BBC America’s Emmy-nominated Killing Eve is getting some new blood behind the scenes as it begins work on season two.
Series creator and executive producer Phoebe Waller-Bridge has hired Emerald Fennell to serve as head writer for the second season, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. Two new directors, Lisa Bruhlmann and Francesca Gregorini, will also be part of the creative team.
Waller-Bridge will still be active in the shaping of season two, but is delegating some responsibility as she has multiple other projects on tap. The second season of Fleabag, which she created and stars in, is due in 2019 on BBC Three and Amazon, and she’s also developing a show for HBO called Run.
Fennell is best known in the United States for her role as nurse Patsy Mount on Call the Midwife, which airs on PBS. She and Waller-Bridge previously worked together as writers on the Channel 4 comedy series Drifters.
Gregorini and Bruhlmann will be Killing Eve‘s first women directors. Gregorini has helmed episodes of AMC’s Humans and Amazon’s Electric Dreams. Bruhlmann directed the feature Blue My Mind. Damon Thomas, who directed three episodes in season one, remains on board as director and executive producer.
Killing Eve was a breakout for BBC America in the spring, improving its ratings (as measured by Live +3) among adults 18-49 and adults 25-54 each week. The season finale drew 1.25 million Live +3 viewers, 378,000 adults 18-49 and 545,000 adults 25-54. The demo figures were both at least double that of the premiere, and the total audience was up 86 percent from episode one.
Star Sandra Oh is nominated for an Emmy for lead actress in a drama series, making history as the first actress of Asian descent to earn a nod in the category, and Waller-Bridge is nominated for writing the first episode.
Variety first reported the new hires.
