Sweet birthday, babies: Netflix’s “Russian Doll” will return for an eight-episode second season, the show’s co-creator and star Natasha Lyonne announced Tuesday.
Lyonne made the announcement at Recode’s Code Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, with Cindy Holland, Netflix’s vice president for originals.
“Nadia Vulvokov is a coder, as you know,” Lyonne said, referring to her character, “so I guess it would be somewhat appropriate to maybe have this be the time and place” for the announcement.
The series’ first season, which premiered in February, received universal praise for its innovative premise, existential themes, dark twists and moody ambiance. Lyonne, who co-created the show with Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler, plays Nadia, who finds herself trapped in a seemingly endless time loop. On her 36th birthday, Nadia relives the same day over and over again, even after experiencing several versions of her death — each one returning her to the scene of her birthday party, where the cycle starts over again.
Though the show appeared to work as a standalone miniseries, Lyonne and Headland have previously said that they envisioned it as a multi-season series.
“I have some ideas that are pretty out there for what the next season would be. The show certainly has some legs for more bizarre scenarios,” Lyonne told Indiewire in February.
Headland compared the show to a Russian doll itself.
“There’s definitely more, I think, like a Russian doll. You can always go deeper,” she said.
Lyonne said Tuesday that the second season will be the “same show, just weirder.” Its premiere date has not been announced.
According to Holland, the show’s viewership exceeded the streaming giant’s audience expectations for the show “relative to its cost.” Netflix generally does not provide specific viewership data on its programming.