Apple has announced that the second season of its critically-acclaimed Japanese drama Pachinko will be released in late August.
In a press release, the tech giant confirmed that Pachinko season 2 will make its Apple TV Plus debut on Friday, August 23. The award-winning series' next installment, which will be available to stream in three languages – Japanese, Korean, and English – will premiere with a single episode on launch day. New entries will land on the service weekly until the season 2 finale on October 11, too.
Pachinko season 2's release date isn't the only big announcement that Apple made ahead of the highly-rated show's return. Indeed, one of the world's best streaming services has also unveiled the new title sequence that'll air as part of its second season. This entry's opening credits sequence contains new real-life archive footage, a brand-new instrumental piece, and and updated choreographed dance number starring the series' main cast.
Apple hasn't provided an official story synopsis for Pachinko's second season on its streaming platform yet, but it'll likely be made public closer to launch. Based on how the first season ended, fans of the Peabody and Critics Choice award-winning project will have some idea of what lies in store for its primary cast of characters heading into season 2.
We'll refrain from spoiling anything of significance about Pachinko's debut season here if you haven't seen it. For now, here's a very succinct plot brief for any series newcomers: "Based on The New York Times bestselling novel of the same name, Pachinko is a sweeping and deeply moving story of love and survival across four generations."
Anna Sawai, who you might have seen in recent TV juggernauts including Apple's Godzilla spin-off Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and FX's Shōgun (out now on Hulu and Disney Plus) reprises her role as Naomi from the hit show's first installment. Lee Minho, Minha Kim, Yuh-Jung Youn, Jin Ha, Eunchae Jung, Soji Arai, and Junwoo Han are also back for Pachinko's second entry.
In terms of season 2 cast additions, Sungkyu Kim, the lead singer of popular Japanese boyband Infinite, is the only confirmed newcomer so far. The identity of his character hasn't been revealed yet, but we'll no doubt learn about who he's playing closer to launch.
Behind the camera, Soo Hugh returns as head writer, showrunner, and one of the best Apple TV Plus shows' executive producers. Michael Ellenberg, Lindsey Springer, and Theresa Kang are also among the series' producing team. Lastly, Leanne Welham, Arvin Chen, and Sang-il Lee have directed Pachinko season 2's episodes.
