The Queen's Gambit Season 2 Won't Be Happening: 'We Would Ruin What We've Already Told'

Creator of "The Queen's Gambit" Scott Frank just delivered a very hard truth: some limited series are better off not getting renewed. The joy of a single-season show is the promise of a complete story. Knowing the ending from the onset means that when the season concludes, so will the character arcs, leaving the audience with a clear sense of finality. Expanding beyond that brings us into a world of unknowns — is there even enough story left to tell? 

In Frank's case, he believes "The Queen's Gambit" has reached its natural conclusion. Given what he has to say about returning for a second season, the odds aren't looking great.

Based on the 1983 novel of the same name, "The Queen's Gambit" follows orphaned chess prodigy, Beth Harmon, on her meteoric rise through the ranks of the chess world. She spends episodes gloriously triumphing over men who once looked down on her, continuously striving to become an elite chess player. But the series quickly proves to be about much more than sacrificing pawns and, um, those other important chess moves. "The Queen's Gambit" also sees Beth struggling with grief, trauma, and her ongoing drug dependency.

Along the way, Beth encounters much-loved players who will become crucial to her support system, with the series also starring Harry Melling and Thomas Brodie-Sangster. You wouldn't think a show that primarily takes place over a chessboard would build such a following, but "The Queen's Gambit" became one of 2020's biggest shows, a fan-favorite quarantine binge, and ultimately, Netflix's most-watched limited series. At the 73rd Emmy Awards, the series took home 11 trophies, including one for Best Limited Series and another for Outstanding Direction. But for its creator, this is all the more reason for the series to conclude.

With an Emmy clutched in each hand, Frank told the press that he had no intention of continuing with a second season. In fact, he apologized for the disappointing nature of this announcement, saying:

"I'm so sorry. I hate disappointing anyone, but no. I feel like we told the story we wanted to tell, and I worry — let me put it differently — I'm terrified that if we try to tell more, we would ruin what we've already told."

And so Frank definitively dashes the hopes of those clinging to the possibility of Beth Harmon's return. He went on to add, "I feel so good about what we did, I would hate to soil the memory."

Ultimately, this shouldn't come as a surprise. Things wrapped up pretty neatly for Beth; along with achieving one of her biggest career goals, she came to terms with the trauma that haunted her past. The rise of Beth won't stop there. She has much more to achieve, with a wonderful support system backing her. But that doesn't mean we need to see it happen. "The Queen's Gambit" gifted us a solid season of TV that stands perfectly on its own.

If it's Anya Taylor-Joy or the creative team behind the show that you'll be missing, fear not. Executive producer William Horberg hinted that there's much more on the horizon. Horberg said:

​​"We're all certainly going to keep working together and try to find another story to tell with the same passion and team of amazing artists."