Disney+ Original “The Artful Dodger” Returning For A Second Season
During today’s APAC (Asia & Pacific) Showcase event in Singapore, Disney announced that it has commissioned a second season of “The Artful Dodger.” Filming on the eight-episode series will begin in 2025 at Callan Park in Sydney, Australia.
“The Artful Dodger” explores the adult double life of Charles Dickens’ famous prince of thieves, Jack Dawkins, aka The Artful Dodger, whose fast pickpocketing fingers have turned into the skilled hands of a surgeon.
Set in 1850s Australia, in the lively colony of Port Victory, Dodger’s past returns to haunt him with the arrival of Fagin, luring him back into a world of crime. A greater threat – to Dodger’s heart – is Lady Belle, the Governor’s daughter, determined to become the colony’s first female surgeon.
From heists to life-and-death surgeries to the harsh realities of the criminal world mingling with the middle ground and gentry, this is a tale of reinvention, betrayal, redemption, and love with a twist.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster, David Thewlis, and Maia Mitchell will return as the Artful Dodger, Fagin, and Lady Belle Fox. They will be joined by an ensemble of Australian and New Zealand actors. Plus, there will also be “several new faces in exciting cameos.”
The second season will pick up from the events of the first season, where the “heart’s desires of Dodger, Fagin and Lady Belle left off, promising more cunning thievery, snappy humour, life-and-death surgeries, and romance with a twist.”
The first season was released on Hulu in the United States and on Disney+ around the world last November and you can stream the show on those platforms now. Disney has stated that “The Artful Dodger” has been its strongest-performing Australian original and has also been successful elsewhere internationally, especially in EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa), though Disney hasn’t provided any viewership data for the show.
The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Kylie Watson-Wheeler, said in a statement:
“We’re thrilled to give our global audiences what they’ve been asking for, with a second season of The Artful Dodger set to start filming in 2025.
The return of our Australian-born Disney+ Original scripted drama, complete with all-star cast and a brilliant crew, is a testament to the series’ high calibre of production and its local and international audience success. We’re delighted this high-stakes romantic drama of heists, comedy, and beautifully complicated life and love, will thrill and entertain again.”
The second season will be a Disney+/Hulu co-production with Sony Pictures Television’s Curio Pictures. Jo Porter and Rachel Gardner from Curio are executive producer and producers, with McNamara also executive producer and Cameron Welsh series producer. Disney is also getting additional funding from the New South Wales state government, who is supporting the second season through Screen NSW’s Made in NSW Fund.
“The Artful Dodger” series co-creator James McNamara is writing the new season along with Kate Mulvany, Dan Knight and Miranda Tapsell. Ben Young and Gracie Otto are the directors and Jeffrey Walker is consulting. McNamara created the series along with David Maher and David Taylor.
Roger’s Take: I’m thrilled that “The Artful Dodger” is getting a second season, as it’s been one of the best international original series to come to Disney+ globally. I enjoyed the first season and honestly thought that it had been so long since the last season and there hadn’t been any news that the show wouldn’t be returning, especially as Disney has been cutting back on its original content, but I’m glad Disney is continuing with this show.
Are you looking forward to the return of “The Artful Dodger”? Let me know on social media!
Roger Palmer
Related Article
The Artful Dodger | Disney+ Original Review
Disney Hosts “The Artful Dodger” Premiere In Sydney, Australia
