Well, I’ve previously said that if a show performs well enough, it can expand beyond just being a planned-out, one-off miniseries and find renewal. And that’s exactly what’s just happened on Netflix.
After nearly two weeks on top of its Top 10 list, Netflix has in fact broken its “limited series” rule and has greenlit Untamed season 2, a sequel to its murder mystery series starring Eric Bana who will return, rather than this being a totally new cast with a totally new mystery. It will, however, be a new national park, indicating most of the cast besides Bana will be left behind.
Bana initially seemed a bit passive when it came to the idea of Untamed season 2, saying it hadn’t really been considered at the time, but now? He’s pumped:
“I am absolutely thrilled that we get the chance to bring another season of ‘Untamed’ to life,” Eric Bana told Variety, “The response to season 1 has been a testament to the incredible effort by our crew to deliver something truly unique. I can’t wait to take Kyle on his next journey. Massive thanks to Netflix, John Wells Productions, Warner Bros. Television and our fans.”
And here’s co-showrunner Mark L. Smith, speaking to Netflix’s blog Tudum:
“Elle and I envisioned it as a stand-alone, six episodes,” Mark L. Smith said. “But then the more that we got into it, it was just such a great cast … it was just like, ‘Oh yeah, how do we keep this going?’ “
I think having a “great cast” is somewhat secondary to getting huge viewership, and Netflix saying “ok do another season,” but the end result is the same. We also already know a bit about the plot of season 2, which will involve Bana’s character heading to a different national park besides Yosemite:
“Turner was so comfortable in Yosemite,” Mark said. “He was the one leading this charge, and people followed him. And now, [we’re] putting Kyle on his back foot, making him very uncomfortable … This time we get to follow Turner into a park and let him lead us, and we stumble along with him as he’s kind of finding his way.”
Smith does go on to say that maybe they will try to find a way to bring some cast members back to the show, despite being in an entirely new location. The best bet would be Turner’s ex-wife, whom he would likely still have a relationship with in some capacity. Many other characters ended up dead, but big supporting character, Naya Vasquez, would take a back-bending plotline to end up in the new park as anything more than a guest star. It’s almost certain that season 2 is going to be a 95% new cast.
There is no timeline on when Untamed season 2 will arrive. Given that this was never the plan, and they now have to come up with a new story, best guess is at least a year and a half from now, if not two years, which is streaming standard these days.
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