‘The Audacity’ Already Renewed for Season 2!!

AMC was at the forefront of the prestige drama race years ago, churning out hits like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead that helped define the modern era of television. This week, the network is about to re-enter that ring with the world premiere of its new Silicon Valley satire series, The Audacity, at SXSW. Just over a month before its debut on AMC and AMC+ on April 12, the new series starring Billy Magnussen and Zach Galifianakis will enjoy a two-episode screening this weekend on March 14, complete with a preview panel featuring series creator Jonathan Glatzer, director Lucy Forbes, executive producer Gina Mingacci, and the cast.

Glatzer, who has an Emmy, Peabody, PGA, and WGA Award-winning resume with prestige dramas, ranging from Better Call Saul to, more recently, Succession, brings a story of an audacious data-mining CEO (Magnussen) aiming to build profit and power through influence and insight. However, he’s trying to do so in a world full of cutthroat people like him who similarly style themselves as “inventors of the future” with massive egos and a frightening lack of ethics. It’s billed as a comedy-drama, confronting modern issues of privacy, the rise of AI, and the delusions powering the changes in the world, both for the better and for the worse. With an expansive vision and a big name at the helm, AMC has already made an ambitious move to secure this vision of Silicon Valley on television for the foreseeable future.

The Audacity has received a rare early Season 2 order despite not airing a single episode yet. For AMC Networks, it’s a big show of confidence that they found their next big series to stand against its competitors both in cable and streaming. Preliminary casting is already underway, too, with the sophomore outing also set to have eight episodes. With work ramping up fast, the goal appears to be to get new seasons of the satire out as fast as possible. In an official statement, Glatzer drove home that the goal, between the starry cast and the story of jaded billionaires, tech bros, and teens with big dreams, wasn’t to play it safe, but deliver something wholly original back to AMC.

“From the start, The Audacity exists because Kristin Dolan, Dan McDermott, and AMC Networks decided that ‘playing it safe’ is vastly overrated. They’ve enabled me and our fearless cast to dive headfirst into the deep recesses of some beautifully flawed characters, all set against the backdrop of Silicon Valley, which only happens to have the power to shape how we work, argue, date, doomscroll, etc. And now, with this second season pick-up, AMC Networks has stood by their conviction with this wholly original satire. As The Audacity’s creator, I could not be more grateful, but also as a fan of original and slightly dangerous stories, I am ecstatic.”

Who Else Stars in ‘The Audacity’?

In addition to Magnussen and Galifianakis, The Audacity features an extensive roster of stars, including Sarah Goldberg, Lucy Punch, Simon Helberg, Rob Corddry, Meaghan Rath, Paul Adelstein, Everett Blunck, Thailey Roberge, and Ava Marie Telek. Behind the camera, Forbes also brings some extra award-worthy experience, earning two BAFTA nominations for the miniseries This Is Gonna Hurt. She also previously helmed all six episodes of Netflix‘s Eric, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and four episodes of The End of the F***ing World. She directed the first two episodes of this series.