'Chimerica' Might Not Return For A Second Series Based On This Very Key Detail

Channel 4's Chimerica tells the story of American photojournalist Lee Berger. In the drama, Berger's legitimacy is questioned during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, having captured one of the most iconic photographs of all time, known as Tank Man. The series was based on the Olivier Award-winning play of the same name, but will Chimerica return for Series 2? Here's everything you need to know.

Any news of a Chimerica Season 2 is yet to be announced. However, I have reached out to a representative broadcaster for comment on the matter, and will update with any new information once it becomes available. The series currently airs every Wednesday at 9 p.m. on Channel 4 — and the final episode of Chimerica season one will air at the same time on May 8.

The show is set in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and follows the story of the fictional American photojournalist, Lee Berger. After being hit with accusations of manipulating images, Berger sets out to clear his name by finding the man featured in the photograph which made him famous 30 years prior — who he's convinced is still alive, and located somewhere in New York City.

As iNews reports, the cast of Chimera includes Alessandro Nivola as Berger, who is keen to recreate his earlier successes as a photojournalist. When discussing his lead character, Nivola said, "Lee has left-wing politics. He’s a Bernie Sanders supporter and has lived his life trying to defend people who are the subject of abuse and violence in war zones throughout the world. He can’t really handle feeling like he isn’t able to effect change through the usual channels and playing by the rules doesn’t seem to get him anywhere. That’s why he ends up doctoring his photos."

In addition to Nivola, Chimerica also stars Cherry Jones as Mel Kincaid, Sophie Okonedo as Tess Kendrick, F. Murray Abraham as Frank Sams, and Terry Chen as Zhang Li.

As reported by the Express, the Channel 4 series is based on the 2013 stage production of the same name, however, due to political earthquakes such as Brexit and President Donald Trump's election, the narrative of the story was changed significantly. When discussing the changes made for the television adaptation, Lucy Kirkwood, who penned the original play, said, "Brexit and the Trump election in particular complicated the play's assumptions that Western democracy is a superior system in a way that was really interesting to me. It gave me a reason to go back to it, to have that argument with myself, in the way lots of us have, I think. Many drafts of the original play were written in the afterglow of idealism rewarded by the election of Obama — in fact some early drafts were set around that 2008 election, that’s how long I was writing it for." The fact that it's based on the play might suggest fans will just be getting the one series, but who knows? I may well depend on how much of the action the series finale wraps up, so stay tuned.

The first series of Chimerica comes to a close on Wednesday, May 8 and you can catch up with previous episodes of the political thriller on All 4.