The Society premeired on Netflix in May 2019 and in July last year, the drama series was given the green light for a second series. Season two of The Society was slated to premeire in late 2020 on. The Society has officially been canceled at Netflix. After renewing the series for season 2 last year, Netflix pulled the plug on The Society season 2 before the filming had started on the second. Netflix and Impact. On August 29th, 1997 the video sharing company Netflix was founded. The creation of this video service seemingly uneventful at the time would bring forth extreme impact in the future, not for what it was then, but for what it introduced in 2007; digital streaming video services that you could access at home – no CD, VHS, or other form of device required aside from your. Queensland University of Technology. (2020, September 11). Netflix: A zebra among horses: Constantly evolving Netflix has changed the face of entertainment on a global scale.
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There’s no denying the fact that Netflix has irrevocably changed both the movie and television industries over the last few years.
When it comes to television, Netflix has antiquated the television rating system, made binge watching a regular activity, and boosted the crime documentary tenfold.
When it comes to the movie industry we’re still really waiting of find out what Netflix’s longterm impact is going to be.
This summer, thanks to the likes of “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” and “Set It Up,” it has rejuvenated the romantic-comedy genre, while the fact that Oscar winning talents Alfonso Cuaron, Martin Scorsese and The Coen Brothers have new films coming out on the site in the next few months proves that directors no longer have any qualms about working with Netflix.
Over the last few weeks I have spoken to a variety of directors and actors that have worked with Netflix, during which time I asked them about how the site has changed the movie and television industry.
“All The Boys I’ve Loved Before’s” director Susan Johnson …
“They have an advantage, in that they can see what viewers are looking for. They’re 24/7, they have teams everywhere literally looking for what people are searching for.”
“So when they realized that people were looking for romantic comedies and they didn’t have enough material they put this all together. It is so smart. Studios can’t do that, and independent studios certainly can’t do that.”
“They knew what people were looking for. And I think that is really exciting. They have the ability to change what is being made by researching what people are looking for. It is a little Big Brother. But it is also extremely exciting.”
“Set It Up” actor Glen Powell …
“I got this script 3 years ago. It was originally at MGM. Emilia Clarke was on it, I did a chemistry read with her, and then she went onto ‘Han Solo.’ There were a couple of reasons why it didn’t work out over there.”
“But I couldn’t feel more blessed that we ended up at Netflix. They let us make the movie we wanted to make. They gave us no bad notes.They trusted Claire Scanlon and Katie Silberman who wrote it and lets just do our thing. I think the movie is all the better for it.”
“Sometimes at an old fashioned studio there are a lot of cooks in the kitchen, there are shareholders to be responsible, too, and there are a lot of people that can get in your ear and they can syphon out the goodness that a movie starts off with. They can suck it dry.”
“I think this movie was made with pure love, is straight from Katie and Claire. That’s the great thing about Netflix, too.”
“You’re not beholden to the MPAA and the old school rules of like, ‘Wait, if we say the F-word here we are going to get this rating.’ You start to worry about that.”
“Suddenly the business starts messing with the creative, and you start feeling that business, and then it starts feeling like it was made by a studio rather than people just wanting to put a great movie out into the world.”
“This movie was made with love. I don’t feel like you feel the corporation behind it. Netflix are just true fans of this movie.”
Director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade on the impact of “The Staircase” …
“Netflix has changed totally the way people and the audience can watch this kind of documentary series. As I said, the first time that the first eight hours of ‘The Staircase’ was shown was at Sundance, and very few people could watch it.”
“But now with Netflix and other platforms so many people can get the access to this kind of series and that changed everything. But of course the exposure not just of the series but all the characters and people in the series changed totally.”
“We have to be very careful in the way we are all responsible for putting the life of real people available for millions of other people. That’s why I said I was quite concerned with Michael Peterson’s family and the attention they might get from other people.”
“I feel responsible for that, and can feel it very deeply. Of course I am very happy for Netflix and the series but on the other hand I didn’t really expect so much success and exposure.”
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:
The economy can V and a vaccine arrive, but a soundstage can't run double time, nor can actor
50% of 2020 productions are gone and can't be made up. And production will be slower, with actors picking projects based on contractual positions. Doesn't matter if you scheduled Sept. https://t.co/5T4024TvSi
How Has Netflix Changed Society Based
— Matthew Ball (@ballmatthew) August 21, 2020
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:
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“He recently heard that in mid-September Netflix will be starting pre-production on a project originally planned for spring.”
— Nic ✨ #savethesociety (@nicswonderland1) November 8, 2020
What we would’ve expected from season 2 of The Society
How Netflix Changed The Industry
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.
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.
How Has Netflix Changed Society Available
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.