Development Syfy officially announced the commissioning of a second season of
Sanctuary in November 2008 due to the ratings success of the pilot episode, which totalled over three million viewers. Writer and executive producer Sam Egan left the series after the
first season. Andrea Gorfolova, Carrie Mudd and Keith Beedie join creator Damian Kindler, director Martin Wood, and actress Amanda Tapping as the show's executive producers. Introducing new Sanctuaries and its characters would widen the breadth of the show. They also wished to start introducing abnormals that cannot walk, including an oil-like abnormal in "End of Nights" and the fire
elemental "Penance". "Next Tuesday", and the second part of "Kali". McCullough wrote "Hero", The producers were originally hesitant in including "Hero" as the fourth episode, as it was considered lighter in tone as Magnus was trying to get over Ashley's death from "Eulogy". which would create a "far more realistic thread of tension" between the two characters who "obviously love each other," and "obviously get along," which Kindler felt made a "cool character layer." This was also based on the producers themselves, who despite being good friends, often argue while producing the series. and finished on the end of July the same year. Director Martin Wood wanted to film the season in a more
graphic novel style. During the shoot of the first part of "End of Nights", Kindler loaned his car for a car chase sequence. A later scene involved having the car shot at by snipers. To prevent damage to the car, the bullet holes were made from visual effects. The finale was filmed during one of the hottest heatwaves to hit British Columbia; Tapping found that the set was hotter than the average temperature of the actual Mumbai. Three main cameras were used, one of which was crane-operated. 60 extras were used, the highest number used in an
Sanctuary episode. For the extras to be used in more than one scene, they wore many different costumes. The streeting area was also limited in size, so the streets were recycled frequently with every scene. The practical sets of the Sanctuary offices and corridors were also redesigned to look like the Mumbai Sanctuary.
Music Andrew Lockington was appointed the series composer in the season. The producers liked Lockington's contribution to the score as it was more heightened than it was in the first season. Lockington would also capture the emotional temper when it comes to scoring for the emotional scenes. The composer sampled several instruments from around the world to give the score a more ethnic, international feel. Some episodes feature the score taking different styles. For instance "Fragments" features a "cool
Michael Mann soundtrack." In "Kali", the score adopted a more
Bollywood-style theme, particularly during Will's dance sequence. In addition to the score, there were occasional instances where popular music was featured. "End of Nights" featured a track from the
Toronto-based
hip hop group
Down with Webster.
Effects Anthem Visual Effects resumed their duties of producing the visual effects for the second season. The company's Lee Wilson noted that their workload for the second season "increased exponentially" over the first, with some episodes containing as many as 500 visual effects shots. The produce decided to "re-jig" the opening title sequence, which they wanted to do each year. The photograph where Magnus meets
Albert Einstein changed to aviation pilot
Amelia Earhart. The producers noticed that the visual effects have been made "more wondrous than we did the season before," as they were able to produce certain actions that they never tried before. The steno in "Eulogy" was designed to look adorable, harmless and bunny-like in its infancy, but more menacing when it grows up. In making the Adjuster fly in "Hero", both visual and practical effects were used; some of the simpler sequences involved Gauthier hooked up to a velocity rig, but in order to make him fly over the city skyline, a
computer-generated avatar was created. The design of the coleanthropus in the same episode was based on a mix of insect and dinosaur. The second season introduces "moving ," an upgraded technique the film crew used to complete the effect where Druitt teleports. The were used specifically to make the sequences where the cast around Heyerdahl freeze until he leaves the screen. The producers wanted to have the camera move during those shots, as they believed it would be "way cooler to have those on the move." One of the more difficult moving included a "triple " with other characters who could teleport on the same shot in "End of Nights". The sequence was difficult for Tapping, as she had to carry a prop weighing approximately 73
pounds. A three-dimensional
hologram of Rachel's office was included in "Fragments"; it was originally intended to feature the hologram throughout the episode, but because doing so would be costly, the producers decided to have one scene with the hologram, so Henry could use it as a blueprint to make an identical office with boxes. For the finale, Anthem decided to make the macri and Big Bertha look like the same creature, though Bertha would be a considerably larger creature. Some scenes involve the macri interacting with real life objects, including clothing. To make a scene where the macri enters a jacket, Wilson used fishing wire to move a sleeve slightly. Big Bertha's actions meanwhile, were largely made underwater. Anthem found that making underwater effects was difficult because there was a different style of movement. Additionally, Anthem produced a sequence where Wexford launches
depth charges from his ship. The producers were looking for
stock footage of the dropping depth charges, but they could not find one in high-definition. In addition to visual effects, other forms of physical effects were produced. In "Hero", there was a scene where the camera appeared to be shot from inside a water tank. Instead, a water tank was placed between the camera and the actors, where
Alka-Seltzer was placed at the bottom to simulate bubbles. Wood previously used this technique in the first-season episode "Requiem" as well as in
Stargate Atlantis. The Adjuster comic books at the end of the episode were designed by artists who occasionally work for
DC Comics. Dunne wore a mullet and a white eye
contact lens in "Pavor Nocturnus" for Will's alternate self in a dystopian future. The vampire squid-related effects for "Next Tuesday" were made possible by visual aids. For the shots where the squid swims on the water surface, the production crew used a
radio-controlled boat to mimic a
wake. When the squid erupts from the water, they placed a
beach ball underwater and released it to mimic the splash. To make the helicopter sway during the battles between the squid and sea scorpion, an air pump was placed below it. However, doing so added the side effect of strong currents, proving difficult for the cast to swim towards the helicopter. The season also includes stunt work. Weeks before filming "End of Nights", Heyerdahl practiced sword fighting to be done against the hybrids in the second part. Jonathon Young performed his own stunts for "Sleepers", including being run over by a car and falling from a car. Both stunts involved harnesses and other safety measures. Young also participated in a fight scene with the other vampire characters, but he ended up injuring two of the actors. In one instance Young hit
Chad Rook in the face, which caused a fang insert to puncture his lip. ==Broadcast and reception==