Netflix Renews Russian Doll for Season 2

Netflix is going to be bringing back the time-looping dramedy series Russian Doll for season 2, which the streaming service confirmed today. Russian Doll season 2 will follow in the creative format of the first season with an eight episode order, with the official release still TBA. Series star Natasha Lyonne will be returning to star as NYC softwar engineer Nadia Vulvokov, along with her fellow show co-creators Amy Poehler and Leslye Headland.

As THR reports: "The second season renewal was revealed by Lyonne and Netflix vp originals Cindy Holland during their joint appearance at Recode's Code Conference Tuesday in Arizona. "Same show, just weirder," said Lyonne. "The character is a coder so it would be appropriate to have this be the time and place to say, yes. So very much yes, I would love to do [a second season]."

The show was a clear success for Netflix in season 1, generating all sorts of Internet chatter about its Groundhog Day-style use of death in rebirth in a permanent time loop. More importantly, Russian Doll also managed to generate a whole series of memes and quotables, mostly from Lyonne's energized and wonderfully snarky performance. That kind of zeitgeist-puncturing chatter on social media can literally be the lifeblood of a Netflix show, and Russian Doll has firmly established itself as a dark horse winner in that regard.

The shows creative team (Lyonne, Poehler, Headland) have previously revealed that they have a three-season arc for the series, and have actually teased what the next season would potentially look like. Here's what Headland had to say about the vision for season 2:

"When initially pitched, Nadia was a presence throughout all three of them. But it was not in a very conventional way. She was always a presence as we knew Lyonne would always be the beating heart and soul of this show. Whether she was being haunted or she was haunting the narrative, she would be there. But we have discussed all of those things and more."

Of course, actually making the show tends to change creative visions - something that Lyonne herself acknowledged about season 2, once season 1 wrapped:

"I think we have some ideas," said Lyonne after the first season release. "I definitely have ideas ranging from the really kind of out there anthology to staying on board with our friend Nadia. And maybe it's all one idea. Certainly, what we pitched as the heart and soul of Russian Doll, I'd love to continue to get to work in that way. The idea that they would conceivably follow us and on that course, should we jump off that cliff, is pretty fun to even consider the fantasy."

Of course, some will be upset by this news: the end of Russian Doll season 1 (in which Nadia and fellow looped prisoner Alan Zaveri (Charlie Barnett) have to overcome their respective character failings to break one another's loops) was seen as the climax of a near-perfect miniseries story. Hopefully season 2 can convince them otherwise.

We'll keep you updated on the status of Russian Doll season 2.