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Halo TV series cleared for second season at Paramount+
Weeks before the series takes flight, Master Chief already has another season in his sights.
Following in the footsteps of its video game namesake, Halo on the small screen is getting a second act. With more than a month to go before the debut of its hugely anticipated first season, Halo the TV series reportedly has already been renewed for a second season at Paramount+.
The streamer revealed the early renewal during a presentation to investors today, via The Hollywood Reporter, with the additional news that Season 2 will be guided by a new showrunner after current leaders Kyle Killen and Steven Kane depart. David Wiener, an executive producing alum of Fear the Walking Dead and Brave New World, will reportedly step in to replace the duo for Master Chief’s sophomore TV outing.
Giving Halo the Season 2 greenlight before the series makes its long-awaited debut highlights the streamer’s belief in the sci-fi appeal of the iconic Xbox franchise. “This second-season pickup reflects the confidence we have in the power of this epic series to attract and engage viewers,” said David Nivens, Paramount+ chief content officer of scripted originals, via THR’s report. “Halo has been a great collaboration with Amblin and [game developer] 343 Industries, and we are all grateful for the opportunity to continue it.”
Adapting Halo for television has been a long and shifting process, one that Amblin EP Justin Falvey said last month owes to an epic scale that aims to do justice to the game series’ deep mythology. “It takes time to get it right,” he said. “It’s about recognizing realities and getting it right and being patient. But there’s been a constant of the same people in the same positions seeing it through.”
Handing the series off to a new showrunner has also been in the works since Halo, originally set for Showtime, found a permanent streaming home at Paramount+. Two weeks before the platform announced that Season 2 is on the way, Kane said he’d already planned for exactly that scenario. “If the show gets a Season 2, I’ll consult for a new team to come in with fresh eyes and I think that's great for the show,” he explained. “It's a big world and it takes ten times the work and energy for average show.”
Based in the same 26th-Century sci-fi setting as the video games, Halo will follow the raging war between humans and the hostile alien Covenant. With logistical guidance from AI assistant Cortana (voiced by Jen Taylor), Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) and his fellow Spartans will take aim at the enemy like the supersoldiers they were bred to be — even if it means bowing to the will of their makers, led by Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey (Natascha McElhone), the originator of the Spartan-II Project.
“Halo is an expansive, world-building opportunity for Paramount+, and we’re thrilled to give fans a second season to look forward to before we launch the series next month,” Paramount+ chief programming officer Tanya Giles said via THR. “Halo will deliver a thrill ride for fans of the game and non-gamers alike, as it ties together stunning visuals with a deeper look at the personal stories behind these iconic characters, all set within an epic battle for the future of humanity.”
Rounding out the large Halo cast is an ensemble that includes Bokeem Woodbine, Shabana Azmi, Fiona O’Shaughnessy, Natasha Culzac, Burn Gorman, Olive Gray, Yerin Ha, Bentley Kalu, Kate Kennedy, Ryan McParland, Charlie Murphy, and Danny Sapani. Master Chief powers up at last when Halo makes its series debut March 24 on Paramount+.
