After returning to Yorkshire to film the second season of the HBO and BBC co-produced period drama Gentleman Jack this week, a slew of behind-the-scenes photos have circulated online and given fans of the series new content for the first time since season one’s finale in 2019. UK publication The Sun collected gallery of photos from season two’s production, including both behind-the-scenes photos of a masked-up cast and crew and promotional photos like the one shared on the show’s Instagram account.
Gentleman Jack established their own Instagram page on Tuesday in order to share behind-the-scenes and promotional photos as season two’s production unfolds. Many of the photos leaked thus far – via The Sun – feature Suranne Jones (Coronation Street, Scott & Bailey) as series’ protagonist Anne Lister and Sophie Rundle (Peaky Blinders) as her wife, Ann Walker. The relationship between the two women is central to the story of Gentleman Jack as it recounts the story of Anne Lister, a trailblazing landowner, feminist and lesbian.
Showrunner Sally Wainwright (Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax) told Digital Spy that season two of Gentleman Jack will focus heavily on Anne and Ann as they navigate their discrete marriage. “They move into Shibden together in series two and it’s about how they negotiate their married life, conspicuously in public, and how they deal with their detractors and the effect that has on their relationship as well” said Wainwright, via Digital Spy.
Gentleman Jack was renewed for a second season immediately after its first episode aired in 2019 and was met with successful viewership and critical response, according to Digital Spy. The series has gone on to win multiple awards including the TVTimes and Royal Television Society, with Wainwright receiving an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her work on the show.
“It’s been the highlight of my career to be able to write about Anne Lister so I feel quite emotional, I didn’t expect that” Wainwright commented to the Halifax Courier regarding her OBE at the Queen’s Birthday Honors. Anne Lister’s ancestral home of Shibden Hall has become somewhat of home for Wainwright as well and the showrunner told Digital Spy that she’d love to return to Shibden for many more seasons. According to Wainwright, Lister’s diaries, which serve as a basis for the show’s story, contain “a huge wealth of knowledge” and that there’s “no end of stories” to be told about the pioneering woman.
Alongside Anne and Ann, Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones, Killing Eve) has returned to set for the show’s second season to reprise her role as Anne’s sister, Marian Lister. The actress shared her excitement to return to set Tuesday with an Instagram selfie of herself in Marian’s hair/make-up, which she simply captioned “here we gooooooooooo!!”
Gentleman Jack is one of many shows whose initial filming was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and The Sun conjectures this socially-distanced production is still at risk of “an impending second lockdown”. However, if the production is able to continue with the trajectory started this week, 2021 release date is expected, according to What’s On TV, who speculate that “Gentleman Jack season two will be one of the biggest shows of 2021.”