HBO and the BBC have just released a new teaser trailer for Gentleman Jack, the period drama based on the real-life story of late-Regency era English heiress Anne Lister, giving us a glimpse into the series' upcoming second season. The second season will debut this April.
The core of Gentleman Jack follows the relationship between Lister and the heiress Ann Walker. The series is based on their real-life romance, based on documents recovered from Lister's diary. However, the series takes its own, modern attitude towards its subject, often inserting sharp and self-referential humor into the narrative. The second season will find Walker and Lister married as wife and wife. After combining their lives into one, they begin to pursue the combination of their estates in the hopes of becoming a power couple.
However, Anne Lister's naked ambition rubs locals the wrong way, along with her unconventional love life, leading to lots of drama and a few brisk talks on the injustices of gender roles, especially as they prevent women from exhibiting the same ambition as men. The new trailer dives straight into this drama, showing just how ruffled the feathers are of locals who have brushed up against Anne Lister. And she will find herself in conflict with those around her, possibly endangering herself and the authentic, if tenuous life she has built for herself.
The series will continue to feature Anne Lister's real-life diaries, which were often written in code. The story remains faithful to the over five million words worth of documents that Lister left behind. Her verbosity also lends to her legacy as "the first modern lesbian," a term that reflects her legacy as a woman who refused to erase who she was at her core.
The series stars Suranne Jones as Anne Lister and Sophie Rundle as Ann Walker. Game of Thrones' Gemma Whelan also stars as Marian Lister. Also included in the cast are Gemma Jones as Aunt Anne Lister and Timothy West as Jeremy Lister.
The series is created by Sally Wainwright, who also executive produces alongside series star Suranne Jones, Faith Penhale, Will Johnston, and Ben Irving. Phil Collinson and Stella Merz serve as producers on the series. Edward Hall, Amanda Brotchie, and Fergus O’Brien direct.
The second season is set to premiere on HBO this April, though no exact release date has been announced. Until then, however, you can stream the first season on HBO Max and check out the new trailer below: