Lazarus Project season 2 is "so complicated", says creator
Joe Barton spoke exclusively with RadioTimes.com about why season 2 is "the hardest thing" he's ever had to do.
Sky's sci-fi/action series The Lazarus Project gripped audiences when it arrived earlier this year, becoming the broadcaster's second biggest original drama of the year at the time.
A second season was promptly announced, confirmed to arrive next year. Now, the series's creator Joe Barton has spoken exclusively with RadioTimes.com about how the next instalment of the twisty time travel series is taking shape - and it sounds like it's going to be even more mind-bending than the last.
Barton said: "It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Between getting recommissioned and starting shooting was, like, two months – it was like crazy. So we're filming right now. I'm just trying to write the scripts before they turn up on set and have nothing to say. So it's very, very tight. It's very stressful."
He continued: "It's so complicated. It's the most complicated thing I've ever had to have to write. I've got f**king whiteboards full of time-travel loops... never again! I'm never doing time travel again!"
When RadioTimes.com said "until season 3", Barton responded jokingly: "Yeah, exactly!"
The series stars Paapa Essiedu as George, a man who is recruited into the Lazarus Project, a covert team that is dedicated to preventing mass extinction events by resetting the timeline.
Before the series was officially recommissioned for a second season, Barton told RadioTimes.com that futures outings could introduce other ex-agents beyond Tom Burke's character, who were teased in season 1.
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He said: "It's something we'd probably explore more if we get further seasons, and that idea of what the toll is on these people who do this thing.
"There's an almost God-like aspect, they have this incredible power – they live in this world where they can manipulate space and time and they could live without consequences if they want to... and how does that corrupt them? How does it change the way they view morality? So it's something I think is interesting and we want to carry on exploring."
The Lazarus Project season 1 is available to watch now via Sky and NOW – sign up for Sky TV here. Visit our Sci-fi hub for more news, interviews and features, or find something to watch now with our TV Guide.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.