Overview
After nearly a decade of Westerosi power struggles, obsessed fans and soaring ratings, HBO found itself with a Game of Thrones-sized gap to fill last year. The network isn't completely saying goodbye to the world created by George RR Martin, with at least one spinoff in the works — but it's also eager for something else to help pick up where GoT left off, fantasy-wise.
First debuting late in 2019, and due to return for a second season in November, His Dark Materials is one of the US network's prime candidates. It's based on Philip Pullman's award-winning young adult trilogy of books of the same name: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. And if it sounds familiar — and not just because you watched the initial batch of episodes — that's because one of the tomes, The Golden Compass, was already turned into a movie back in 2007.
HBO is keeping things simple with its adaptation by sticking with the franchise name, other than individual book monikers — hence the His Dark Materials title. It has also bet big on star power, with the series boasting a hefty cast. James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda, Da 5 Bloods' Clarke Peters and Logan's Dafne Keen all feature, while Fleabag's Andrew Scott and Phoebe Waller-Bridge will also pop up in the second season. Yes, it'll be a reunion for the two series newcomers, although you'll be seeing Scott on-screen as Colonel John Parry and hearing Waller-Bridge's voice as Parry's daemon.
What's a daemon? It's one of the key parts of His Dark Materials. Here, Keen plays an orphan by the name of Lyra Belacqua — who seems just like everyone else, but hails from an alternate universe where a person's soul manifests as a shape-shifting animal called a daemon. In the show's first season, as Lyra looks for a kidnapped friend in the Arctic, she discovers a church-run stolen children ring, learns about mysterious particles known as Dust and ventures through different worlds, including the one we all know. McAvoy pops up as a powerful aristocrat, Wilson is his ex, and Miranda plays a balloonist and adventurer.
If you're eager for the next season, HBO dropped its first sneak peek a few months back, releasing a trailer as part of this year's Comic-Con at Home — and it has just revealed a new trailer as well. As for when you'll be watching it, it returns to screens on Tuesday, November 17, Australian and New Zealand time. In Australia, it airs on Foxtel.
Check out the latest trailer below:
His Dark Materials' second season will start airing from Tuesday, November 17 on Foxtel in Australia, and will also be available to view on-demand.
Images: HBO.