The intriguing season finale of the Netflix YA thriller The Society, which finally revealed what had happened to the West Ham kids, left viewers begging for more. But there will be more crying to come since Netflix has already cancelled The Society season two.
Netflix cited COVID-19 as the cause and said in a statement: “We’ve made the difficult decision not to proceed with second seasons of The Society and I Am Not Okay With This. We regret having to make these choices as a result of COVID’s circumstances.
Despite being pleased with how both series performed, a source told The Hollywood Reporter that the “uncertainty” around air dates, “unexpected budget increases” brought on by the epidemic, and the challenges associated with managing a large cast proved to be too much to overcome.
Showrunner Chris Keyser told Variety that “we spent the previous few months getting ready to go back again, dealing with all the COVID protocols.” “And after that, I received a call from Netflix informing me that a decision had been made. It was abrupt and undoubtedly quite unpleasant.
According to Keyser, “We were dealing with Netflix, the increase in the budget, and all of that kind of stuff.” “There were constant discussions, and we were aware that there were difficulties with this.”
According to Keyser, Season 2 “was planned to be shot largely in the summer.” “However, winter and fall were returning. They eventually decided that it was too much. I suppose that’s how things work.
I can’t even pretend to be surprised, he said. “I am aware that we spoke about the difficulties of producing in this setting for many months.
“Obviously, no one wants the story they are creating to come to an end, and I would prefer that the characters not become the children of New Ham, who vanished abruptly and without a trace. However, I don’t have complete control over that.
He continued, “This is really terrible.” But anyone could use it. We are forced to deal with the losses this pandemic has brought, just like so many other individuals at this time. We are, I suppose, comparable to all the tiny shops and eateries that have closed and won’t be reopening. People here are unemployed, yet this is a nationwide problem.
Since the unexpected announcement, the series’ followers have begun a petition on Change.org, which as of this writing has amassed more than 130,000 signatures. Kathryn Newton, a celebrity, added her own signature and tweeted about the petition.
The save the society petition made me feel so happy ❤️? I signed it Hehe #TheSociety so much love!
Even though the first season of the show has already been aired for more than two years, many people are still optimistic that it will return. That doesn’t mean it’s an impossibility; after all, Stranger Things had a three-year gap between seasons, and since most of the performers in The Society are already adults (although portraying characters who are younger than they actually are), their ageing between seasons wouldn’t be that visible.
The fact that many of the cast have gone on to other projects two long years after season one is currently the biggest issue.
Since The Society ended, Kathryn Newton, who played Allie, has worked on the films Freaky and The Map of Tiny Perfect Things. She is presently filming Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. While Jack Mulhern has filmed a role in Mare of Easttown and is currently working on the mini-series Painkiller with Uzo Aduba and Matthew Broderick, Gideon Adlon produced Pacific Rim: The Black, Olivia DeJonge is producing the suspense drama The Staircase, and Gideon Adlon has directed Pacific Rim: The Black.
Christopher Keyser, the show’s creator, hasn’t been waiting around the house for the phone to ring either since The Society was cancelled. He is now working on the drama series Julia, which is based on the life of American cooking instructor and author Julia Child and stars Sarah Lancashire from Happy Valley, David Hyde Pierce as Julia’s husband Paul, and Bebe Neuwirth as publisher Avis DeVoto. After that, Keyser is expected to pen the screenplay for Ben Affleck’s upcoming version of Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution.
More information regarding The Society’s cancellation can be found here.
The Society season 2 – What questions were we left with?
Parents, younger siblings, and everyone else were in another reality—the “true” one—while they were imprisoned in an alternate reality that resembled and felt just like their hometown.
While one aspect of the mystery has been resolved, there is still a significant concern that needs to be addressed: will the town’s youth ever be able to return home, or will they be trapped there for all time?
The actors provided the following information in the official announcement (via Variety) regarding the return date of the programme: We have some major news for the residents of New Ham, really enormous news—bigger than when Gordie realised we were in a parallel universe.
