Youth Season 2 Confirmed – Here’s Everything You Need To Know About The Midlife Comedy

You never quite feel like a grown-up, do you? Not at 18, not at 21, not at 30, and it seems not at 50 either. There’s always more growing up to do. And in a world where women are de-ageing their faces, running marathons at 70, and re-starting their lives half-way through, it’s easy to see how our traditional sense of growing-up has been disrupted. 

It was this idea that inspired Sharon Hogan’s Youth on HBO. Best known for her Apple TV series Bad Sisters, BBC hit Motherland, and Disney+ sitcom Catastrophe, the Irish talent writes, executive produces and stars in this latest London-set comedy. Renewed for a second season just 24 hours after its finale, here’s everything we know about Youth season 2.

Rupert Friend as Patrick and Sharon Hogan as Alex in Youth. Photograph by Colin Hutton/HBO

What Is Youth About?

All about the humdrum of middle-age motherhood, Youth sees our 50-year-old literary agent lead Alex (Sharon Hogan) caring for elderly parents, managing her should-be grown-up teenage son and university drop-out Ruairí, navigating the changing landscape of her job, and feeling like a big biological clock is ticking – all while on the post-divorce hunt for sex and love.

What Happened In Season 1? (Spoilers Ahead…)

In the finale of the eight-part season, we see Alex awake, not in the bed of her on-again, off-again boyfriend Patrick (Rupert Friend) but in that of her nemesis and unsavoury former client Malcolm Hammond (Douglas Hodge) – writer of romantasy bestseller Goblin Seed. Whether she actually slept with him, however, remains unclear. 

It’s only after she leaves his apartment that she discovers that Malcom has signed-on to rejoin her agency, meaning much contact time with her least favourite novelist. When she discovers from her friend and boss Sam (Sharlene Whyte) that she got the bonus she wanted, she fears it will seem like she hooked up with Malcolm just to win him back professionally.

As she arrives back at her apartment she discovers Patrick waiting for her. She’s not best-pleased with him at this point, having discovered a pros-and-cons list of their relationship in the previous episode – the worst offending con being that he can’t have kids with someone of her age. Ouch. Patrick tries to win her back, but Alex chooses to end things with him. As she walks away, she nearly gets hit by a biker, who crashes into the sidewalk. He seems to be injured, but Alex is too emotionally injured to help Patrick tend to him.

Aran Murphy as Ruairí and Sharon Hogan as Alex in Youth. Photograph by Natalie Seery/HBO

What Will Happen In Youth Season 2?

It’s no surprise that Youth has been renewed for a second season, having achieved a 97 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and landed among the top five HBO comedies launched globally. 

Speaking of the renewal, Hogan said: ‘I’m so happy to get another opportunity to live out my emotional and biological crises on HBO. I can’t think of a better platform to air my UTI problems on. The response to Youth has been beyond what I could have hoped for. I’m so grateful for the response and the chance to work with this incredible cast and creative team once more.’

Amy Gravitt, head of HBO & HBO Max Comedy Series, added, ‘In a way that only she can, Sharon has created a show that makes us howl with laughter and with tears – often in the same moment. Each performance in Youth is more delightful than the next. Along with our partners at Merman, we are so thrilled to have this brilliant ensemble back for another season.’

Though we don’t yet know what exactly is in store for Alex in season 2, we can make some educated guesses. Speaking to TV Guide, Hogan teased that she thinks Alex and Malcolm are ‘kind of connected in a way […] I also find him like an incredible foil for Alex; he is her nemesis in a way… They weren’t right for each other as client and agent, but there’s a lot more to it.’

Sharon Hogan as Alex in Youth. Photograph by Natalie Seery/HBO

The Cast

While we don’t yet know for certain who will be returning in Youth season 2, we’re sure that we’ll see the return of all the core cast, including Sharon Hogan and Aran Murphy (Ruairí), the son of Cillian Murphy. There’s a small chance that we might have seen the last of Homeland star Rupert Friend as Patrick, but we’re certain that we’ll be seeing much more of Malcolm next time around.

Find the core cast list below: 

• Sharon Horgan as Alex 
• Rupert Friend as Patrick
• Sharlene Whyte as Sam
• Aran Murphy plays Ruairí
• Robbie Gee as Sam’s husband Frank
• Douglas Hodge as Malcolm 

Youth Season 2 Release Date

No news as of yet as to when we’ll see season 2. The first season was greenlit in February 2025 and released on 20 September 2026 in the US and 21 September 2026 in the UK – so it seems like a late 2027 or early 2028 release date might be on the cards. 

Season 1 of Youth is available to stream now on HBO.

WATCH