The Society – Picture: Netflix
The Society was one of the shining new lights of the drama lineup for Netflix but sadly has been one of the casualties caused due to COVID-19. Filming was due to get back underway in September 2020 but is no longer the case. Here’s what we know.
Just to recap, The Society was Netflix’s big teen drama for 2019 which involves some supernatural elements and sees a group of high school graduates head to a field trip. Sadly, they’re unable to make their way to the destination so return home but find their town is empty. It’s up to them to figure out what’s going on and find a way to keep things going.
Season 1 released on Netflix on May 10th, 2019 on Netflix around the world. If you haven’t begun watching just yet, check out our everything you need to know guide before jumping in.
Now let’s take a look at what’s happening with season 2.
The Society Season 2 Renewal Status
Official renewal status: Renewed initially but later canceled (last updated: 08/21/2020)
After two months of waiting, season 2 of The Society was set to return to Netflix thanks to a Tweet from the See What’s Next Twiter account.
In the season 2 announcement video (which has since been deleted), we saw different members of the cast speak about the second season. They gave us a few teases of what to expect whether it was for “more pie? more fugitive, more memes, and more answers about Charlie.” They also mentioned that we’d get to hear more on Becca’s baby daddy and jokingly, Grizz’s hair.
However, on August 21st, 2020 this decision was reversed according to an official statement by Netflix made to Deadline.
Why was The Society season 2 canceled?
The Society was delayed because of COVID-19 (as was most Netflix productions) and that’s believed to have ballooned costs for a big ensemble drama such as this.
“We’ve made the difficult decision not to move forward with second seasons of The Society and I Am Not Okay With This,” Netflix told Deadline.
“We’re disappointed to have to make these decisions due to circumstances created by COVID, and we are grateful to these creators, including: Jonathan Entwistle, Christy Hall, Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Dan Cohen and Josh Barry at 21 Laps Entertainment for I Am Not Okay With This; Chris Keyser, Marc Webb and Pavlina Hatoupis for The Society; and all the writers, casts and crews who worked tirelessly to make these shows for our members around the world.”
The series also notably films in the United States in Lancaster, Massachusetts. The US filming restrictions could’ve played a part.
Deadline also states that: “uncertainty around production dates and balancing the availabilities of a large cast like The Society, coupled with unexpected budget increases due to COVID led to the decisions on The Society”
Matthew Ball, an ex-strategist for Amazon Studios explains further:
https://twitter.com/ballmatthew/status/1296910745423290370
Reactions have been slowly coming out since the cancelation. Kathryn Newton, who played Allie Pressman in the series said the following:
“I’m so sad that #TheSociety was cancelled because it was a huge cast with such talented, amazing actors. I will never forget it. I gained a family. Not to mention, the fandom that started with The Society. I don’t think that family will ever end.”
Kathryn Newton – Picture: Netflix
Where was season 2 of The Society in production?
Filming for The Society originally was due to start in March 2020 but as with other Netflix Originals it joined the big list of Netflix Originals, The Society was postponed initially specifically stating that it was going on a “4-8 week hiatus”.
Filming for the series takes place solely in Boston but in August 2020 we have still not heard whether production has resumed. In an article posted to Wbur, a Netflix project was mentioned (not named but expected to be The Society S2) which seems to suggest that filming in the region will be able to get back up and running in September saying:
“He recently heard that in mid-September Netflix will be starting pre-production on a project originally planned for spring.”
The Campaign to Save The Society
We should point out a campaign has since sparked up to revive The Society.
Using normal methods including a Change.org petition and using social media, fans are hoping to change the mind of Netflix to save the show.
As of November 14th, 2020 the campaign on Change.org had reached close to 87,000 signatures.
Screenshot for the Change.org petition for Netflix to save The Society.
On November 14th, 2020 Twitter fans of the show planned a “trending party” to hope to garner more people using the “#savethesociety” hashtag.
https://twitter.com/nicswonderland1/status/1325523339901882373
What we would’ve expected from season 2 of The Society
Despite their turbulent beginnings, the little society actually began to function towards the end. We’ve got a little bit more understanding on what’s going on and how the event came to be but there are still a lot of questions remaining on that front.
Of course, the first season sets up a second season perfectly with the coup in full flow and Allie and Will removed from leadership. Although Lexie is fronting up the coup, it’s not clear whether she herself would be able to handle the responsibilities of running The Society.
Seacia Pavao/Netflix
In terms of theories of the bigger questions, there are plenty of them going. In the show, we see a parallel universe theory, a duplicate town theory or even a social experiment. Of course, some theories contradict some of the other things in the show. The solar eclipse being at the wrong time suggests they may not even be on our Earth. The smell is never really explained either and don’t forget the fact a coin could never land on heads. We suspect Cassandra lied about the last flip.
We’ve also got the few end scenes where we see an even younger group of kids and the adults still alive.
Hopefully, the character development continues and the relationships we see either building or dividing through season 1 continue.
Casting news for The Society season 2
The first major casting news came in April 2020 with the announcement that Olivia Nikkananen had been upped to a series regular.
Thanks to multiple IMDb updates we can bring you a list of cast members confirmed to be returning including:
- Kathryn Newton
- Gideon Adlon
- Sean Berdy
- Natasha Liu Bordizzo
- Jacques Colimon
- Olivia DeJonge
- Alex Fitzalan
- Kristine Froseth
- José Julián
- Alex MacNicoll
- Toby Wallace
- Jack Mulhern
- Spencer House
- Emilio Garcia-Sanchez
- Grace Victoria Cox
What to watch after finishing The Society season 1
There are loads of shows that fall into this type of genre. The biggest and most obvious show is actually another Netflix Original. We’re referring to Between which unfortunately has gone MIA since its second season landed in 2016.
Many people have also compared the show to a number of The CW shows. These include Riverdale and The 100 which have similar themes or premises.
Netflix themselves recommends The End of the F***ing World, Ameican Vandal, Stranger Things and even the recent hit, Dead to Me for those who enjoyed The Society.
Now it’s over to you. Do you want to see The Society return for a second season on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.
