Warning! SPOILERS for Foundation episode 10
Apple TV+'s Foundation season 2 will continue the epic tale of the Empire's fall, and will presumably release sometime in late 2022 or early 2023. Foundation showrunner David Goyer has finally succeeded in the ambition of adapting Isaac Asimov's legendary science-fiction books and short stories for the small screen. Naturally, the Apple TV+ show is very different to the books themselves - as Asimov was a concept-driven writer, whereas the best TV shows center in upon characters.
Goyer envisions Foundation as a game of chess on a galactic scale, between a genetic dynasty of emperors and Foundation's psychohistorian Hari Seldon, who has predicted the Empire's fall and is attempting to forestall the Dark Ages he foresees with his advanced science. Asimov himself focused solely on the Foundation, and, in fact, the fall of the Empire happened off-page. However, Goyer is taking a very different approach, focusing in on the Emperor, as well as the citizens of the Foundation. Meanwhile, he's used clever ideas such as cryogenic suspension to ensure cast can return even as the timeline advances. Foundation spans a millennium, after all.
Foundation season 1 has come to a triumphant finale, with an AI of Hari Seldon finally revealing his true plan for the Foundation. It's clearly only the beginning of a cosmic adventure unparalleled in science-fiction - and the good news is that it's set to continue into a second season.
Foundation Season 2 Renewal & Plan
Foundation showrunner David Goyer actually plans the series to run for eight seasons. "I don’t wanna jinx myself, but Apple knew that this was a big undertaking and they wanted to make sure that I was writing towards something," he told Decider. "They asked me the same question, they said, ‘In a perfect world, how many seasons do you have in mind?’ and I said, ‘Eight.’ They said, ‘Can you take us through all eight [seasons]?’ and over the course of about two hours I did take them through all eight [seasons], so hopefully we’ll get there." While it's too soon to say whether Foundation will run for the hoped-for eight seasons, Apple TV+ has renewed Foundation for a second season, although it's yet to begin production.
When Could Foundation Season 2 Release?
It's difficult to say when Foundation season 2 should be expected. Ordinarily, production of season 1 gives a sense of how long the same process is going to take for the second, but in this case the pandemic meant season 1 took a lot longer than anyone had expected. Still, the lavish production probably means season 2 won't be ready before late 2022 at the earliest - or, more likely, early 2023.
Potential Foundation Season 2 Story Details
Foundation season 1's finale finally revealed Hari Seldon's true plan: to form a secret rival power base against the Empire out on the galactic rim, a union of Thespians, Anacreons, and the scientific knowledge amassed at the Foundation. What's more, the discovery of the Invictus - an old Imperial superweapon, lost for 700 years - means they are already a force to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, the upper echelons of the Empire are in turmoil, because the genetic dynasty has been compromised. It's possible Foundation season 2 won't initially explore the immediate repercussions of this revelation, because the final scenes of episode 10 featured another time-jump. Gaal Dornick has awoken from cryogenic suspension some 138 years after the Foundation's alliance with the Anacreons and the Thespians, and has discovered her daughter Salvor Hardin, who had also been placed in cryo-sleep for centuries. It's reasonable to assume they've awoken for Foundation's second Seldon Crisis, although as precogs they may well disrupt Seldon's plans.