Michelle Buteau Wants Writers to Get Their “Basic Needs” Met Before She Thinks About A ‘Survival of the Thickest’ Season 2 on Netflix

Netflix’s new hot girl summer obsession Survival of the Thickest sets up an intriguing second season in its finale, but creator Michelle Buteau isn’t paying it any attention until after the Writers Guild of America strike ends. 

Inspired by Buteau’s memoir of the same name, the series follows the famed comedian as Mavis Beaumont, a recently single and struggling stylist who changes the course of her life over eight 30-minute episodes. The show premiered on July 13, 2023 with Danielle Sanchez-Witzel as the co-creator and showrunner. Along with portraying the main character, Buteau also serves as the co-writer and executive producer for the series.

Unfortunately, fans will have to wait longer than usual to see if the story will continue as Survival of the Thickest premiered during the ongoing WGA strike.

The strike began on May 2, 2023 and sees the union in negotiation with streamers and studios for fair pay and protections as the media landscape continues to change, due to the popularity of digital platforms and advancing technology. Netflix has remained a key player in the strike The last time the WGA went on strike was in November 2007 and it lasted 100 days, ending in February 2002. At the time of publication, the WGA has been on strike for 72 days.

During a phone interview, Decider asked Buteau about the potential for a second season of her new show and if production – and Season 1 press – has been hindered by the ongoing strike. 

“I would love nothing more for a Season 2 and to talk about it, but I think it’s most important to acknowledge that the WGA is in a very crazy negotiation phase. [They’re] trying to get what they need, which is the basic of the basics,” Buteau shared. “I don’t even want to really think about a Season 2 until I feel like everyone is good and taken care of, and they have a contract that they feel good about.”

Over the years, Buteau has worked closely with Netflix as the streamer houses her comedy special Welcome to Buteaupia and has her as the host of its reality series The Circle. Nonetheless, the comedian refuses to shy away from advocating for writers.

Speaking generally, Buteau said, “There’s nothing worse than having writers show up and then have to leave early to go to their second and third job because they can’t support themselves with the one job that they have.”

She continued, “Basic needs like health insurance, residuals and better paychecks shouldn’t be a luxury, it should be a standard. We’ll get to Season 2 when we want to and when we need to.” As for now, Buteau wants the viewers to “love on Season 1.”

Well, you don’t have to tell us twice! Not only does Buteau clearly care for her squad, but her advocacy has set a hard-to-beat precedent for creators to come. 

Survival of the Thickest is currently streaming on Netflix.