Will there be a third season of The Politician?

Ultimately, a winner was declared and major hints were dropped about what could happen in a potential third season, but is it actually on the cards or just a pipe dream?

Here's everything we know so far about a possible season three of The Politician.

Will there be season 3 of The Politician on Netflix?

There's been no official confirmation just yet on whether there will be a third season of The Politician, but producer and co-creator Ryan Murphy is keen for it to happen.

Although he had initially planned for the show to run for five seasons, each one following Payton on a different campaign trail, he now envisions the third season being the last.

Murphy told Collider: "I would like to do, and I think all of us involved in it, would probably like to do three seasons total. And I think where season two ends, what I would love to do is take a couple of years off and have Ben Platt get a little bit older for his final race.

"That would obviously be a presidential race, right? That’s always what we had designed, and I think that’s what our plan is. I’m going to wait. Ben is young, so I want to wait a couple of years to figure out how we age him up a little bit. But that’s always been my plan."

So, if The Politician season three does go ahead, it may not arrive until 2022 or perhaps even later. We'll update this page as more information on the show's future is revealed.

What could happen in The Politician season 3?

In the closing moments of the second season, former rival-turned-friend Dede Standish tells Payton that she plans to run for President and wants him as her VP candidate, an opportunity that he would be crazy to pass up.

You might think that the third season would be a direct follow-up on this exciting reveal, showing what Standish and Hobart can achieve when they combine their sharp wits, but that may not be the case.

Ryan Murphy's recent comments have expressed an intention to make a third (and probably final) season all about Payton running his very own presidential campaign, so perhaps there will be a time-jump to a point where he is already in office as Vice President.

Who would be in the cast of The Politician season 3?

It seems highly likely that Ben Platt would return as career politician Payton Hobart, given that the show has always been centred around him and his lofty ambitions.

It would also make sense to bring back his campaign team, comprised of his wife Alice (Julia Schlaepfer) as well as close advisers McAfee (Laura Dreyfuss), James (Theo Germaine) and Skye (Rahne Jones).

In the final episode, there's also a brief appearance by David J Cork as Franklin, a brand new character who seems to be romantically involved with McAfee and could be a major player next season.

It's unclear whether Lucy Boynton would return as Astrid, who ends season two by deciding to venture off on her own path in life, which might well mean leaving the political sphere altogether.

Likewise, it remains to be seen whether Infinity (Zoey Deutch) will remain a part of Payton's future campaigns, but she may well do given the boost her social media followers gave him in season two.

It's quite possible that Judith Light and Bette Midler would also reprise their roles as Dede Standish and Hadassah Gold, given that they approach Payton about running alongside them in the season two finale.

And who can forget Gwyneth Paltrow? While she didn't have a huge role in the second season, her character remains very important to Payton and the plot, so we suspect they'll find a way to get her back.

The Politician is now streaming on Netflix. Check out our lists of the best TV shows on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix, or see what else is on with our TV Guide.