The Survivors wrapped up its first season on Netflix, but is it the streamer’s call if this gripping Aussie mystery gets a second season?
Netflix is well known for its scores of high-profile streaming TV shows. But the company also relies on a lot of imported shows, including a score of mystery series from Scandinavia to South Korea to Australia.
Such an import is The Survivors, which debuted on Netflix on Friday, June 6. The six-episode series has done well with viewers, ranking as high as #4 on Netflix’s list of 10 most-streamed shows for June. That naturally has led to the question of whether a second season is coming and if it’s needed?
What is The Survivors about?
The series is a moody tale that concentrates on the small coastal Australian town of Evelyn Bay. It’s a small hamlet where everyone knows everyone else and still haunted by a terrible tragedy. Fifteen years earlier, teenager Kiernan was stuck in a cave when a massive storm rolled in. His brother Finn and their friend Toby tried to rescue him, only to end up drowning with a teenager named Gabby vanishing on the same day.
Fifteen years later, a grown Kiernan (Toby Vickers) and his wife Mia (Yering Ha) come back to Evylen Bay to check in on Kiernan’s Alzheimer's-stricken father Brian (Damien Garvey) with Kiernan’s mom Verity (Robyn Malcolm). Naturally, Kiernan isn’t happy to be back home, where the townspeople mourn Finn and Toby as fallen heroes, but he feels guilt over their deaths. Meanwhile, Mia, who’d been friends with Gabby, still aches over her vanishing.
The plot takes a turn when a young waitress named Bronte is found dead on the beach after hinting to Mia she knew something about Gabby’s vanishing. The investigation soon leads to the revelations of what really happened the night of the storm which bring up secrets that could tear the town apart.
It was an intriguing setup for the show’s first year, but is a second one coming?
Is there going to be a The Survivors season 2?
So far, there’s no word on the show being canceled or renewed. It should be noted the series was advertised by Netflix as a limited series, meaning there was only one year planned anyway. That makes it highly unlikely a second season would be coming. While there are cases of limited series getting a second year, it doesn’t sound like The Survivors will be one.
It should be noted the series has a perfect 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, showing its popularity with critics. That acclaim and high viewing numbers may sway Netflix to give it a second season yet the show's creators may decide it stands on its own.
This is likely good, as the series doesn’t really need a new year. Without giving away spoilers, the finale brought the main storyline to a close and not much room for any follow-up. It’s hard to buy another death in this town happening that would require a new mystery, as that was never the point.
The real power of the show rested on the grief of the townspeople, their inability to escape this past tragedy, and facing up to their mistakes. That was a powerful emotional character piece and hard to see it replicated for another year.
So it seems The Survivors won’t survive for a second season, but it’s not really needed anyway, as this gripping Netflix show more than stands on its own for a one-season watch.
The Survivors streaming on Netflix.
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