Are you prepared? The Society’s second season is in production. Understand what this means? Added pie. Another fugitive. extra memes More solutions. regards Charlie And the father of Becca’s child. Grizz’s hair, too. The wait will be worthwhile.
However, “more answers” didn’t necessarily imply “all the answers,” in Keyser’s opinion.
It’s difficult to predict if we will divulge everything, he said to TV Guide. “We have responses to the inquiries. Whether we eventually determine that, for dramatic effect, it’s more intriguing for the students to be neither completely in the dark nor completely confident.
“Even if they can find out how or if it can ever be reversed, I think the indicators of [how they got there] will always be somewhat opaque to them. These things are difficult to reveal.
Here is all the information we had before to season two’s cancellation.
The Society season 2 release date – When will it air on Netflix?
As we previously mentioned, Netflix cancelled The Society season two as a result of COVID-19’s effects on the television and film industries.
The Society season two’s production did begin in 2019, and it was stated back on April 2 (via Deadline) that it was anticipated to air in “late 2020.”
The Society season 2 trailer: When can I watch it?
Here is a trailer for the first season of the show, which never saw the light of day in a second season trailer.
Digital Spy GB’s first-season trailer for The Society
Play Movie
The Society season 2 cast: Who’s returning?
Okay, nobody.
But in season two, Kathryn Newton was supposed to return as Allie.
She admitted to Cosmopolitan in 2019 that she was initially rather anxious before entering the set.
“I confessed to [Reese Witherspoon, her Big Little Lies co-star], ‘I’m terribly afraid,’ before I started The Society.
‘You’re already a leader, you’re going to do OK,’ Reese said. Have everyone over for game night, take them out to supper, or take them bowling.
“That established a foundation where we were all genuinely at ease and in love with one another, and the show is better that way, you know? There is still a group chat open. I have new friends, in fact.
For round two, the following were also scheduled to return:
Will Campbell (Jacques Colimon) (Toby Wallace)
Becca (Gideon Adlon)
Harry (Alex Fitzalan), Sam (Sean Berdy), and Kelly (Kristine Froseth)
Natasha Liu Bordizzo’s Helena Elle (Olivia DeJonge)
(José Julián) Gordie
Bean (Salena Qureshi)
Alex MacNicoll’s Luke Grizz (Jack Mulhern)
Clark (Spencer House)
Jason (Emilio Garcia-Sanchez)
Lexie (Grace Victoria Cox)
The role of Gwen’s actress, Olivia Nikkanen, had also been upgraded to series regular.
Gwen was the girl you didn’t want on your bad side in high school, according to her official character description. Not quite Queen Bee, but clearly a courtier.
Her social standing is more shaky in New Ham. Despite the fact that Gwen frequently experiences anxiety attacks that leave her defenceless and alone, her wit, humour, and hidden talents will help her redefine her place in the new world.
As Mr. Pfeiffer, Chaske Spencer was supposed to appear once more. He was one of the bus drivers who took the kids on their school trip, and at the start of the programme, he was seen arguing with both Sam and Campbell’s father Doug (Paul Anthony Stewart) and Harry’s mother Karen (Anastasia Barzee).
What was his part in all of this? Series fans have expressed their doubts about him in the past.
Keyser, the season two showrunner, agreed to come back.
Allie’s older sister Cassandra (Rachel Keller), who was shot dead, and Dewey (Seth Meriwether), who was executed by shooting after being found guilty of killing Cassandra, are two individuals who most likely wouldn’t have been returning.
However, given that an alternate world existed, it’s plausible that they may have made a comeback.
The Society season 2 plot: What would have happened?
Gordie and Bean’s investigation in the first season revealed that the reality they were experiencing was not their own but rather a parallel realm. They had still not figured out how to get home at the end of the first instalment and were still essentially stranded there.
