Russian Doll – Picture: Netflix
One of the best Netflix Originals of 2019, Russian Doll, has been confirmed for a second season which was due to start filming at the end of March 2020. Filming was significantly delayed but has been rescheduled. Here’s what we know so far about season 2 of Russian Doll.
Russian Doll is a Netflix Original comedy-drama series created by Natasha Lyonne, Amy Poehler, and Leslye Headland.
Since the show’s debut on Netflix on February 1st, 2019, the show has been nominated for five Emmys. These include:
- Outstanding Comedy Series
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Natasha Lyonne)
- Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (Allison Silverman)
- Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (Ammy Poehler, Natasha Lyonne & Leslye Headland)
- Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Comedy Series or a Variety Program (Christopher Place)
Inspired by the likes of Groundhog Day, Nadia is the guest of honor at her own birthday party, thrown by her best friend. When Nadia accidentally dies after being hit by a car she mysteriously ends up back in the bathroom of the party she was attending. Confused and believing she was drugged, when Nadia begins to die over and over she starts to question her own sanity as she tries to break the cycle of death she can’t seem to escape.
Where is production up on Russian Doll season 2 and release date?
According to our source Production Weekly, filming for the second Russian Doll was scheduled to begin on March 30th, 2020.
New York was heavily impacted by Coronavirus and as of September 2020, the series has yet to have a new filming data announced.
In September 2020, Daniel Richtman (an entertainment scooper who is known for posting exclusive casting grids) posted about a new role for season 2 of Russian Doll, specifically a new “series lead male”.
Here’s how the character is described:
“New main character for the season. He’s a male love interest role, chaming, but tums out to be a hustler/con artist type. He’s being described to us as a “young Benicio Del Toro” type, and Natasha is envisioning names like Oscar Isaac or Andre Holland.”
Russian Doll Season 2 timeline of production
In an interview with Deadline (July 2019), Lyonne revealed that the show’s second season hadn’t even been written.
She said:
“Amy and I were hanging out the other day, and it’s early days. We’re not in the room yet in any official way, but I will say that it does not become a show about dating in New York or anything like that—and no shade on those shows, but that’s not this show,”
Russian Doll actress Natasha Lyonne – Picture: Netflix
In another interview, Natasha Lyonne did say that there’s been plenty of brainstorming saying:
“I’m pretty excited about some of our early conversations and to see where they really lead by the time we start putting pen to paper in a dedicated way, once we get back into the room. But the early notes are pretty heavy,”
Further teasing in another interview, this time with ET Online Lyonne had the following to say with regard to season 2:
“What can I tell you? It’s… you want to jump off a cliff creatively… I think I’m going to give you a series of murky answers but suffice to say, I’m very moved that people are interested into the deep end and that was the revelation of Russian Doll connecting, so I guess my intention in our plans are to continue to dig deep in a way that is aesthetically enjoyable and feels funny on your insides.,”
Now, in February 2021, ProductionWeekly revealed that the second season is due to begin production on March 1st, 2021 with filming once again taking place in New York City.
Will the story from the first season of Russian Doll continue?
Warning: Spoilers follow for season 1 of Russian Doll.
This will definitely be the largest question on everyone’s mind. If we take into consideration how the first season ended, it was definitely left up to the audience to interpret. The final shot of the finale did seem to indicate that Nadia and Alan somehow managed to transcend realities and were reunited. Or was it simply just one of the millions of timelines that may have happened?
The scenarios for the story we foresee are the following:
The Story Continues with Nadia and Alan
Both Allen and Nadia grew close throughout the first season, with each influencing the other to become a better person. Alan and Nadia’s purpose to escape the time loop appeared to be by saving each other. But there is potential in utilizing the timelines depending on your interpretation of Season 1’s ending.
If the story continues with Alan and Nadia’s timelines crossed over and they are reunited It’s hard to see where the story could go. This is because both characters were allowed to experience an extensive amount of character growth, so for them to regress seems like a poor choice.
Arguably we learned more about the past of Nadia than what we did Alan, therefore, there’s room to explore that element of the story. Along with Nadia growing to the idea of being with John and accepting his family could be how the story progresses Nadia’s character further. How this impacts the timeline, we’ll let the writers decide.
Are there two timelines in Russian Doll?
Alternatively, it would be fun to see the perspective of both timelines from the POV of Alan and Nadia who saved the other (much like what happened in the season finale). This would explore two timelines in the narrative with an added emphasis on how much one decision can impact the lives of you and those around you. Not to mention the Alan and Nadia that never experienced the time loop would need to experience character growth once again.
A fun idea would be to make the Alan and Nadia who didn’t experience the time-loop do so, effectively following 2 new characters in the time loop. Meanwhile the Nadia and Alan we followed in the first season now have to help break the cycle. While this all may sound very confusing, the table below may help you understand what we mean.
| Timeline | Experienced Time-Loop | Didn’t Experience Time-Loop |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nadia | Alan |
| 2 | Alan | Nadia |
Two timelines. Two Nadia’s and two Alan’s. One helping the other escaping the time-loop and becoming better for it.
Different Characters Become Trapped in the Time Loop
Throughout the first season, we were treated to a very intriguing cast of colorful characters. If Nadia and Alan have truly escaped the time loop then perhaps one of their friends such as Maxine becomes trapped. Alternatively, Nadia and Alan’s former flames Mike and Beatrice (who had an affair together) could become the focus of the series. With Mike’s womanizing ways and Beatrice’s cheating, it would definitely make for interesting storytelling.
By using Mike and Beatrice you could still use the characters of Nadia and Alan to propel the story further.
A New Cast
Arguably the least likely of the three scenarios we could see is an entirely new cast with a new story.
The least likely of the three scenarios, there is a possibility that an entirely different cast could be used for Season 2. By using the same/similar concept there is room to explore the time loop narrative in an alternate light. This would make the series an anthology but we don’t believe the writers behind the show foresee the series heading down that road.
The fact that Natasha Lyonne herself said the show was originally pitched as a three-season series, definitely would suggest there’s more story to touch upon with Nadia and Alan but its fun to speculate regardless.
Are you looking forward to the release of Russian Doll? Let us know in the comments below.
