Anya Taylor-Joy captivated us with her performance As Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit, for which she just won a Golden Globe. She also wowed us at the ceremony in her emerald green custom Dior and long flowy hair. Many fans of the series were sad to find that we wouldn’t be getting any more seasons of the show. I for one was mad as hell when episode six was over and I realized there were no more episodes and no prospects for another season. I’m not alone in wanting a season two. Kevin Frazier of ET Online asked Anya if she would be willing to do a season two. Anya said that the entire cast and team were surprised when fans were calling for another season. She said she would jump at the chance to play Beth Harmon again and work with the crew. Below are a few excerpts:
“Maybe,” she said. “Not to disappoint anybody, but we just never thought about it. It was always a sapling to tree transition. You see her grow, you leave her in a good place. So we were genuinely surprised when people were like, ‘Where’s season 2?'”
“That being said, I adore the entire team that made it and I would jump at the chance to work with them again,” she added.
“One of my favorite things about her was because she was raised in this interesting way, she never really saw her gender as something that told her what she could or couldn’t want. And I really enjoyed playing that, especially in the context of the ’60s,” Taylor-Joy said of her character. “So I think more than playing a strong woman, I feel very honored to have played such an interesting, complex person. And I’m very proud of that.”
“I’m just so grateful that people connected to this story and connected with that as much as they did because she means so much to me,” she added. “Whenever you do a project, it kind of feels like you’re throwing your baby out of a window and when people catch it, that’s just the best feeling in the world.”
I am an Anya Taylor-Joy stan. The woman is a shapeshifter in the way she embodies characters. What is crazy is that I forget that I have watched her in a movie until I see her again in another. She morphs into each character. I loved her in Glass and Split and she was one of my favorite parts of The Queen’s Gambit. Besides serving us sofa looks (because we are in a panoramic), I hope she continues to choose these amazing characters that I can get lost in. I would be absolutely here for a season two. I would love to see where her character Beth Hamon and her best friend Jolene’s lives go. Will Beth be an washed out chess player and alcoholic and will Jolene marry a rich white man or will she become an activist or politician? The storylines could be endless. I hope Anya continues to slay us and I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a season two of The Queen’s Gambit that is just as good as the first if not better.
photos via Instagram and credit: Phil Bray/Netflix
I get why people want to see more, but I also get that sometimes it’s best to leave something alone. Beth’s journey was pretty epic and I liked how it ended on an ambiguous but hopeful note. Maybe that really is enough.
this x1000
Agree. It was a complete story well told.
I agree, I knew it was a limited series and thought it was well crafted. Sometimes continuing things that were meant to end goes poorly.
On the other hand, I would totally welcome a spin off about Jolene.
Totally agree.
With you, Esmom. I loved it so much, I love her so much, but QG was perfect and I feel we should leave the diamond be, as is.
I am a fan of leaving good things alone and The Queen’s Gambit was a good thing that should be left alone where it ended. Just like Big Little Lies should’ve been left alone at one season. Not every show needs 8 seasons and a movie. People are so used to not using their imagination or being left at the end of something and being satisfied. Leave things alone!
I agree. I hate when they take a limited series like this that is so good and then screw it up with a second season.
She’s in the most recent season of Peaky Blinders, which, if people haven’t watched, they should. With Cillian Murphy. Helen McCrory. Sam Neill, Tom Hardy, Adrian Brody, Sam Claflin
Peaky Blinders is sooo good, I highly recommend it too!
Peaky Blinders!
I would love that but I just don’t see how it would work.
I wish more people were talking about the actress that played young Beth. She was also phenomenal!
yes was just thinking of her ! i’m sure we’ll see more of her in the future regardless of the lack of recognition this go ‘round.
I adore Anya. She’s a brilliant actress and picks SUCH great projects. Adding to the list in the article, I loved her in Emma and The Witch.
That said, the appeal of limited series for me is that they’re limited. I don’t watch many regular shows because I don’t like the long-term commitment of them or watching them deteriorate in quality over time. I love being able to spend a few hours on a show and seeing the full story from beginning to end told well.
Exactly Case. Often, a series runs so long that everything good about it gets watered down. It is great to see something compact where everything is brilliant from start to finish. What might be nice is for this team to get back together on another project. The Queen’s Gambit was a great story with great characters, but I think a lot of the fans responded to the costumes, sets, music and acting as much as they did the story. The team could create another world as real as that, without ruining this particular world.
Walter Tevis died shortly after the novel was completed in the 80s, and I can’t see his children allowing a continuation without a hefty payday.
She’s also really good in Emma and as someone else mentioned, Peaky Blinders.
Have you seen Thoroughbreds?
Better to do one excellent season than to do to make a second one of (9 times out of 10) lower quality under pressure. I understand wanting stories to go on forever but sometimes they need to be left alone.
Maybe an unpopular opinion here but some things we just need to be happy with as-is and not demand more from that creative team. This project was so good BECAUSE it was built as a limited series and the story was finite. There is no way in hell a 2nd season would come anywhere close to the first
She was so good in QG. I honestly didn’t think I’d enjoy it, but damn it was superb. And self-contained.
I know this is an unpopular opinion-because everyone I know loved it-but I could not get into this show at all. I tried it twice. Second time I made it through episode 3 and then thought “nah.” I just found it so dark, depressing and just joyless. I have watched lots of other shows that have sad or dark themes and really liked them, so not sure why I didn’t connect with this at all.
I thought it was alright but not fantastic. Maybe it was hyped up too much. Maybe it was the whole “male gaze” aspect of her character (her “rock bottom” was a joke). She was very much eye candy rather than a character written with depth. I also disliked how the Jolene character was written. The sassy, streetsmart Black sidekick? Give me a break with that racist trope.
Yes-agreed on Jolene too. Ugh.
I agree, I think let Beth Harmon be and let Anya TJ tackle a new and complex and equally amazing character. I think she’s an incredible actress and such an unusual beauty!