'Maria's Portuguese Table' is back for Season 2. Some episodes feature the SouthCoast.

It's been a while, but soon audiences will once again pull up a seat to "Maria's Portuguese Table."

The second season of the hit travel and culinary series will premiere on Sunday, April 2, at 7 p.m. on Rhode Island PBS. It will air for eight weeks and then start airing nationwide in June.

This season is going to premiere almost four years after the debut of the first season.

Modesto, California-based production company Cineasta Digital Productions and New England-based author and chef Maria Lawton teamed up to produce the show's first season in 2019, which reached a national PBS audience by 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic delayed fundraising and production of additional episodes, but after receiving initial funding from RIPBS Foundation in late 2021, Lawton and her husband, co-executive producer Bob Lawton, beganpre-production for the second season.

Season two filming took place during the summer and fall of 2022 in various locations, including Fall River and New Bedford.

Lawton, who is also known for her Azorean Green Bean food blog, also filmed episodes in the Azores for this season.

She was born on the Azorean island of São Miguel, and turned her preservation of family recipes into a best-selling cookbook, "Azorean Cooking: From My Family Table to Yours."

Azorean Green Bean goes national:Local cooking show, “Maria’s Portuguese Table,” thrives nationally on PBS

Each episode of the Emmy-nominated series will continue to highlight Portuguese cuisine while exploring the Portuguese immigrant experience throughout North America and returning to Lawton's roots on the Azores Islands.

In addition to support from RIPBS Foundation, other major supporters include Bay Coast Bank, UMass Dartmouth Center for Portuguese Studies & Culture, Dunkin’, Azores Airlines, Bensaude Hotels Collection, and Azores Tourism.

There were individual supporters as well, many donating through a GoFundMe campaign.

“We needed literally every penny we were given” Lawton said in a press release. “A friend saw that I was struggling and surprised me with the GoFundMe! Honestly, it was humbling to receive so much support from people I’ve never met. This show wouldn’t have happened without any of our contributors, regardless of the size of their donation.”

Director and producer Dean Camara, who is a two-time Emmy award-winning cinematographer, assembled a crew of other Emmy-award-winning talent, including Charlie Askew as director of photography, Jeff Civitkovic as producer and senior editor, Patrick Payne as post-production supervisor, Scott Perry as post-production soundengineer, and Mark Gardner as location sound engineer.

"We were so fortunate to be able to put together this special crew for season two. We were able to accomplish a lot more of the cinematic goals I had originally for season one, but was able to finally execute on this one." Camara said in the press release. "We really wanted to make sure we captured the locations, the moments and the food in a unique way and I think we accomplished that."

The eight-part series will feature four episodes set in the New England area, from Cape Cod to Boston, and four episodes set in the central islands of the Azorean archipelago, off the beaten path and into local kitchens.

"Maria's Portuguese Table" interweaves heritage, culture, and history into each episode, taking viewers on a unique journey.

"Being able to showcase the central islands has been a dream of mine since we started this project," Lawton said. "These are islands that not too many people are familiar with, and I am beyond excited to be a part of introducing them to everyone. This series is so important to both Dean and I. Dean, being the product of Azorean parents, and I, being born in the Azores, have roots that are deeply Portuguese.”

Lawton expressed her gratitude for the support they've received and is looking forward to future seasons on mainland Portugal and Madeira Island.

With the show's first season having received several accolades and awards, including an Emmy and Taste Awards nomination for the best Cooking & Travel Series, the Taste Spotlight Award, and Telly Award in both Silver and Bronze for Best TV Series on PBS in Food & Culture, the second season is highly anticipated by fans.

For more information about Lawton and "Maria's Portuguese Table," visit azoreangreenbean.com or email Lawton at azoreangreenbeam@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Maria's Portuguese Table season 2 premieres on RI PBS April 2