An epic saga continues with the second season of multigenerational drama Pachinko

Pachinko is a game of chance. Commonly played in cacophonous, neon halls that hum with the farrago of machine clangour and player anticipation, pachinko is a popular Japanese pastime whose closest American counterpart is the slot machine. First created (in its recognized form) in the 1920s, pachinko culture in Japan all but shut down during the Second World War, only to reemerge with gusto in the late 1940s as the country rebuilt and immigrants from nearby countries, such as 1950s’ war-torn Korea, arrived in droves and began to play.

Due to its popularity across Japan, its tenacity as an institution and its ever-evolving landscape — from the crude mechanisms of the early years to the streamlined electronic machines of today — pachinko could easily be interpreted as a symbol of Japan and its people: highly traditional but frequently adapting to change.

This sentiment, however, is rather removed from the heart of the Apple TV+ series Pachinko, which likens the game of chance more to life as a Korean immigrant in the former empire: a game that makes it extremely difficult to win big, no matter how hard you try.

Returning with a second season, this sweeping epic — based on the acclaimed novel of the same name — begins in 1915. The saga follows leading lady Kim Sunja and her family as she ages and seeks out a better life amid the chaos and confusion of a world dominated by war, loss and prejudice. Despite the wide scale of the story, Apple promotes the series as being “intimate in tone” and describes it as “a sweeping saga that journeys between Korea, Japan and America to tell an unforgettable story of war and peace, love and loss, triumph and reckoning.”

In the series, created by Soo Hugh (The Whispers), Sunja is played by three separate actresses: Yu-Na (Good Partner) in childhood, Minha Kim (Investigation Partners) as a teen-turned-young adult and Minari Oscar-winner Youn Yuh-jung  in elder adulthood. The latter two actresses are both confirmed as returning for the non-linear series’ second season.

Since the series spans 80 years of Sunja’s life, it is hard to say whether the second season will begin exactly where the first season ended. Rather, according to the official synopsis, “the parallel stories pick up in Osaka in 1945, where Sunja is forced to make dangerous decisions for her family’s survival during [the Second World War], and in Tokyo in 1989, which finds Solomon exploring new, humble beginnings.”

Based on this description, however, we know that Sunja’s grandson, Solomon (played by Love Life actor Jin Ha), will return for another instalment. Joining him are Lee Min-ho (Boys Over Flowers) as Hansu, Anna Sawai (Shogun) as Naomi, Jung Eun-chae (Return) as Kyunghee, Soji Arai (The Ramen Girl) as Mozasu and Han Joon-Woo (Sense8) as Yoseb. Kim Sungkyu (Kingdom) also joins the cast as Changho, a character from the novel who has yet to appear on screen.

The generational drama — which is told in Korean, Japanese and English (with subtitles) — was released to high acclaim from critics and audiences alike, winning the 2023 Peabody Award for Entertainment and earning BAFTA and Emmy nominations.

At the end of the day, creator Hugh is delighted to be back for what she hopes is the second of four seasons in total, although further renewals remain unconfirmed at this time.

“This show is fiction . . . but it’s built on the backs of people like these incredible women who lived,” Hugh told IndieWire.

“There’s just so much story to tell,” Hugh noted. “I think about Sunja and where we left her. And . . . Kyunghee just has this amazing story in season two.”

But it’s clear that Hugh may be most excited to show more of Solomon’s storyline, telling IndieWire, “I just want people to understand . . . we’re watching a human being in formation. [In] season one, he’s just clay. His storyline is meant to move at a slow-moving pace because it takes place over one year, but it’s divided into four seasons. Sunja has the luxury of just going through time like a rocket. With Solomon, we’re going to get a final form at the end of the series.”

Pachinko, begins streaming on Friday, August 23 on Apple TV+