‘World on Fire’ preview: First look at Season 2’s new characters

The BBC has released a set of promotional images for the new season of World on Fire!

From the makers of Poldark and Endeavour, the BBC’s hit World War II drama premiered in September 2019, almost 4 years ago.

Don’t worry if you can’t remember what happened previously, as Season 1 is available to watch on Amazon Prime’s Masterpiece channel with this free 7-day trial!

The series received great reviews and World on Fire was swiftly renewed for more episodes, but filming in 2020 was delayed by the pandemic.

Season 2 finally began shooting last summer, and we won’t have to wait too much longer.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the new faces we’ll be meeting when the show returns.

First up, here’s Mark Bonnar‘s character:

Best known for his roles in Guilt, Line of Duty and Shetland, the Scottish actor will be playing the mysterious Sir James Danemere.

Then we’ve got 27-year-old German newcomer Miriam Schiweck (Der Staatsanwalk, Fellweckselzeit) as the teenaged Marga.

We’re told her character is a dedicated member of the Band of German Maidens:

Next up we have Ahad Raza Mir stars as Rajib.

Leading a specialist unit of the British Indian Army, the Canadian-Pakistani actor’s character is described as “fearless and determined.”

29-year-old Mir has previously appeared in Netflix’s Resident Evil series, and a number of television roles in Pakistan – here’s a look at Rajib:

And the last of our new cast members is Gregg Sulkin, playing a “brave but reckless RAF pilot” called David.

The 31-year-old London-born actor made his screen debut as 2002’s Doctor Zhivago mini-series alongside Keira Knightley and Sam Neill, with other roles in Disney teen comedies and Marvel’s Runaways show.

Here’s Sulkin as David:

World on Fire continues to tell “the story of World War II through the eyes of ordinary people whose lives have been thrown into chaos.”

Who’s back from Season 1?

Returning actors from the first season include Lesley Manville (The Crown) as Robina, Jonah Hauer-King (The Little Mermaid) as Harry, Blake Harrison (A Very English Scandal) as Stan, Julia Brown (Shetland) as Lois, Zofia Wichłacz (Spoor) as Kasia, Parker Sawyers (A Discovery of Witches) as Albert, and Eugénie Derouand (Paris Police) as Henriette.

Also reprising their roles are Cel Spellman (Cold Feet) as Joe, Yrsa Daley-Ward (Outer Range) as Connie, Eryk Biedunkiewicz as Jan, Ewan Mitchell (House of the Dragon) as Tom, and Mateusz Więcławek (Monument) as Grzegorz.

Beginning in 1940, the six brand new 60-minute episodes will take viewers from the streets of Britain into occupied France, Nazi Germany, and to the sands of the North African desert, where British troops struggle alongside Indian Sappers and Australian Diggers to adapt to a very different kind of combat.

Season 2 is set to premiere in the US this autumn on Masterpiece on PBS.

There’s no confirmed UK release window just yet, but the BBC has confirmed that World on Fire will be back “soon” on BBC One and streaming on BBC iPlayer.

We’re expecting a July/August launch and we’ll let you know as soon as a date is announced!

World on Fire is available to watch on PBS Masterpiece.