His Dark Materials still has more worlds to explore. Also, knowledge and ignorance still have a war to fight. Fortunately for fans of the series, HBO and the BBC want to see them too. They renewed the show for a third season, which will adapt the final novel in Philip Pullman’s beloved trilogy: The Amber Spyglass. And you can forget how weird season two was compared to season one. Based on the books, things are truly about to get wild.
HBO and BBC One announced their joint adaptation will return for a third year. The news comes after the show concluded its seven-episode second season in the UK. (It airs a week earlier there than in it does in the US; the season finale will premiere stateside on HBO on Monday December 28.) Production on an eight-episode third season will begin next year in Cardiff, Wales, where the show has filmed previously.
HBO/BBC
“Bringing Phillip Pullman’s epic, intricate and culturally resonant body of work to television has been a tremendous privilege,” said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, in a press release. “We thank our incredible partners at the BBC and the entire Bad Wolf team, led by the indefatigable Jane Tranter, for their exceptional work on the first two seasons. We look forward to completing the trilogy with this final chapter in Lyra’s journey.”
Readers of The Amber Spyglass know the book could easily give way to three seasons itself. But based on this statement and show’s official Twitter account, the next season looks like it will be the final one.
Actually (so far) it's fitted very nicely into 8 episodes. #AskHDM https://t.co/fVnBuJqAX9
— His Dark Materials (@darkmaterials) December 20, 2020
That will mean one of two things. One: the show will omit some important elements of the novel. Or, two: we are going to get eight of the most action-packed, wild episodes in television history. That might sound like hyperbole. But The Amber Spyglass is a million worlds away from the first book/season in terms of incredible places, people(ish), and events.
We do want to make something clear to both HBO and the BBC: We would still like a fourth and fifth season too.
