New Halo showrunner and actor explain why season 2 feels like a "different" show: "I think this is the Halo that I wanted to see"

Halo’s first season may have got fans talking for all the wrong reasons, but the Paramount Plus show’s second season is focusing on a new chapter that aims to silence the critics.

New showrunner David Wiener says that while the first season "gave us an incredible menu of possibilities", he wanted to change things up for Halo season 2 by keeping things more "subjective" in terms of the narrative’s presentation.

"I think what appealed to me was how we tell that story tonally and the perspective in which we want to place our audience," Wiener tells GamesRadar+

"Season two is in a much more subjective perspective. We’re with our Spartans in their emotional journeys but even in the combat and the action sequences. We are subject to the fog of war. We’re never seeing things that they don’t see, we don’t know things that they don’t know… Ultimately, the result is a grittier, more grounded, more visceral ride."

Executive producer and head of property expansion at Microsoft Kiki Wolfkill, who was part of season 1’s behind-the-scenes team and previously told us they would be taking fan feedback into account, is candid about how Halo season 2 will build on things they wanted to change back in 2022.

"Do we love every decision on season one? No," Wolfkill admits. "It’s our job to step up and do the best we can."

"What we’re able to do in season two is actually remedy some of the things we would’ve liked to in season one but you don’t really get the chance to during the course of a season."

The Vampire Diaries' Joseph Morgan, who joins the cast as ONI officer James Ackerson and counts himself as a fan of the franchise, also adds to the conversation of change surrounding the show in its sophomore season. 

"I feel like it’s a different show – season two to season one," Morgan says. "I feel like if you just want Master Chief’s helmet on, you’re never going to be happy. But if you want to show it’s faithful to the Halo canon and takes it more in a direction like the games that I played when I was a teenager, I think you’re going to like season two of the show."

Morgan adds, "Look, I’m a fan of the world and of the games. I think this is the Halo that I wanted to see. I think it’s grittier and grimier and it just looks and feels a lot cooler. There’s a lot more character development, subtext, and the layers that I want… space politics, all of that sort of thing which is such a big part of Halo. We’re aiming really, really high with it."

Halo season 2 premieres on Paramount Plus on February 8. 

For more, check out our ranking of the best Halo games.