Pachinko is a game of chance. Commonly played in cacophonous, neon halls that hum with the farrago of machine clangor 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 World War II, 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.
Named for this iconic game, “Pachinko” begins its second season Friday, Aug. 23, on Apple TV+.
A sweeping epic that begins in 1915, “Pachinko” is based on the 2017 National Book Award finalist of the same name by Korean American author Min Jin Lee. It 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 Apple TV+ 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 by Academy Award-winning actress Youn Yuh-jung (“Minari,” 2020) 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 Season 2 of the series will begin exactly where the first season ended. Rather, according to the official Apple description of the season, “the parallel stories pick up in Osaka in 1945, where Sunja is forced to make dangerous decisions for her family’s survival during World War II, 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 installment. Joining him are Lee Min-ho (“Boys Over Flowers”) as Hansu, Anna Sawai (“Shogun”) as Naomi, Eunchae Jung (“Return”) as Kyunghee, Soji Arai (“The Ramen Girl,” 2008) 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. To boot, “Pachinko” won the 2023 Peabody Award for Entertainment and was nominated for both a Primetime Emmy and a BAFTA in its first season, among other honors.
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 explained to IndieWire following the Season 1 release, going on to explain the intricacies of working with a near-century-long plot.
“There’s just so much story to tell,” Hugh noted, somewhat bemused. “I think about Sunja and where we left her. And ... Kyunghee just has this amazing story in Season 2.”
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