‘Victoria’ Season 2 Spoilers: 6 Things To Know About The 2018 Episodes

“Victoria” returns to PBS Sunday night, but fans might want to know what to expect before watching the U.S. premiere. It sounds like Season 2 of the historical drama will be filled with exciting episodes.

Cutting Short Maternity Leave — Queen Victoria (Jenna Coleman) is not enjoying her leave of absence. She gave birth to her daughter, and she was ordered to rest for months. However, Victoria is ready to get back to work after a few weeks. In the two-hour Season 2 premiere, she decides that she can make her own decisions and jumps back into her job.

Prince Albert’s Reign — Victoria’s husband has been ruling in her absence, and it seems he is a little too comfortable in the position. Prince Albert (Tom Hughes) will have a hard time handing the reins back to his wife after she cuts her maternity leave short. He thinks she needs protecting.

Mr. Francatelli and Mrs. Skerritt — Their flirtation did not work out last season, but that does not mean it is over. When Mrs. Skerritt (Nell Hudson) finally realized she was in love with Mr. Francatelli (Ferdinand Kingsley), the chef already left Buckingham Palace. Mrs. Skerritt will have a confrontation with Mr. Francatelli in the Season 2 premiere, but it might not go smoothly.

New Faces — Victoria and Albert will meet plenty of new faces in “Victoria” Season 2:

• Duchess of Buccleuch (Dame Diana Rigg) is the new mistress of the robes, who Queen Victoria hires without meeting beforehand. She and the Duchess don’t agree on much.
• Wilhelmina Coke (Bebe Cave) is the Duchess of Beccleuch’s niece, and she’ll take a liking to Prince Albert’s brother, Ernest (David Oakes).
• Drummond (Leo Suter) is assistant to Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel (Nigel Lindsay), and he will find trouble very quickly.
• Miss Cleary (Tilly Steele) is a new member of the downstairs household and comes from Mrs. Skerritt’s school.
• Ada Lovelace (Emerald Fennell) is a mathematician, and Victoria is a little suspicious of a female mathematician. She is also worried about Albert's interest in Ada.
• Boy Jones (Tommy Rodger) is a young man who sneaks into Buckingham Palace several times over the course of three years.

Lord M Returns — Expect to see Rufus Sewell make another appearance as Lord Melbourne in “Victoria” Season 2. However, the actor warned BT that Lord M’s dynamic with Victoria has changed.

“What wouldn’t work is trying to repeat the situation and the dynamic that Lord M and Victoria had in series one, fun though it was to play,” he explained. “What was interesting was navigating his changed relationship with Victoria and also with Albert. There had been a certain level of imagined antagonism to start off with, but actually in reality they liked each rather a lot once the original suspicion went away.”

A Second Pregnancy — Victoria makes it very clear in the Season 2 premiere that she isn’t going to be popping out babies all the time, but it won’t be long before she finds herself pregnant with her second child. The Queen won’t see this pregnancy as a blessing.

“Victoria” Season 2 premieres Sunday, Jan. 14 at 9 p.m. EST on PBS.