The Golden Age of Hollywood after World War II is imagined in the drama television series “Hollywood,” created by Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy. Aspiring actors and filmmakers are followed as they try to break into the business on the wings of glitz and ambition. In May of 2020, the show made its debut. The series has had mixed reviews but has been lauded for its visual style. There have been complaints about the show’s tone and the liberties it takes with reality from certain viewers.
Critics and audiences alike praised the show for exposing the film industry’s seedier side. Cast members’ efforts have resulted in nominations for the show at the Golden Globes, the Critics’ Choice Television Awards, and the Primetime Emmys. Do you want to know if season 1 of the series you love will be the end of the story? All the information you require is right here.
Hollywood Season 2 Renewal Status
The miniseries label was applied when Hollywood debuted the season’s seven episodes. According to an interview with OprahMag.com, Murphy said it was the deciding factor in getting such a prestigious cast as Laura Harrier, Holland Taylor, Patti LuPone, and Dylan McDermott to participate. Actors willing to commit to seven episodes are easy to find, but getting someone like Patti LuPone, Joe Mantello, or even Darren Criss now to commit to seven years of a TV show is really challenging, according to Murphy.
In a recent interview with THR, the show’s creator reaffirmed this attitude. It was always intended to be a small run. He said, “I would never follow the characters again. It was supposed to be one season; that’s what it was done for. But in another 20 years? Just saying. Netflix and I haven’t even talked about it, and unless it became immensely popular, we never would. Like American Horror Story and American Crime Story, I’ve worked on anthology series before, but this one wasn’t planned that way.
What is Hollywood about?
On May 1, 2020, Netflix unveiled Hollywood. Take a look at the series’ official trailer down below if you haven’t watched it yet.
The miniseries chronicles the lives of a band of hopeful actors and filmmakers as they navigate the harsh realities of the entertainment industry. The story takes place in the years after World War II, and its protagonists face formidable obstacles on the road to fame. The miniseries focuses on prejudice based on ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender. After that, Hollywood was nominated for four Emmys. Best Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie was nominated for Jeremy Pope, and Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie was nominated for both Dylan McDermott and Jim Parsons. Supporting Actress in a Movie or Limited Series: Holland Taylor.
Hollywood Cast and characters
- Main
David Corenswet as Jack Castello, a World War II veteran who moves to Hollywood in hopes of becoming an actor - Darren Criss as Raymond Ainsley, a half-Filipino aspiring film director hoping to break boundaries in Hollywood, and Camille’s boyfriend
- Laura Harrier as Camille Washington, an up-and-coming Black actress facing prejudice because of her race, and Raymond’s girlfriend
- Joe Mantello as Richard “Dick” Samuels, a studio executive at Ace Studios who is a closeted gay man.
- Dylan McDermott as Ernest “Ernie” West, a pimp, based on Scotty Bowers, who runs his business out of a gas station and recruits Jack
- Jake Picking as Roy Fitzgerald / Rock Hudson, a fictionalized version of the actor, and Archie’s boyfriend. Liz Cantrell of Town & Country magazine characterized this version of
- Rock Hudson as “a young unknown…trying to make his way in the world, and beginning to understand who he really is.”
- Jeremy Pope as Archie Coleman, a Black aspiring screenwriter facing prejudice, and Roy’s boyfriend
- Holland Taylor as Ellen Kincaid, a studio executive and mentor for aspiring actors at Ace Studios. Cantrell wrote that the character “gets what she wants and knows a star when she sees one.”
- Samara Weaving as Claire Wood, an up-and-coming actress, Camille’s rival, and the daughter of Ace and Avis Amberg. Cantrell described her as “an ambitious up-and-comer”.
- Jim Parsons as Henry Willson, a fictionalized version of the Hollywood talent agent whose clients included Rock Hudson
- Patti LuPone as Avis Amberg, wife of Ace Amberg, the head of Ace Studios, and a former actress
Recurring
- Maude Apatow as Henrietta Castello, Jack’s wife who is pregnant with twins and works as a waitress. Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the character serves
- “largely as a millstone” and that the storyline does not give a lot of “attention” to her.
- Mira Sorvino as Jeanne Crandall, a successful but aging actress, Ace’s mistress, and Camille’s scene partner
- Michelle Krusiec as Anna May Wong, a fictionalized version of the Chinese-American actress, whom Raymond tries to help
What will Hollywood Season 2 be about?
It’s probably not news to you that the second season of Hollywood has no established plot. On the other hand, it is widely speculated that the second season will pick up at the conclusion of the Hollywood Golden Age.
A second season was previously considered unlikely after Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter he “would never follow the characters again,” but he was open to exploring Hollywood “20 years from” the end of season 1. This would put season 2 in the 1960s. It’s worth noting that Murphy previously stated that he and Netflix execs wouldn’t talk about filming a second season of Hollywood “unless it had some huge success,” so perhaps he has changed his mind.
Now, if Murphy does want to go to the 1960s for an improbable second season of Hollywood, there is a wealth of opportunity for imaginative, engaging storytelling. Some of the main shifts in the 1960s that affected Hollywood’s style, social mores, pop culture emphasis, and more might be reflected in Hollywood Season 2’s depiction of the decade. In early May of 2020, Murphy said to The Hollywood Reporter, “I could see at the end of this creating the idea of, ‘Well, what would the world look like?'”
If baby boomers had been exposed to movies like Meg and Dreamland as children, what might that have meant for the counterculture that came to define an era? Is there anything else Mock and Murphy would alter in the past? We need to see a second season of Hollywood immediately if it’s anything like the first.