'Funny Woman' Season 2 Takes Sophie to France

PBS' newest addition to the period drama lineup, Funny Woman (based on the novel Funny Girl by Nick Hornby, with the title altered for obvious reasons), was commissioned for a Season 2 by producer Sky around the same time it landed an American distributor. As luck would have it, the six-episode first season premiered in the U.S. just before filming for the next round of episodes began, a silent promise to U.S. fans that the wait between seasons wouldn't be that long. (Assuming that Season 2 comes to PBS, which is not yet officially confirmed.) However, if PBS is picking it up, that confirmation will come soon, as Season 2 is gearing up to air on the U.K. side of the pond in September 2024, and the first images take Gemma Arterton's character Barbara Parker/Sophie Straw to France.

For those who don't remember Season 1, Arterton stars in the series as Blackpool Beauty Queen Barbara Parker. She decides that living in a small northern town is for the birds and heads south to London to break into television. She lands a sleazy agent, Brian (Rupert Everett), who decides "Barbara Parker" is not a glamorous enough name, rechristens her Sophie Straw, and pretends he's going to get her a career.

Barbara goes around him double quickly and gets herself cast in a new series co-starring the handsome Clive Richardson (Tom Bateman). She and Clive wind up having an affair until she discovers he's cheating on her. After she dumps him live on TV, her career looks like it's about to go up in flames, but the writers decide to reconfigure the series so she becomes the sole star, which becomes a massive hit.