'World on Fire' Will Finally Return for Season 2 This Fall

In the world of British television, there are a plethora of stories about World War II and its aftermath. This is understandable given how the conflict forever altered life for residents of the U.K.; the traumatic experiences involved everyone who lived through the Blitz and the immeasurable loss of life that followed. But what makes the sprawling drama World on Fire so intriguing is its determination not to tell the same WWII story we've all seen before. Instead, the drama focuses on precisely the sorts of central figures (women, LGBTQ characters, and people of color) who rarely get to star in war epics.

A surprise pandemic hit for PBS, the drama aimed to tell the story of the war through the eyes of the everyday people taking part in it, across multiple countries and from numerous (often marginalized) perspectives. And now, over three years after it first aired, we'll finally get to see the show's second season, which is slated to debut in October. However, it seems that Season 2 will (understandably) look slightly different than the show we remember.

It appears that several key cast members, including Arthur Darvill (Broadchurch), Helen Hunt (Blindspotting), and Sean Bean (Time), won't be returning for the series' second season. There's no hint yet of how the show will handle the departures of their characters, who were all involved in major ongoing storylines opposite several of the show's major players. (I know I can't be the only person who was really invested in the potential of that slow-burn Robina and Douglas romance. SIGH.)