NEED TO KNOW
School is almost back in session.
On Thursday, Oct. 2, Prime Video released the trailer for the highly anticipated second season of Maxton Hall: The World Between Us. The German series, based on the bestselling books by Mona Kasten, returns to the streamer on Nov. 7, and season 2 promises the same addicting twists and turns.
The trailer begins with Ruby (Harriet Herbig-Matten) musing that “some dreams are so beautiful that you want to stop time,” but as she walks into a party and sees a drunk James (Damian Hardung) kissing Elaine (Eli Riccardi), she changes her tune.
“Sometimes one second is enough to turn them into a nightmare,” a heartbroken Ruby warns after witnessing James’ betrayal.
Courtesy of Prime
Lin (Andrea Guo) reminds Ruby that she “had a life before James Beaufort, and you’ll have one after James Beaufort,” but the lacrosse captain is crumbling in the wake of his mother’s death, and it’s clear he’s not going to give up on his girl without a fight.
“I’m forever sorry,” a teary-eyed James tells Ruby. “I wish that I could take it back.”
As Lydia (Sonja Weißer) reminds her brother, he and Ruby “come from two different worlds,” and their father Mortimer (Fedja van Huêt) remains as steadfast as ever in his opposition to his son’s romance with Ruby.
“Stay away from this girl forever,” he tells James.
Courtesy of Prime
The chemistry between them is undeniable, though, regardless of the obstacles in their way. As the trailer ends, Ruby seems to encourage James — or, maybe herself — to just go for it.
“If you have a definite goal in life, and nothing in the world would stop you getting it, then you mustn’t give up,” she says.
Season 2 picks up after James’ mother’s death, which “changes everything” and leaves Ruby grappling with a “harsh reality,” per the official logline.
“Ruby is devastated. She has never had such strong feelings for anyone as she does for James – and she has never been so hurt by anyone either. She wants her old life back, where no one at Maxton Hall knew her and she wasn’t part of the elitist world of her classmates,” the logline continues. “But she can’t forget James – especially since he’s doing everything he can to win her back.”
Courtesy of Prime
Ahead of the premiere, Hardung, 27, tells PEOPLE of season 2, “We kind of knew reading the first draft of the script for the second season that it was going to be much bleaker, but also more honest in a way and more grown up.”
“Which I think is important,” he continues. “Because we’ve seen him, the last time, when his mother has just passed away, and I feel like….[he] needs to have a certain timeframe of actually working on his grief and going through the different stages of grief.”
Courtesy of Prime
Amidst James’ grief, Herbig-Matten says Ruby is “trying to fix herself and is setting boundaries and is letting [James] go” after “going through her first heartbreak” at his hands.
“They’re trying to figure it out, and he’s changing, and I think that’s the breaking point for her,” she tells PEOPLE. In Ruby’s eyes, in order to decide if she’ll “get back together with him or forgive him, he has to change and he has to get help.”
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The first three episodes of Maxton Hall season 2 premiere Nov. 7 on Prime Video, followed by weekly drops until the finale on Nov. 27.
