Disney has renewed its Oliver Twist sequel The Artful Dodger for a second season with Thomas Brodie-Sangster returning as the former-pickpocket-turned-doctor.
The Artful Dodger is a distant sequel to the classic Charles Dickens’ novel which follows Jack Dawkins’ new life in Australia, where he has made a new identity and become a doctor. His new life gets risky when his former mentor Fagan arrives in Australia looking for him, complicating his growing relationship with the governor’s daughter.
Season two will “pick up where the heart’s desires of Dodger, Fagin, and Lady Belle left off, promising more cunning thievery, snappy humor, life-and-death surgeries, and romance with a twist.”
“The return of our Australian-born Disney+ Original scripted drama, complete with all-star cast and a brilliant crew, is a testament to the series’ high calibre of production and its local and international audience success,” said Kylie Watson-Wheeler, Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand Senior Vice President and Managing Director. “We’re delighted this high-stakes romantic drama of heists, comedy, and beautifully complicated life and love, will thrill and entertain again.”
Season two will begin production next year.
Billed as an irreverent follow-up to Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist exploring the adult double life of the famous prince of thieves, the series is set in 1850s Australia where Jack Dawkins, aka young rogue The Artful Dodger (Brodie-Sangster), is now all grown up and has transferred his skills as a pickpocket to the nimble fingers of a surgeon. His past returns to haunt him with the arrival of Fagin (Thewlis), luring him back into a world of crime, while the local governor’s daughter (Mitchell), who is determined to become the colony’s first female surgeon, appears to be a greater threat, at least to his heart.
The Artful Dodger stars Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Queen’s Gambit), David Thewlis (Harry Potter), Maia Mitchell (The Fosters), Damon Herriman (Justified), Tim Minchin (Upright), Miranda Tapsell (Love Child), Susie Porter (Wentworth), Damien Garvey (Rake), Lucy-Rose Leonard (Crazy About You), Nicholas Burton (Pieces of Her), Kim Gyngell (Top of the Lake), Vivienne Awosoga (Wentworth) and Albert Latailakepa (Beyond The Veil).
The Artful Dodger season 1 is on Disney+ to view.
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