Funny Woman season 2 will catch up with lovable Barbara Parker, played again by Gemma Arterton. Barbara is a working-class woman from Blackpool who in Funny Woman series one managed to make her name in a major TV sitcom in the Swinging Sixties, despite being a woman in a hugely male-dominated world.
As we rejoin Barbara, who uses the stage name Sophie Straw, she’s finding that fame isn’t all it's cracked up to be and she desperately wants to make her own voice heard. But it’s not easy as a woman in the 1970s, particularly a beautiful one when the world sees you as little more than a comic muse.
Here’s everything you need to know about season two of the Sky Max comedy Funny Woman….
Funny Woman season 2 release date
Funny Woman season 2 will air in the UK on Sky Max and NOW in 2024. As soon as a release date is announced in the UK and US we’ll update this page, so keep an eye on it.
Viewers can catch up on Funny Woman season 1 on NOW, Sky Max and Sky Box Sets, ahead of the new series. NBCUniversal Global Distribution handle international sales of the series on behalf of Sky Studios.
Funny Woman season 2 plot
Funny Woman season 2 sees Barbara Parker frustrated as she's fed up with being the comic muse in old school comedy shows. She tries branching out into art house cinema in the hope it will be more progressive but finds that is not the case either. Undeterred and as determined as ever, Sophie decides to create her own comedy show where she can tell her own stories and get her authentic voice heard.
She is the nation’s favourite TV comedy star — she’s got a group of good friends and her romance with Dennis is full of promise. But trouble is just round the corner: Dennis's divorce will take three years; Sophie’s new sitcom flops and she uncovers a devastating family secret. Sophie escapes the turmoil by taking a leading role in a film opposite a glamorous French movie heart-throb. The film is a hit and Sophie’s slick new US agent offers her a fresh start in Hollywood…
But Sophie returns to London, determined to get the gang back together and to create a new show which reflects her real life, challenges outdated cultural conventions and proves that she and her mates are Funny Women!
Funny Woman — season 1 recap (with spoilers)
Based on Nick Hornby’s bestselling book Funny Girl, series one of Funny Woman saw brash, brainy and beautiful Barbara leave Blackpool and move to London to make it as an actress. However, the 1960s were not the place for a woman to be taken seriously and she faced misogyny (and often worse) at every turn. But with her natural humour and lovable nature, Barbara soon forced her way into a mainstream TV sitcom and her alter-ego Sophie Straw was born. Barbara fell for her egotistic co-star Clive Richardson (Tom Bateman) but left him when he cheated on her. Eventually she realised she was meant to be with her kindly producer Dennis Mahindra (Arsher Ali).
Funny Woman season 2 — returning cast
Gemma Arterton, who plays lead character Barbara Parker again, shot to fame as Strawberry Fields in the Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. She’s also been in The Boat That Rocked, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Their Finest, Black Narcissus and The King’s Man.
Arsher Ali is back as producer Dennis while Alistair Petrie returns as Ted Sargeant, plus David Threlfall and Rosie Cavaliero played Barbara’s father and aunt, George Parker and Marie Parker. Alexa Davies is back as Marjorie Harrison as are Matthew Beard Bill Gardiner, Leo Bill as Tony and Clare-Hope Ashitey as Diane.
Funny Woman season 2 — new cast joining this second series
Funny Woman season 2 includes plenty of new cast joining the series including Steve Zissis (The Changeling, Togetherness), Marcus Rutherford (The Wheel of Time, Obey), Tim Key (The Witchfinder, This Time with Alan Partridge), Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones, Cristóbal Balenciaga, The Tower) and Roisin Conaty (GameFace, Man Down).
Is there a trailer for Funny Woman season 2?
No, not at the moment, but if Sky releases one, we’ll post it on here so you can see Barbara back in action.
Behind the scenes and more on Funny Woman season 2
Funny Woman series 2 is produced by Potboiler and Rebel Park Productions, in association with Sky Studios. Creative director of Comedy Anil Gupta is Executive Producer for Sky Studios. The new series is executive produced by Nick Hornby, Morwenna Banks, Gemma Arterton, Andrea Calderwood, Gail Egan, Jessica Parker and Jessica Malik. Ross Williams is series producer. The series is written by multi-award-winning writer Morwenna Banks (Slow Horses), BAFTA and Emmy winning writers Kevin Cecil (Veep) and Andy Riley (Veep). BAFTA nominee Oliver Parker (The Great Escaper) directs.
Funny Woman season 2 writer, Executive Producer, Morwenna Banks says: “It’s a thrill to dive back into the world of 1960’s London - with the extraordinary cast and crew of Funny Woman series 2. Thanks to the genius of Gemma Arterton as Nick Hornby's heroine Sophie Straw - a whole host of new guest stars have joined us. We welcome stellar performances from Steve Zissis, Marcus Rutherford, Tim Key, Gemma Whelan, Roisin Conaty and many more …Tune in Turn On and don’t Drop Out.”
