“Happy Birthday, Mr. President” was a song sung by the inimitable Marilyn Monroe to John F. Kennedy more than 50 years ago. A historic moment – in our timeline, at least – The Man in the High Castle season 2 flips that scene on its head, instead portraying Monroe crooning to “Mein Führer” in what is a suitably warped twist on the reality we know.
For in The Man in the High Castle, Amazon’s series that’s loosely based on Philip K. Dick’s novel of the same name, it was the Axis powers that triumphed during World War II, resulting in an alternate history wherein the United States has been split into three distinct zones: the Japanese Pacific States west of the Rockies, a Nazi puppet state, and a gulf in the middle designed as a buffer between the two.
It’s certainly fertile ground for storytelling and sure enough, the Amazon property hit the ground running, churning out a pilot that would go on to become the company’s most-viewed episode across all original series. Come December, we’ll be basking in the show’s sophomore run and going off the trailer above, geopolitical tensions between the Reich and the Empire are only heading in one direction. It’s one part of a double whammy, after the studio unveiled the first clip for season 2 of The Man in the High Castle at NYCC over the weekend as well. You can find that one depicting Julianna’s interrogation, below.
The Man in the High Castle returns via Amazon on December 16.
