This Way Up Season 2 release date, cast, plot, trailer

This Way Up Season 2: a shot of Áine's (Aisling Bea) disembodied head being held up by a hand that is sticking up out of the ground

Can Áine (Aisling Bea) take her life into her own hands in This Way Up Season 2? (Image credit: Channel 4)

This Way Up Season 2 sees the return of Aisling Bea's warm and witty sitcom about a woman recovering from a nervous breakdown. The first season concluded with Áine (played by Aisling) growing closer to Richard (Tobias Menzies), a single father who employs her to teach English to his son Étienne (Dorian Grover), who had only recently arrived in the UK after growing up in France with his mother.

As Áine's life gradually came into focus, her supportive older sister Shona (Catastrophe's Sharon Horgan) found her own life growing more confusing, sharing a kiss with her business partner Charlotte (Indira Varma) shortly after accepting a proposal from boyfriend Vish (Aasif Mandvi).

Will things get any clearer for the two sisters in season two? Here's everything we know so far...

This Way Up Season 2 release date

In the US, This Way Up Season 2 launches on Hulu on 9 July.

In the UK, it launches on Wednesday 14 July at 10pm on C4, and the whole season will be available on streaming service All4 following the transmission of the first episode.

This Way Up Season 2 cast

Áine (Aisling Bea) applying make-up with a compact mirror while talking to her sister Shona (Sharon Horgan), who's just out of shot — Áine (Aisling Bea) is putting a fresh face on life. (Image credit: Channel 4)

The key players are all back including creator Aisling Bea as Áine, and Sharon Horgan (whose production company Merman makes the show) as Shona. Indira Varma (Game of Thrones) returns as Charlotte, Shona's business partner, as does Tobias Menzies (The Crown) as Richard, Áine's employer and love interest, and Dorian Grover (The White Princess) as his son Étienne.

Kadiff Kirwan (The Stranger) is back as Bradley, Áine's flatmate, and Aasif Mandvi (Evil) reprises his role as Vish, Shona's fiancé.

This Way Up Season 2 plot

Áine is attempting to live her life less cautiously, which leaves Shona feeling concerned that her sister might be trying to do too much — particularly when a new business opportunity comes Áine's way. On top of that, Áine's keen to take her relationship with Richard to the next level — but is it wise to get emotionally involved with someone who is also your employer?

Áine (Aisling Bea) and Shona (Sharon Horgan) sit in a hot sauna in their bathing costumes, flushed and clearly finding the heat extremely hard to handle — The sisterly bond between Áine (Aisling Bea) and Shona (Sharon Horgan) is as strong as ever (Image credit: Channel 4)

Meanwhile, Shona has moved in with Vish, but things have grown uncomfortable between her and Charlotte at work. Will the revelation that Charlotte has started dating someone force Shona to confront her true feelings?

This Way Up Season 2 trailer

Hulu has released a tantalizing trailer, and you can check it out below. (Warning: contains some strong language and sexual content.)

Steven Perkins is a Staff Writer for TV & Satellite Week, TV Times, What's On TV and whattowatch.com, who has been writing about TV professionally since 2008. He was previously the TV Editor for Inside Soap before taking up his current role in 2020. He loves everything from gritty dramas to docusoaps about airports and thinks about the Eurovision Song Contest all year round.