Comedy-Drama 'Avoidance' Adds Cast for Season 2

A British comedy you might have missed in 2023 is getting a second chance to find its audience with a second season currently underway, featuring two beloved guest stars. Avoidance is a comedy-drama made for BBC One, co-created by Benjamin Green (Romantic Getaway) and Romesh Ranganathan (Staged). Fans of British panel shows will no doubt recognize Ranganathan, who is also a standup comedian, for his guest appearances, as well as his more permanent gig hosting the revival of The Weakest Link in the place of former host Anne Robinson. 

The first season of Avoidance aired in the UK in June 2022 and dropped on BritBox for viewers outside the UK in the summer of 2023. It garnered generally positive reviews, enough to get it greenlit for a second season in May 2023. That second season is finally underway, with filming beginning in November 2023. 

Season 1 centered Ranganathan as Jonathan, a confrontation-avoidant father who runs from his marital issues. As the show’s synopsis goes, when his wife decides to split up with him, Jonathan insists they just wait for the dust to settle, but Claire is adamant that they need to tell their nine-year-old son as soon as possible. In denial, Jonathan runs away with Spencer to stay with his sister Danielle and her wife Courtney to avoid confronting his problems. In Season 2, according to the BBC, “If series one was about a break-up and rebuilding a broken home, series two is about falling in love, messy reconciliation and a baby.” 

The cast of Season 1 was led by Ranganathan, along with Jessica Knappett (Drifters), Kieran Logendra (Changing Ends), Mandeep Dhillon (After Life), Lisa McGrillis (Sex Education) and Bruce Mackinnon (The Larkins). The main cast from Season 1 will carry over to Season 2, along with two exciting new additions. 

First up in an unnamed role is Matthew Lewis, of worldwide Harry Potter fame and more recently appearing in a number of other BritBox favorites. Lewis was last on our screens in All Creatures Great and Small as Hugh Hulton, Helen’s fiancé before marrying James. He also starred as Sean Balmforth in Happy Valley and appeared in Death in Paradise.

Also joining the cast is superstar Irish comedian Aisling Bea, who shares Ranganathan's roots in standup. Bea produced, wrote, and starred in the comedy-drama series This Way Up and is also set to star in the upcoming Masterpiece drama Alice & Jack. Other new cast members include Louise Ford (The Windsors), Olive Tennant (Belfast), Jessica Ransom (Doc Martin), Paula Wilcox (Coronation Street), Philip Jackson (Sherwood), Ed Kear (Here We Go), Colin Hoult (Murder in Successville), Michael Spicer (Bridgerton), and Brona C. Titley (The Outlaws), and newcomer Alex Ranganathan. 

There is no word yet on when Avoidance Season 2 is expected to air in the U.K., but it is expected to stream on BritBox after it airs on the BBC. Season 1 is streaming now on both BritBox and iPlayer.