The Future of The Queen’s Gambit Revealed

Are there more chess moves to be made? After his big Emmys win, The Queen’s Gambit showrunner Scott Frank weighed in on whether there’s hope for a season two.

By Kisha Forde Sep 20, 2021 3:23 PMTags
Watch: "The Queen's Gambit" Cast Reacts to Emmy Win!

Consider this a draw.
 
After the highly successful first season of The Queen's Gambit, it's only natural that fans and chess fanatics were looking forward to another season. However, it appears the game ends here, according to showrunner Scott Frank.
 
"I'm so sorry," Scott told reporters Sept. 19 after taking home the Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series. "I hate disappointing anyone…I feel like we told the story we wanted to tell, and I worry, or let me put it differently, I'm terrified that if we tried to tell more, we would ruin what we've already told."
 
Just four weeks after its premiere in October 2020, the coming-of-age drama became Netflix's most watched scripted miniseries and its top show in over 60 countries. Not only did The Queen's Gambit—which follows the rise of orphaned chess prodigy Beth (Anya Taylor-Joy)—rack up views, but it also nabbed countless accolades, including winning Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series at the 2021 Emmys.

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For Anya, it's easy to pinpoint why the show is so successful—and addicting. "I would say just the sheer range in the demographics of ages of people coming up and saying that they love the show," she shared in the press room after their big win. "Just from people in their 80s saying that it was the first show they'd ever binge watch to teenagers saying that they were going to go play the hot guy at their school at chess—that was pretty spectacular."

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And if Scott ever changes her mind, she'd happily step back into Beth's shoes. "It would be silly of me to go, 'There's never going to be a second series,'" she told Elle in May, "and then I'm 40, and Scott [Frank]'s like, 'Yo, how do you feel about this? You want to go back?'"

Until then, she'll be dreaming up what's next for her character. "I hope she starts doing things for her own enjoyment," she added. "I'd like Beth to pick up Benny and spend some time with him in Russia, just the two of them being snobby intellectuals together, and I hope she has a Bowie phase."