Archive 81 proved to be an out-of-nowhere breakout hit for Netflix, shooting up the charts past more high profile shows to land itself at #1 for a time, proving to be one of Netflix’s most successful dedicated offerings.
So, what’s going on with season 2, and a release date for that?
At the time of this writing, Netflix has not renewed Archive 81, but I am willing to bet it’s almost a sure thing, given how well the show did, and how it’s not likely to be a terribly expensive production, given its relatively unknown cast and limited location filming (essentially just an apartment and a house for most of season 1). While Netflix has made strange cancelations in the past, I’m not thinking this is going to be one of them, and season 2 is already being discussed by hits showrunner.
“The idea is that we continue on with these characters into a new season, should we be so lucky to get a second season,” Rebecca Sonnenshine told The Wrap. “It wasn’t conceived as a one-season show. I think there are more stories to tell. I think we end on a good cliffhanger that needs to be addressed, and we introduce a lot of characters that surround Dan and Melody that have very rich and interesting lives to explore further. So yeah, we hope to keep going.”
They’ve gone on to talk about the various fates of the characters and how everything is left open ended for a reason, and this was never meant to be some miniseries that evaporates after season 1. So again, given this plan, and given its performance, season 2 seems likely.
But when?
From filming to post-production, we know that Archive 81 took about 13 months to get out. You could use that as a metric, and yet it may not take quite as long to formulate a second season with so much of the groundwork laid already. They’re not starting from scratch this time, and that may hurry things alone, especially if we don’t get another wave of pandemic after this one, which would potentially delay things.
With Archive 81 arriving in late December 2021, the best guess is at least a year until season 2, given that the show has not been renewed yet, and as such, has not started filming. Hopefully they’ll get that word sooner rather than later, and even after a full month, Archive 81 is still hanging around Netflix’s overall top 10 list, showing longtail performance that I’m sure Netflix recognizes. It may not be a “sure thing” like Ozark and Stranger Things always managing to get new seasons, but I’m expressly confident it will happen. But we will likely not see it until next winter at the earliest.
I will plan to update this article with more concrete information when we get it, but if you’re a fan of the show, I wouldn’t stress too much about Archive 81 landing renewal.
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