Will There Be a Season 2 of "Watchmen"?

Who’s watching making the Watchmen now?

The confounding, moving, unexpectedly divergent adaptation of the comic saga Watchmen came to an end last night (on HBO in America and Foxtel Now in Australia).

So, it was fitting that HBO just shared a sizzle reel for all the great shows returning in 2020 including Barry, Succession, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Euphoria and… not Watchmen.

In fact, now that we think about it, HBO is yet to announce that the show has been renewed for a second season, despite the fact that it usually does that for all its shows almost immediately.

A Rolling Stone interview with Watchmen showrunner Damon Lindelof following S1’s last episode, "See How They Fly", reveals this isn’t just a horrible clerical error. He isn’t sure there even should be a S2.

Yeah, the spoilers, they are a’coming.

The Case Against a Second Season:

In his chat with RS, Lindelof insisted that he never intended for the final shot of the season—Regina King’s Angela Abar seemingly about to walk on water, perhaps imbued (or should that be imblued) with the powers of Doctor Manhattan—to be a cliffhanger.

"I wanted to design the season of Watchmen to feel like it had a beginning, a middle, and end, just like the original 12 issues did," he explained.

"Although when I finished issue 12 as a 14-year-old, I certainly wanted more. But I also was feeling like the story was complete, and all the things that I cared most about were resolved."

Though he admits people may want to know if, y’know, Angela is a literal God now, or what becomes of Jeremy Irons’ Ozymandias, finally arrested for the squid-induced murder of millions, he says, "neither one of those stories are going to particularly make for a compelling season of television."

The Case For a Second Season:

So, let me tell you a story about a cool dude with really long hair and some crazy ideas who used to also say Watchmen shouldn’t be extended any further. His name is Alan Moore, and he wrote the original comic, and he may indeed be a literal wizard, yet even he wasn't able to stop the film adaptation, the comic continuation or this HBO series.

Lindelof, who fully admits to having taken Moore’s tale and running with it, concedes some other writers and show-runners could do something special beginning from where he left Watchmen.

"Maybe these nine episodes have demonstrated that the playing field is a little bit larger than previously thought," he said.

"It may inspire someone else to tell a Watchmen story. But right now, I don’t have any more ideas. Whether you call something a limited series or an ongoing series, that’s fodder for awards consideration. I’m not comfortable calling this anything other than nine complete episodes with a beginning, a middle, and an end. There is no promise of a continuation. Although others may disagree."

He goes on to say another series could focus on "the Fifties or Sixties or Eighties or Nineties" or even the future, with or without the characters created by Moore (and Dave Gibbons) or Lindelof.

In other interviews, Lindelof has said he would particularly "love to see someone who is not a white dude taking a shot at Watchmen—a woman or a person of colour or both," especially considering how he and his writers room reconfigured the story to comment on white supremacy and race, largely from the perspective of African-American characters.

And there’s a business benefit for HBO as well. The show’s audience grew throughout its first season, with estimates of seven million viewers per episode, which makes it the most-watched first season of any HBO original since Big Little Lies in February of 2017.

However, HBO is also in the awards-collecting business, and since Watchmen was snubbed by the Golden Globes, maybe they’re waiting to see how it fares at other ceremonies at the end of the year (and the Emmys in 2020) before committing any further.

To paraphrase the original comic, if that statement starts to chill you after a couple of moments' consideration, don't be alarmed. A feeling of intense and crushing religious terror at the concept indicates only that you are still sane.

You can catch-up on Watchmen’s first (and only?) season in Australia on Foxtel Now.

Header Image: HBO