On January 14, the first season of the new US horror series “Archive 81” was released on Netflix. This is spread over eight episodes of about 50 minutes each and relies on so-called found footage horror.
The original script for the series was penned by screenwriter Paul Harris Boardman (“Deliver Us from Evil”) and is based on a podcast of the same name by Daniel Powell and Marc Sollinger, which is said to be based on true events. Screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine (“Vampire Diaries”) is also on board as showrunner, working with executive producers James Wan (“Conjuring”), Michael Clear and Antoine Douaihy (“The Good Cop”) and director Rebecca Thomas (“Stranger Things”).
Find out what’s behind the mystery series and whether a second season will be available on Netflix here.
Spoiler Warning: In the following text, we go into detail about what has happened so far in the mystery series “Archive 81”. In addition, the article may already anticipate the plots of the Archive 81 Season 2. If you want to watch the series spoiler-free, you should read this article only after the last episode of season 1. Instead, we recommend taking a look at the current Netflix news until then.
Is Archive 81 Season 2 coming?
Despite the partly very good response to the Netflix series “Archive 81”, it will not be extended for a second season. US magazine Deadline reported at the end of March. Showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine thanked viewers on Twitter.
What is the first season of “Archive 81” about?
Film restorer Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie) dedicates himself to restoring damaged videotapes from 1994, discovering a connection to missing documentary filmmaker Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi), who owned the footage.
Looking at the tapes, he soon can no longer escape the pull they exude. What began for Melody as research on an apartment building in New York soon develops into a horror flick. She gets on a sect’s trail and is drawn deeper into the occult community.
What’s the deal with the fire that destroyed the Visser shortly after Melody’s research? Where did Melody disappear to? And is there possibly a connection to the archivist’s tragic past? To answer these questions, Dan throws himself into his investigation. In the process, he soon finds himself confronted with supernatural elements.
However, those who expect answers to these questions at the end of the last episode will be disappointed. The first season ends with a massive cliffhanger that has Netflix subscribers eagerly awaiting a second season.
Archive 81 Season 2: What could happen next?
Unfortunately, even if the series does not get a second season on Netflix, there is at least a different kind of continuation because there are already the second and third seasons! Not as a series, but – as mentioned above – as a podcast.
Who now thinks of a typical podcast with never-ending facts because the story is based on true events is wrong. Rather, Daniel Powell and Marc Sollinger design the whole thing as a kind of radio play, an auditory horror series that completely takes you along.
Those who hope to find out in this way how the series will continue in a potential second season will be disappointed once again. The respective endings of the two series of the same name tell fundamentally the same story, but they differ in their respective endings.
