The second season of Patriot arrives Nov. 9 on Amazon, and it may be fans' last taste of John Tavner's misadventures for a long time. After the dramedy premiered in 2015, viewers had to wait almost two years for the the full first season. And while there's been no announcement about Patriot Season 3, some casting news about the show's lead actor suggest that if it happens, the wait could be even longer.
Those who have been following Patriot are probably used to patience at this point. The pilot episode premiered Nov. 3, 2015, while the rest of the show's first season didn't follow until Feb. 23, 2017. Then, fans had to wait another year and eight months for Season 2. And star Michael Dorman's busy schedule doesn't exactly suggest the next installment will have a faster turnaround. Deadline reported in August that Dorman, who plays Tavner, has joined the cast of an upcoming science fiction series from Apple. The outlet further noted that "Amazon will likely not make a formal renewal decision on Patriot until Season 2 is released, and should they opt to do another season, they will have to work around Dorman’s schedule on the Apple series."
Patriot Season 2 is upping the international intrigue of Season 1, taking the action to Paris where John is, once again, asked to kill for the safety and benefit of his country. It will also explore the toll this responsibility takes on his mental health, as well as how it affects his folk music hobby. This stress was magnified in Season 1 by the fact that his own father was the one giving his orders, and it seemed that John is more concerned about disappointing his father than he is his country. Season 2 turns things up yet another notch but adding his mother, a federal government official, into the mix alongside his congressman brother. At this rate, if Patriot does return for Season 3, it's not unreasonable to expect the show to introduce more members of the Tavner political dynasty to the series. Perhaps a grandmother that works in the Pentagon? An uncle that works with military contractors?
The fate of the series is uncertain, but there's some solace to be found in the fact that Season 2 of Patriot is getting released at all. In a May 2018 interview with Collider, actor Kurtwood Smith revealed that shooting for Patriot Season 2 had been completed earlier that year, but that Amazon made a conscious decision to keep the series from airing until November. This may be because there's no more appropriate time to realease a show called Patriot than the weekend after the midterm elections, but it could also suggest that Patriot isn't as high a priority for Amazon as shows like Jack Ryan and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
The future of Patriot may be uncertain, but the fact that there are two seasons of a show that could be described as "Secret Agent Llewyn Davis" is already a minor miracle in its own way.
