The 'Boarders' Return for Season 2 Gives Them New Competition

Streaming services in the U.K. are generally relatively easy to identify with their on-air counterparts; BBC iPlayer is, obviously, the BBC, ITVX is ITV, More4 is Channel 4, My5 is Channel 5, etc. In comparison, most American streaming services downright obfuscate what network they're associated with (Disney+ excepted); you must know a bit about American TV history to understand why NBC = Peacock or how dumb it was to remove the "HBO" from Max. However, the FAST channels (Free Ad-Supported TV) are the hardest to identify with a network, even for the most popular one: Tubi.

Tubi would probably prefer it if you didn't know it was a Fox-owned service, considering the political climate and owner Rupert Murdoch's right-wing stances. However, like the original TV network, the content is not chosen for its opinions but for serving an audience, especially a younger, hipper one. This is how The Simpsons became the series that put Fox on the map, and its early years defined by shows for working and middle-class Black viewers like In Living Color and Teen soaps like 90210. That original model was so successful that, within five years of its launch, Fox had changed the TV landscape from the "Big Three" to the "Big Four." 

Unsurprisingly, Tubi is currently experiencing similar success in aiming for those same viewers; the free service has more subscribers than most "popular" subscription services due to shows like Big Mood and Boarders, which now returns for Season 2. It's a perfectly timed rollout to maximize mainstream awareness, not just because the show debuts in the U.K. in February. Fox has the Super Bowl for 2025, and with no pay service, it will stream the game on Tubi for free, guaranteeing a massive audience for all the upcoming shows it will advertise during the game.

Here's the series' synopsis. 

Boarders follows five talented black inner-city teens transported to an alien world – a British boarding school – after gaining scholarships to the prestigious St. Gilbert’s. They set out to make the most out of the opportunity despite their places only being offered as a poorly disguised PR exercise to improve the school's reputation.

Season 2 sees a new era for St Gilbert’s, with headmaster Bernard - who had brought the scholarship students into the school - suspended following a school rebellion. Now acting headmistress Carol Watlington-Geese (who also happens to be the mother of Jaheim’s nemesis, Rupert) is at the helm - and she wants them gone.

Season 1 saw these five outsiders begin to thrive. Season 2 asks how much they’re willing to sacrifice just to survive.

Tedeku, Campbell, Diaby, Kamwendo, and Jalloh as Femi will return for Season 2. They'll be joined once again by Rosie Graham (Sanditon) as Florence, Harry Gilby (Tolkien) as Rupert, Niyi Akin (The Diplomat) as Koku, Llewella Gideon (Rye Lane) as Sylvie, Assa Kanouté (Deep Cover) as Abby, Maxim Ays (The Larkins) as Felix, Georgina Sadler (The A-List) as Mabel, Niky Wardley (Queen of Oz) as Carol, Tallulah Greive (Cinderella) as Beatrix, and Zheng Xi Yong (Barbie) as Xiang. 

Other returnees for Season 2 include Yuriri Naka (Curfew) as Ms Kaneko, William Andrews (Sweetpea) as Mackers, Dillon Mitra (Indian Summers) as Dilton, Archie Fisher (Death By Lighting) as Cheddar,  Ruxandra Porojnicu (Glow Up) as Yelena, Mohammed Mansaray (The Cut) as Malachi, Al Foran (Deep Fake Neighbour Wars) as Stanley, plus no-longer-newcomers Andrew Harmon-Gray as Graham and Kye Malcolm as Caleb.

Season 2 also introduced Wunmi Mosaku (Passenger) as Jaheim’s mum, Grace; Michael Salami (Supacell) as Femi’s Uncle Teju; Cara Theobold (Downtown Abbey) as St Gilbert’s new writer-in-residence, Jude; Alan Cumming (The Traitors) as party host Alan; Natalie Cassidy (Motherland) as rival school teacher, Sharon Hall; and Kendra Brown in her debut on-screen role as an American exchange student Devon’ye.

Taylor is the lead writer on Season 2, with Yemi Oyefuwa, Jeffrey Aidoo, and Racheal Ofori writing additional episodes. Joelle Mae David and Sarmad Masud directed it. Ali MacPhail returned as Producer, Carleen Beadle-Larcombe as Line Producer, and Mykaell Riley as Musical Director. Taylor is also an executive producer alongside Madeleine Sinclair for Studio Lambert and Nawfal Faizullah and Katherine Bond for the BBC.

Boarders Season 2 will premiere on Monday, February 3, 2025, on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer, followed by a premiere on Tubi later in the spring of 2025.