Archive 81 Season 2: Everything We Know | Screen Rant
Here's everything that is known about Archive 81 season 2, including its release date and story details. Released in early 2022 on Netflix, the streaming service's horror show comes from acclaimed horror filmmaker James Wan, who produced the series developed by Rebecca Sonnenshine. Archive 81 is based on a podcast series of the same name and follows an archivist investigating what happened to a filmmaker.
Met with stellar reviews, Archive 81 stars Mamoudou Athie as Dan Turner, an archivist hired by a mysterious organization to tackle a top-secret project. It revolves around the fire at the Vessir Appartments in 1994, where Dan becomes particularly interested in what became of Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi). Melody moved into the building to interview its residents in the hope of finding out information about her mother and was supposedly one of the victims of the Vessir fire. Dan has a personal connection to the story due to his own family dying in a house fire and the discovery that his father was Melody's psychiatrist and on her tapes.
By the end of its eight episodes, Archive 81 season 1's ending leaves viewers begging for more about Dan and Melody's stories. So what is known about Archive 81 season 2? Here's the latest information about whether or not it is happening, when it could release on Netflix, and what the story might be.
Netflix has not officially renewed Archive 81 for a second season yet. Showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine has stated that she and writers Evan Bleiweiss and Paul Harris Boardman have plenty of ideas for another season if Netflix continues the series (via Variety). They are ready to go on Archive 81 season 2 as soon as Netflix wants to make it official. Based on the show's great reviews and immediate popularity, that announcement could come quite soon.
With the show debuting in early 2022 and ideas already in place for what could come next, Archive 81 season 2 could release on Netflix in early 2023 potentially. This is largely dependent on how quickly the streaming service moves to renew James Wan's horror series. It took the cast and crew roughly four months to film the first season, so a similar timeline would be expected for a second season. That makes an early 2023 release date quite feasible for Archive 81 season 2.
Archive 81 season 1's cliffhanger ending directly set up what season 2's story will follow. Dan rescued Melody from Kaelego's Otherworld, resulting in her being transported to the present day. However, Dan ended up in 1994 and is now stuck in the past, where he's considered a survivor of the Vessir fires. Archive 81 season 2's story would surely follow Melody attempting to get Dan back to the present day. It also will surely answer what happened to Samuel and could feature more of Kaelego.