing Joel, 48) and Bella Ramsey (Ellie, 20) in the main roles was extended by the US cable channel HBO for a second season less than two weeks after the premiere episode was broadcast.

However, due to the double strike by the screenwriters and actors in Hollywood, the sequel could not yet start production. After the strike ended, however, it is now clear that filming will begin at the beginning of 2024. However, the new episodes from season two will probably not be expected until 2025. The elaborately produced first season required 200 days of filming. If you add the time spent on post-production, a start in 2024 seems out of the question. This means a long wait for fans.

Season two of “The Last of Us” adapts the wildly popular 2020 video game sequel “The Last of Us Part II.” Therefore, the new episodes of the HBO series – analogous to the games template – will probably begin with a jump in time of a few years. The series creators Craig Mazin (“Chernobyl”, 52) and Neil Druckmann (45), developer of the original games, have already announced that the events of the second computer game will probably be told in several series seasons.

“House of the Dragon”

The highly anticipated second season of “House of the Dragon” is said to be… of the first teaser trailer In the summer of 2024 on HBO and its streaming service Max will most likely appear simultaneously in Germany on Sky and Wow. Filming for the sequel was able to continue during the strike in Hollywood, so season two is already in the can.

After the shocking death in the final moments of the premiere season, the Targaryen civil war for control of Westeros, known as the “Dance of the Dragons,” will really get going in the new episodes. Actresses and actors of still-living characters such as Matt Smith (41), Emma D’Arcy (31), Rhys Ifans (56) and Olivia Cooke (29) all return. New members include Gayle Rankin (“GLOW”, 34), Simon Russell Beale (“The Death of Stalin”, 62) and Tom Taylor (“The Dark Tower”, 22).

“The White Lotus”

HBO’s third successful series “The White Lotus”, in contrast to the ones just mentioned, is still flying a little under the radar in Germany – which is a little surprising given the ten Emmy Awards for season one and 24 nominations for the second edition.

In season three, which will not appear on HBO until 2025, series creator Mike White (53) is once again turning to a new setting. At a White Lotus resort in Thailand it should be in the sequel “a satirical and funny look at death and eastern religion and spirituality” – as usual with a new acting ensemble. Only Natasha Rothwell (43), known from season one, is expected to return as Belinda.

“Wednesday”

There are still a few question marks surrounding the second season of “Wednesday”. That the currently the most successful English-language series in Netflix history to date will be continued has been clear since the beginning of the year. But the actors and screenwriters’ strike in Hollywood slowed production down considerably. Now, according to US industry magazines, the cameras for season two should roll again at the end of April 2024. However, the main character, so brilliantly embodied by Jenna Ortega (21), is unlikely to return before 2025.

Ortega herself has promised more horror elements for season two, and in the same breath mentioned that her character Wednesday will remain single in the new episodes. Especially the latter the 21-year-old thinks it’s “really great”. Furthermore, there is currently no news about the plot or cast.

According to US media reports, a spin-off based on Uncle Fester, played by comedian Fred Armisen (57), is currently in development at Netflix. However, the series spin-off has not yet been officially confirmed by the streaming service.

“And Just Like That…”

All fans of Carrie, Miranda and Co. also have to be strong: The third season of the “Sex and the City” revival “And Just Like That…”, which has been confirmed since August 2023, will not appear on HBO until 2025. Between seasons one and two there was a seemingly endless waiting time of 16 months for viewers.

The often mentioned double strike by actors and screenwriters in the second half of 2023 did the rest to slow down a quicker start to filming for season three. In the continuation of the popular series, the audience will find out, among other things, whether the main character played by Sarah Jessica Parker (58) will actually wait years for John Corbett’s (62) Aidan.

“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”

In contrast to many other series that were affected by the double strike in Hollywood this year, there is good news for all Tolkien fans: Amazon’s prestigious project “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” began filming the second one in June 2023 Season to be completed. The new episodes are therefore expected to start in the course of 2024. Amazon has not yet given an official date or publication period.

Not much is known about the plot at the moment. However, the big villain Sauron will be more central to the series plot after his true identity is revealed. Middle-earth fans can also look forward to a big battle that will last two whole episodes. There are some new cast members such as Ciarán Hinds (70), known from “Game of Thrones”. already officially confirmed by Amazon.

“Stranger Things”

The extremely popular Netflix series “Stranger Things” will also return with a new season. But the fifth and final edition of the mystery show will not appear on the streaming service until the end of 2024 at the earliest. The double strike in Hollywood also prevented the filming of the “Stranger Things” sequel in 2023. However, the cameras for season five should finally start rolling at the beginning of January 2024.

Otherwise, there isn’t too much reliable information about the end of the great retro series. The series finale should be highly emotional and dramatic. “Terminator” icon Linda Hamilton (67) also joins the cast. It is currently unknown which role Sarah Connor’s first actress will take on.

“Bridgerton”

The popular Netflix series “Bridgerton” continued this year with the spin-off “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story,” which told a story about the title character. However, fans should not forget that a third and fourth season of the historical series that is so popular with fans has already been decided.

Filming for the third edition was completed in March 2023. Netflix announced at the beginning of December, that the new episodes will appear in two parts. Part one, consisting of four episodes, will appear on the streaming service on May 16, 2024. Part two, which in turn consists of four episodes, concludes the third season on June 13th.

As is usual with the romantic historical series, fans have to prepare for some changes in the cast: Season one lead actress Phoebe Dynevor (28) has stated that she will no longer appear in the third season – after her series husband Regé -Jean Page (35) had already left after the premiere season.

The main actors from the second season will return: In the coming episodes, viewers will also experience the everyday life of the marital life of the characters Anthony and Kate Bridgerton, played by Jonathan Bailey (35) and Simone Ashley (28). The focus of season three, however, is a new love story: This time Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton, 30) is looking for a wife befitting his status.

“Squid Game”

“Squid Game”, the most successful non-English-language series production in Netflix history to date, also continued in 2023 – albeit as a reality series. A second season of “Squid Game: The Challenge” is coming, but what about the original?

In June 2022, Netflix officially ordered a sequel to the dark series success by series creator, author and director Hwang Dong-hyuk (52). Filming for the second season began in summer 2023 and is expected to last ten months. There is no official start date for season two yet, but it could be around the end of 2024.

Returning from season one will be lead actor Lee Jung-Jae (51), who won an Emmy for “Best Actor in a Drama Series” for his performance in the Netflix series. Also Wi Ha-joon (32), who played a police officer who infiltrated the game in search of his brother, Lee Byung-hun (53), who played the “front man”, and Gong Yoo (44), his The figure who recruited players for the “Squid Game” will again be there. There is currently no reliable information about the plot of the new episodes.

“The Boys”

The highly anticipated fourth season of “The Boys” has been filming since April 2023 and will definitely appear on Prime Video during 2024. However, the mega-corporation’s streaming service has not yet announced an exact start date. News in this regard can be expected soon.

The illustrious cast of the superhero satire is growing again for the fourth season. For example, “The Walking Dead” star Jeffrey Dean Morgan (57), which can be seen for the first time in the teaser trailer for the new episodes, take on an as yet unknown role. Actress Rosemarie DeWitt (52), known from numerous Indy film productions in the past, also joins the cast. She plays the mother of the main character Hughie.

In the new episodes, villainous Congresswoman Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit, 31) is on the verge of becoming the US Vice President, while Homelander (Antony Starr, 48) continues to consolidate his power inside and outside the Vought corporation. Meanwhile, Boys leader Billy Butcher (Karl Urban, 51) only has a few months left to live while his team desperately looks for ways to save the entire world from the murderous “Supes”.

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