The audience was then returned to the ordinary West Ham, which stayed the same save for the absence of the entire town’s teenagers, in the closing scene.
The names of all the missing kids were written on a plaque that was mounted on the wall and said, “We remember them.” But it’s unclear whether they realised what had happened to their kids or what actions they were taking to figure out what had happened.
That important plot line would have emerged naturally in season two. But it was completely uncertain whether the teenagers would ever discover a means to return home, as well as what the consequences would be.
There are still a lot of unanswered issues surrounding their disappearance, including how they got there in the first place and whether there are any more surprises in store.
The excursion that Grizz led with a few other kids to look for land where they might grow food was successful. They were able to locate a location where they could raise food and, in the words of Grizz, “survive in this spot.”
They also found several turkeys and learned that fishing was possible, so there’s a chance that they won’t starve to death when the food in the nearby stores ultimately runs out.
The fact that Allie and Will were evicted and Campbell, Harry, and Lexie assumed leadership of the town, however, dampened that happy moment. Things were only going to become worse with that trio in command, especially if Campbell got his way.
The future of Grizz and Sam’s relationship, the fact that Becca is now a mother, and Elle’s position now that he is aware of her attempt to poison him will all have piqued the interest of viewers.
By the finale, I was pretty pissed off, Kathryn Newton (Allie) admitted to ET. Naturally, I wanted Allie to be in a position of authority, but you know, I learned a lot from Allie—I mean, the way she’s suddenly all-knowing. I believe she will let them come to her. That is my opinion.
“She seems to be unable to trust anyone, perhaps Grizz? I cherish Grizz! I have faith that Grizz and she will come up with something, continued Newton. He’s still on Team Allie, I think.
There was also the question of who Becca’s baby’s father was.
Grace Victoria Cox, who plays Lexi, said to Cosmopolitan UK that she had no idea who it was. Since I don’t know, I share everyone else’s eagerness to solve the mystery.
She continued, “I would love to see Lexie attempting to govern New Ham and it just going horribly because of Campbell and the guard and Harry, and all of the mayhem that they would get into I think that would be really fun to act out and for people to see.”
Keyser spoke with Digital Spy on the more mature subjects of the programme and his concerns therein.
Television may be a suggestive medium, therefore we constantly concerned about our obligations when creating programming for youngsters, he said.
First of all, there are children who are essentially 18 years old, and the majority, like the rest of the world, will have to deal with this stuff. It will happen eventually. Is it preferable to stay away from that? Or simply to discuss it?
“In my opinion, talking about it is preferable. None of that is fetishized in the show. The most crucial thing we want to stress is that all of those things — possibly, or not necessarily, since sex can sometimes just be a beautiful thing — all involve sex.
But there are repercussions for sex, possibly for drug use, possibly for excessive drinking or any drinking, possibly for violence. And what matters are the results.
According to Keyser, season two would have focused on “what we called the ‘outpost’ being established and the eventual confrontation between the outpost and the town over control” (via Variety).
“It addressed many important questions about how we behave one another and how we establish caste systems and an underclass. It resolved issues of who was in authority and who wasn’t, as well as having significant political repercussions.
There would have been “a plunge into greater darkness, the laws don’t hold,” in season two as well.
“We talked extensively about the causes behind the West Ham children becoming New Ham youngsters. What caused that, and how they could get home.
The series’ future was also discussed in Keyser’s interview with Metro: “Ali brought in the question of what happens to your political position regardless of the other world, and whether people believed or didn’t believe that Ali and Casandra working were actually doing the right thing, or whether they were autocrats in their own right.
They didn’t exact retribution on their adversaries, though. Now that we’ve reached this stage, there is a serious risk that people may start to penalise others who disagree with them.
But it’s unclear how long the series would have lasted if it had.
We don’t have everything figured out, but we have a lot of ideas for where we want to go, he continued.
There was also the question of who Becca’s baby’s father was.
