343 Industries has come outta slipspace to drop more information on the up and coming Season 2 for ‘Halo The Series’. Among the eight announced episodes also comes a devy of information about cast members (new ‘n old) and a physical media release for Season 1. Season 1 can also be watched for free for all US residents from the 30th of November to the end of December. Streaming is available on Xbox, Paramount + Free Content Hub, YouTube, Apple, Roku, and PlutoTV.
The official Season Two teaser premiered at CCXP 2023 this weekend, promising eight new episodes filled with intense action to come as the Covenant threat to humanity escalates.
Following the events of Season One, picking up six months later, the state of the galaxy is very different to Season One as the Covenant War rages on and world after world falls to the alien alliance. Against these ever-mounting odds, the Master Chief must fight to prevent the war from tipping irrevocably into the certainty of extinction for humanity.
Returning in Season Two are many faces and names you’ll recognize from Season One, including Pablo Schreiber (Master Chief), Natascha McElhone (Dr. Halsey), Bokeem Woodbine (Soren), Shabana Azmi (Margaret Parangosky), Natasha Culzac (Riz-028), Olive Gray (Miranda Keyes), Yerin Ha (Kwan Ha), Bentley Kalu (Vannack-134), Kate Kennedy (Kai-125), Charlie Murphy (Makee), Danny Sapani (Jacob Keyes), and Jen Taylor (Cortana), with Fiona O’Shaughnessy (Laera) and Tylan Bailey (Kessler) also returning.
But we’ve also got some new faces…
Cristina Rodlo joins the cast as Talia Perez, a new character to Halo. As our story begins, she serves as a UNSC Marine Corps communications specialist.
And Joseph Morgan also joins the cast of Season Two as a character whose name will no doubt be familiar to fans of Halo’s expanded universe…
Say hello to James Ackerson.
Joseph Morgan as James Ackerson in Halo, season 2, streaming on Paramount+ 2024. Photograph by James Minchin III/Paramount+Joseph Morgan as James Ackerson in Halo, episode 1, season 2, streaming on Paramount+, 2024. Photo Credit: Adrienn Szabo/Paramount+
James Ackerson is a character who appeared throughout many of the early Halo novels, including The Fall of Reach and Ghosts of Onyx, before he was killed in the comic Uprising that tied directly into Halo 3.
Ackerson is a leader within the clandestine Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) who desires to advance his own initiatives to win the war against the Covenant… by any means necessary.
Halo: Fall of Reach – Invasion, Issue #2
Speaking of new faces, Season Two also has a new showrunner and head writer, David Wiener, who has expressed his excitement to bring a more grounded and gritty tone to the series.
There’s a lot to digest in this teaser, and no doubt we’re going to see every frame analyzed and deconstructed! Stay tuned for a more detailed breakdown of this teaser in our next Silver Debrief!
CATCH UP ON SEASON ONE
Season One of Halo spanned nine episodes which aired throughout 2022, kicking off a brand-new story as part of the Silver Timeline—a unique branch of continuity that is separate from Halo’s core canon (the games, books, comics, and other media).
For folks in the US, you can watch the entire first season of Halo for free! All nine episodes will be available to watch on Xbox, Paramount + Free Content Hub, YouTube, Apple, Roku, and PlutoTV from November 30 to December 31.
For fans of physical media, Season One is available on DVD and Blu-Ray, including a Limited Edition Steelbook that makes for a great collectible! The special 5-disc collection features all nine episodes at 4K quality, over five hours of behind-the-scenes special features, and collectable art cards of characters from the show.
