The Politician is the first of the many Ryan Murphy shows that were are set to receive on Netflix over the foreseeable future. Ryan is the mastermind behind shows such as American Horror Story, and we can comfortably say that The Politician is another one of his masterpieces.
The show follows the story of an ambitious young man looking to make it to the oval office. Payton Hobart (Ben Platt) plans to start his journey to the top office by winning the class president seat during senior year. Payton is a billionaire, but he doesn’t want to rely on his social status or wealth to get him into power.
Instead, Payton wants to deserve the top job. He models himself in the image of past American presidents, and he believes that it will be enough to secure his political legacy. Every political aspirant has a team, and Payton surrounds himself with a team to manage of his campaign.
However, as in every political race, everyone has an agenda. Payton eventually gets the seat that he craves, but it comes at a price. He suffers the effects of a gruesome campaign, loses his billionaire status, and becomes the target of two assassination attempts. It’s simply amazing how Ryan Murphy managed to pack all that drama and betrayal into an eight-episode season.
When will Netflix release The Politician season 2?
Netflix originally wanted to have 5 seasons of The Politician. Even without a confirmation, it was expected that season 2 would come soon.
Ben Platt confirmed that season 2 would arrive via a post on Twitter. Production for season 2 has already begun, and we expect Netflix to release the eight episodes in 2020. Netflix usually has a pattern when it comes to releasing its shows, and so the show might arrive in September 2020.
Netflix could also wait to release season 2 during the American election period. It would be fitting to release a show about an ambitious politician when a political event is happening in real life.
What happened in the final episode of season 1?
The last episode of season 1 started three years after the events of the penultimate episode. Payton attends the New York University by day and plays the piano in bars during the night. Payton is a shell of his former enigmatic and ambitious self.
An expose by Vanity Fair made Payton famous for all the wrong reasons, and Infinity (Zoey Deutch) famous for all the right reasons. The political mastermind was outsmarted, and he is now a slave to his emotions. He is a hopeless drunk, but his old friends want to restore him to his former self.
Payton’s former girlfriend, Alice, is currently engaged to Thad. However, she is still in love with Payton, and she ditches Thad to try it out again with him. However, Payton is still obsessed with his dead crush, River.
Payton’s friends want him to delve back into politics, but they are not in high school anymore. The plan is to vie for the State senate office currently held by Senator Dede Standish (Judith Light). Dede has held the post for 12 consecutive terms, and it looks like a 13th term is on the horizon.
From the outside looking in, it would be futile for anyone to go against Dede and her brilliant chief of staff, Hadassah Gold (Bette Midler). However, Payton learns a secret that could wreck Dede’s political career: Dede is married to two husbands! Payton’s friends insist that he must run and that he has the potential to win. However, he also has skeletons in his closet that he wants to keep hidden.
What to expect in The Politician season 2
The last episode of season 1 was basically the first episode of season 2. It promised a thrilling political campaign that will have more drama and revelations than the first one. The crew is not in high school anymore, and they will have to adapt to the harsher rules of the outside world.
Personal relationships will also come into sharp focus in season 2. Ben Platt teased when asked about Payton’s story in season 2;
“I would love to see what a ‘healthy’ human relationship might do for Payton, like a romantic one.”
We also expect most of the main cast from season 1 to return in season 2.