Ever since the Society was cruelly canceled after the first season, fans have been crying out for it to somehow return – and our hopes could possibly get answered soon.
The beloved series premiered on Netflix in May, 2019, and followed teenagers who were displaced from their hometown while on a school trip – and thrown into an identical version, without any adult supervision.
They were forced to take things into their own hands and created their own community, but things quickly got out of hand and spiraled into a Lord of the Flies-style situation with an almighty cliffhanger.
Viewers watched in their droves, with TV bosses initially renewing the program for a second season, but it was eventually canceled due to the global pandemic, leading to huge backlash.
Five years on, fans’ calls for more episodes have not quietened, with creator Christopher Keyser touched by the huge response – teasing that those behind the camera are always trying to come up with ways to move the story on.
In fact, we were almost close to getting new episodes in the form of a graphic novel before the publishing company went bust.
‘This wasn’t a normal cancellation. This wasn’t about not having the audience or we didn’t believe in it anymore. There was a global crisis that changed all of our lives in the one year we were able to make it,’ he insisted to Variety.
‘I have consistent conversations with a bunch of the writers and Marc Webb [executive producer] about how we might bring this back in some way. We don’t have an answer yet, and I wouldn’t count on it, but I don’t do that with every show that gets canceled.
‘The audience still wants to talk about it. They are still moved by it and want answers to the questions and then new questions are posed. I just don’t know whether the world is going to work in a way that aligns for us, but we’ll keep trying for a while because it’s gotten under my skin as well.’
Kathryn Newton, Gideon Adlon, Olivia DeJonge, Toby Wallace and Jacques Colimon led the cast of youngsters as they desperately tried to understand their plight, and how their lives had changed in the blink of an eye.
The first series ended on a huge cliffhanger as viewers learned that the parents of the teens were still alive and well back in ‘normality’, and believed that their children had somehow died.
We also had questions about where the school buses transporting the students actually went after vanishing in thin air, and whether the two timelines would ever merge again.
Netflix bosses announced the decision to cancel The Society – as well as I Am Not Okay With This – in August, 2020, in the middle of the globall Covid-19 pandemic.
‘We’ve made the difficult decision not to move forward with second seasons of The Society and I Am Not Okay With This,’ they said at the time.
‘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.’
Remaining coy about what could happen next – in case their plans for a revival or a graphic novel ever come to fruition, Christopher vowed that they had the storylines already mapped out.
‘It really feels like this thing that we loved and were ready for was taken away more than anything I’ve ever done,’ he added. ‘That’s true for the writers and Marc Webb, with whom I made the show. There’s a sense that it stopped in mid-animation, but we knew a lot of what was going to happen on the other side.
‘There’s also the emotional thing going on with the audience reaching out to us and consistently saying, “Tell me what happened. When is it coming back?” It was particularly poignant for us since we were closer than I think most shows get to being ready to go again.’
Right on cue, fans began dissecting his comments on social media, begging Netflix to pick up more episodes once again for some much-needed ‘closure’.
Taking to Twitter, Elise begged: ‘Bring the entire cast back and continue on, we as a society will ignore the fact they’ve aged.’
Ashley agreed: ‘OH MY GOD?! please I’m begging, I’ve literally never wanted a show to return more than The Society. I need closure!!!’
‘We were robbed,’ Kathy fumed. ‘This show was renewed then cancelled when it should have been placed on delay. We deserve another season.’
Nowwhyami_innit pleaded: ‘Even if it’s one more season FINE! Just tell us wtf happened in that town.’
As Kat Pettibone added: ‘When I say I would sell my soul for this! It would be my biggest win.’
Honestly, hard same.
The Society is available to stream on Netflix now.
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