Woke Season 2 - What We Know So Far
Woke, the Hulu series loosely centered around the life experiences of cartoonist Keith "Keef" Knight and starring Lamorne Morris (New Girl, Bloodshot) spent its first season tackling racial inequality — specifically, racial profiling by the police — through a comic creator's lens. And after eight episodes of watching Keef (Morris) assess his own oppression, struggle to find a new direction for his art, and question his own sanity while everyday inanimate objects get animated and speak to him, it was clear that there was more story to tell.
By the end of season 1, we got to see Keef face off against Officer Wyatt (Link Baker), the cop who needlessly forced him to the ground, taking a stand rather than acquiescing to the police's desire for reconciliation. And while there's catharsis in that moment, the big question of how Keef will carry his career and his life forward remains up in the air. Thankfully, Hulu announced in November 2020 that a second season was on the way with another eight episodes. That means more talking inanimate objects, more scenes of Keef getting into fights with people in animal costumes (potentially), and more heartfelt moments of an artist simply struggling to create art that both entertains while also speaking a little truth to power.
This is everything we know so far about Woke season 2.
What is the release date for Woke season 2?
While don't know much yet about the release for Woke's second season, we do know that production on the first season started in January 2020. This means that the show was able to comfortably release in the midst of a global pandemic. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, there hasn't been a ton of forward momentum on season 2 yet.
The first season of Woke was shot in British Columbia, Canada where film and television production has resumed. Woke was renewed as of November 2020, meaning there's been more than a few months for scriptwriting to begin in earnest. Hopefully that means filming will begin shortly too.
What we can say is this: Woke season one was filmed very quickly between January and February 2020. And then it was only around 7 months before the show premiered on Hulu in September of that same year. So there is a real possibility that if Woke is able to get underway in the next few months, we might even see its second season before the end of 2021. However, the safe bet is that early 2022 is a more likely release date.
Who is in the cast of Woke season 2?
Woke season 1 had a really solid cast and, as far as we know (or at least according to IMDB), that cast is returning. This means we'll see more of Lamorne Morris as Keef Knight, talking with his pen and his trash cans.
We will also see more of stand-up comic T. Murph (Chicago Fire, Get Shorty) as Clovis, Keef's friend who is not really into woke culture because it makes life harder. The same is likely true for Blake Anderson (Workaholics, Dope) who plays Keef's other, more happy-go-lucky roommate Gunther.
In addition, we're expecting more from Rose McIver (iZombie, A Christmas Prince) as Keef's girlfriend Adrienne since there's some unresolved tension between those two characters. And, perhaps most importantly, we're anticipating the return of Sasheer Zamata (Saturday Night Live, The Last O.G.) as Ayana. A big part of Keef's arc in the first season of Woke revolves around him finding a new way of expressing himself as a cartoonist. Ayana seems interested in bringing Keef's artwork to the newspaper she works as an editor at.
As of now there have been no new cast members or guest stars announced. It is however likely that the real life cartoonist (and show producer) Keith Knight will appear in some fashion. Knight wore a koala suit and beat up Lamorne Morris in the episode "Prayers for Kubby" last season.
What will be the plot of Woke season 2?
In the final episode of Woke season 1, Keef faces off against the cop who racially profiled him at the beginning of the season and winds up in jail for his trouble. But when he's bailed out of jail, he discovers that his unwillingness to accept a half-hearted, non-apology from the police has inspired a protest.
We can't say for certain, but it seems likely that Keef becoming a voice for his community and what he does with that voice will be a part of season 2's story. Similarly, since we know that Keef apologized to Adrienne for mistreating her, we'll likely see more of their relationship, too.
There is one other thing we might hear about: COVID-19. In a panel for New York Comic Con 2020, Keith Knight pointed out that, since production completed before the pandemic really took over so much of our daily lives, there was no mention of it on the show. Knight is hoping to change that. "It would be amazing to get into what a post-summer 2020 world would look like and lean into the satire of that," said Knight.