BEYOND THE NOTES
Courtesy of Apple TV+
June 12, 2025 | Shreya Varma
LOS ANGELES — JUNE 12, 2025 — Premiering June 18th, Apple TV’s hit series The Buccaneers returns with a new season and a new soundtrack that transforms scenes into emotionally charged moments reflecting love, truth, and the complex inner lives of women in a period drama setting. While Season 1’s extensive soundtrack found major success with tracks like Gracie Abrams’s “Cedar,” Season 2 takes a more curated approach, weaving together a 10-song album that centers on honesty between individuals, within families, and across romantic relationships, featuring a lineup of both emerging and early-career women artists.
Executive Music Producer Stella Mozgawa joked that with just 10 songs this time around (compared to 28 in Season 1), she had more time to truly connect with the characters and choose music that wasn’t necessarily chart-topping, but emotionally fitting for scenes. After sorting through thousands of unreleased demos with her team, Mozgawa ultimately finalized an all-women soundtrack, a decision she said came naturally for a series rooted in the nuanced dynamics and societal expectations of female relationships—both platonic and romantic.
While the soundtrack includes recognizable names like Suki Waterhouse, it similarly includes some unfamiliar names to look out for, including Kacy Hill and Jade Bird. Both artists have an indie sound that varies as a more pop-feeling versus country vibe, speaking to the emotional variation called for by the series. While Hill wrote a song specifically for the show, Bird’s song for the show was previously written about recent challenges she’s been working through in her personal life.Their contrasting creative processes reflect the power of music to resonate, whether it’s aligning with the journey of a fictional character or echoing the listener’s own reality.
Season 2’s soundtrack is a collection of passion and vulnerability, confronting difficult truths while encapsulating the tribulations of being a woman in the late 17th century. With its all-female roster, the soundtrack is intentionally crafted to hit the core aspects of the characters fans know and love. As viewers watch these women come further into themselves this season, the soundtrack deepens the emotional connection, scene by scene.
The Buccaneers will be out on all platforms with Apple TV+ on June 18th, 2025. Get ready to laugh, cry, and confront the uncomfortable feelings alongside our favorite period drama characters.
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