Canceled Netflix Dystopian Sci-Fi Thriller Series Isn’t Dead Yet
2019’s The Society is one of the series that Netflix canceled that left viewers frustrated and wanting more. Perhaps one of the worst parts of the show’s cancellation is that it was actually renewed for a second season, only for it to be canceled due to production issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there’s still a glimmer of hope that the show could eventually return to screens, as creator Christopher Keyser told Variety, “I have consistent conversations with a bunch of the writers and Marc Webb about how we might bring this back in some way,” adding “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.”
A Society With Its Own Rules
The Society Netflix series follows a group of teenagers who return from a field trip to find that everyone else in their town has disappeared. There’s also a forest surrounding the town and apparently no way to reach the outside world, forcing the group to run their own society and survive with their own rules.
The series was created by Christopher Keyser with Marc Webb executive producing and starred Kathryn Newton, Gideon Adlon, Sean Berdy, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Jacques Colimon, Olivia DeJonge, Alex Fitzalan, Kristine Froseth, Jose Julian, Alexander MacNicoll, Toby Wallace and Rachel Keller.
Exploring Alternative Storytelling Methods
The Society series had more bad luck after being canceled due to COVID, as Keyser and his team were on the precipice of releasing a graphic novel to continue the story of Season 2. However, the publisher went out of business, which led Keyser to make his statement about trying to bring the show back one way or the other.
The series was highly praised and attracted a dedicated audience, so it’s honestly surprising that Netflix hasn’t made any efforts to try and bring it back as a full season of TV, instead of causing Keyser to seek out other ways to tell the story.
Season 2’s Story Is Primed And Ready
Based on Keyser’s statements, it seems like the story for The Society Season 2 is already ready to go, so it just needs to land somewhere that can give the series the green light. At the very least, it would be nice if there was a way the graphic novel could be published by another company. In any case, there are a lot of questions that were left unanswered due to the show’s unceremonious cancellation, but it seems like Keyser is also hopeful that those questions might get answered eventually.
Not A Normal Cancellation
During the interview, Keyser made sure not to spoil anything that could happen in The Society series storyline, so clearly, there’s still a chance that the story gets out some way or another. As Keyser points out, the show “wasn’t a normal cancellation.” There are still fans online trying to get the show to come back, whether on Netflix or as a graphic novel, so the audience is there.
Not All Hope Is Lost
Although a downside of the streaming era is that companies often play a little fast and loose with cancellations, the flexible nature of these companies also means that fan demand sometimes wins out. If there’s a big enough push for The Society series to come back, perhaps fans will get their wish. At the very least, it doesn’t hurt to try.
Source: Variety
