Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Last week, Netflix delivered the shocking news that the mystery of New Ham will remain unsolved. Fans of The Society were caught off guard when the streaming service suddenly pulled the plug on Season 2 of the teen drama Aug. 21, citing coronavirus production delays. But it wasn’t only fans who were saddened by the news — The Society creator Christopher Keyser also called the cancellation “extremely upsetting” and “abrupt.”
In an interview with Variety, Keyser opened up about the fate of his series and how he felt when he learned Netflix had axed The Society after only one season. “We spent the last bunch of months getting ready to go back again, dealing with all the COVID protocols,” Keyser explained. “And then I got a call from Netflix saying, ‘We have made this decision.’ It was obviously pretty upsetting and abrupt.”
Keyser explained that The Society creators has been in talks with Netflix about raising the budget for Season 2, and that with the conversations, “we knew that there were challenges.” The Society was renewed for Season 2 last July after premiering on Netflix in May 2019. Season 1 of the series ended with the teens of New Ham preparing for winter and heading into the cooler months, and while Season 2 was planned to film in the summer, “we were heading back into fall and winter,” Keyser said. “And then they made the decision that it was too much. That’s, I guess, how it goes.”
As devastating as the news was for fans, Keyser seemed to be prepared for the worst. “I can’t pretend I’m surprised,” the creator said. “I know we had many months of conversations about the challenges of producing in this environment.”
While it sounds like the coronavirus is largely to blame for the show’s cancellation, Keyser does’t have much hope for its future, even after the pandemic slows down. The creator once envisioned five seasons of The Society, but since Netflix canceled it and the streaming service both owns and produces the series, its chances for a second life on another platform are pretty low.
“Obviously, no one wants to see the story they’re writing end, and I would like the characters not to end up as the children of New Ham — to have disappeared suddenly, abruptly, never to be seen again,” he said. “But I’m not entirely in control of that.”
