This Is When Netflix's 'The Politician' Season 2 Releases

UPDATE (5/18/2020): The Politician has released a first look and the exact premiere date of the second season here.

ORIGINAL (4/30/2020): Fans devoured season one of Netflix's The Politician, and a second serving is on its way! Starring Tony Award-winner Ben Platt, the show follows Payton as he campaigns to be the Student Body President of his Santa Barbara high school, thinking it's his launchpad into the U.S. Presidency one day. But once he wins and uncovers his own ennui, his life quickly spirals (as much as a wealthy kid's can) as he attempts to discover what will truly make him happy.

In the midst of a pandemic, many television and film productions have been shut down, leaving fans worried about the futures of their favorite shows. Thankfully, The Politician completed production of season 2 just before the lockdown began, producer Ryan Murphy confirms, and Peyton will be gracing our television screens sooner than you think.

"We were lucky enough that we finished filming and editing right before the coronavirus thing happened," Murphy told Collider. "We have seven [episodes]. We finished all of our episodes. We have a great second season and I think we're trying to figure out how do we mix them now in the social distancing age. I think we've figured it out."

Season 2 is coming mid-June and Murphy says he's "really proud of it. I love what we came up with, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan and I."

New episodes will pick up right where season one left off, three years after the student body antics with our gang of friends in New York City, firing up Payton's campaign against Senator Dede Standish, played by Judith Light.

"I love how Payton has grown up," says Murphy. "He's now in college, and the best thing about the season is the Ben Platt versus Bette Midler and Judith Light aspect. It feels very adult, it feels very topical. It's sort of a story about baby boomers asking themselves, 'Is it time for us to pass the power that we have onto the next generation or are they too dumb to figure it out yet?' And I think you can see that battle playing out daily in our political landscape."

Murphy hints at more mature themes. "It's a very cutthroat race that they run. It feels much more adult, much more sexualized. It's really great. And Ben, but particularly Judith and Bette Midler really, I think, their performances are extraordinary."

Murphy also revealed plans on ending the show after just three seasons, but the third might not be filmed for a few years. "I think where season two ends, what I would love to do is take a couple of years off and have Ben Platt get a little bit older for his final race. That would obviously be a presidential race, right? That's always what we had designed, and I think that's what our plan is."

"I'm going to wait. Ben is young, so I want to wait a couple of years to figure out how we age him up a little bit. But that's always been my plan."

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