Apple TV renews Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, Tatiana Maslany's dark comedy thriller, for a second seasonApple TV renews Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, Tatiana Maslany's dark comedy thriller, for a second season

Apple TV has renewed Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, the dark comedy thriller starring Tatiana Maslany, for a second season.

Apple announced the renewal in a press release on 14 October, describing the show as Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, where 9to5Mac puts the first season's critics' score at 93 per cent. Maslany returns as Paula alongside Jake Johnson, who plays her former husband Karl, according to TVLine. Apple gave no premiere window, no episode count and no filming dates for the new season.

The series is created by David J. Rosen, who is also its showrunner, a writer and an executive producer. David Gordon Green directs and executive produces. Simon Kinberg and Audrey Chon developed it through their first-look deal with Apple, with Bard Dorros of Anonymous Content, and it is made by Apple Studios and Counterpart Studios. In Apple's release, Rosen joked that the title came from a spam email.

What is Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed about?

Paula is newly divorced and fighting Karl for custody of their daughter when she believes she has witnessed a crime. She starts investigating on her own, and Apple's synopsis says the trail leads into blackmail, murder and youth soccer, and possibly a wider conspiracy. The ensemble includes Murray Bartlett, Dolly De Leon, Brandon Flynn, Jessy Hodges, Jon Michael Hill, Charlie Hall, Kiarra Hamagami Goldberg and Nola Wallace.

When does season 2 arrive, and how do you watch season 1?

There is no date. TheWrap reported in February that the first season would be ten half-hour episodes, with two on 20 May and then one a week, which put the finale on 15 July. The renewal therefore comes three months after the last episode aired. TVLine quotes Rosen saying the writers have an arc and plans for Paula, but nothing on timing.

All ten episodes are streaming worldwide on Apple TV, which costs $14.99 a month in the US with a seven-day trial for new subscribers, and is included in Apple One. Apple's release also repeats its offer of three months free with a newly bought iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K or Mac, claimed within three months of setting it up and limited to one per Family Sharing group.

Our take

This is the latest of several recent renewals for shows that critics championed rather than ones that dominated conversation. In the past three weeks Apple has brought back the French period drama Carême, whose first season is up for an International Emmy, and gave Imperfect Women a second season despite billing it as limited. Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed fits the same shape: 9to5Mac's Ryan Christoffel says it flew somewhat under the radar while it aired. Apple does not publish viewing figures, so reviews and awards are the only public evidence it acts on, and they seem to be enough.

The harder problem is the one the renewal does not solve. A show that critics rate and few people found is a discovery failure, and discovery happens in the Apple TV app. Apple's own release leads its list of titles with the big names, Severance, Ted Lasso and The Studio, and in the app a half-hour thriller that finished in July competes for the same rows as whatever premiered this week. From a product design point of view, APPDOOK thinks the most useful thing Apple could do between now and season two is less glamorous than a trailer: surface finished, well-reviewed seasons to people whose viewing suggests they would like them, rather than only promoting what is new.

For viewers, the format is the selling point. Ten episodes of roughly half an hour is about five hours, short enough to watch before the new season is even dated, and with no date given there is plenty of time. Apple has said nothing about filming, and in our judgement a renewal announced with no production date points to a wait of well over a year, so we would not expect the second season before late 2027. That is our estimate, not Apple's.