Fans are hoping that there will be a second series of Netflix’s zombie apocalyptic disaster drama Black Summer. And the omens are looking pretty good that we’ll be seeing more zombie-slaying pretty soon.
Black Summer was a Netflix original zombie series created by Karl Schaefer and John Hyams and set in the same universe as Syfy’s Z Nation. It is set a few years before the events of Z Nation.
Black Summer chronicles the events shortly after the earth is engulfed in a zombie apocalypse. The phrase “black summer” was mentioned frequently in its sister series as a time of great chaos and suffering, although the show never went into great detail about what happened.
However, while these two series share the same universe, they’re actually quite different.
While Z Nation revels in a tongue firmly in cheek view of the zombie apocalypse with its almost cartoonish mix of comedy and violence, Black Summer was rather serious.
Black Summer is much darker and more nuanced.
The first season followed the trials and tribulations of a mother as she attempted to locate her missing daughter. She teams up with various strangers who have mostly have basic survival as their primary goal.
Is there going to be a Season 2 of Black Summer?
That first season hit our screens way back in April 2019. It’s only eight episodes long, so it can be easily binge-watched in a couple of days. And all it did was whet fans appetites for more.
So will there be another season, and when’s it coming out?
Thankfully, the answer’s yes. Netflix commissioned a second season in November 2019. At the time, Netflix tweeted, “It’s official! Black Summer is coming back for Season 2!”
It’s official! Black Summer is coming back for Season 2! @jaime_king @justinchucary @im_christine_lee @kflow626 #BlackSummer pic.twitter.com/C4B5bVsWDz
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) November 20, 2019
When does Black Summer season 2 come out?
It is a bit tricky to say when season 2 of Black Summer will be on our screens as the entertainment industry’s scheduling has been thrown all out of whack because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Unfortunately, Netflix has not supplied us with a release date, beyond initially saying it would be 2020.
According to WhatsOnNetflix.com, filming for Season 2 began in early 2020 but was postponed ostensibly until April. However, developments in the COVID-19 pandemic meant that filming has remained on hiatus.
There was a July announcement stating that filming would resume on August 17, but this was subsequently pushed back until September 3, 2020.
Presumably, this date might remain fluid as the global situation keeps changing.
As with the first season, filming is taking place in Calgary, Canada. Hopefully, they’ll be able to finish filming before the onset of the harsh Calgary winter, which could be another factor in slowing down the release.
However, there is some good news, filming for the first season only took three months. Depending on how much they got done earlier in the year and if they can restart next month, we could still expect a relatively quick release.
Fingers crossed it will be by Christmas 2020 or the start of next year.
Black Summer Season 2 Cast Updates
Fans could see quite a lot of cast changes for the next series, mainly as a large number of the season one cast didn’t survive to see the final scene at the stadium.
By their nature, Zombie series tend to suffer from a high cast turnover as main characters are regularly killed off only to be replaced by another unfortunate victim of the apocalypse.
The final scene saw Zoe Marlett as Anna, Rose’s daughter, running to greet her mother, played by Jaime King. So we can expect them to make a reappearance in the next installment.
When Netflix announced Season 2, Jaime King tweeted that she was “so excited to announce season two of Black Summer is coming” and said she’d be returning for the filming.
The other survivors were Julius James (known as Spears by the other characters) played Justin Chu Cary, and Ooh “Sun” Kyungsun played by Christine Lee.
So, if the action resumes where it left off, we should expect to see King, Marlett, Chu Cary, and Kyungsun back in action.
Other main characters such as Sal Velez Jr. as William Velez had to be mercy killed, so he certainly won’t return as a human anyway. Lance played by Kelsey Flower was last seen being chased by a horde of zombies and is presumed dead, but, hey, miracles happen in TV land all the time.
What will happen in Black Summer season 2
It’s unclear what storylines will be on the next series, but with Rose and Anna reunited, it’s probable that we will see the pair struggle to survive in this grotesque apocalyptic world.
Whether or not they stick it out with Spears and Sun remains to be seen, and the motivations of those two are also far from clear.
From the references made to Black Summer in Z Nation, we can expect a very bleak tale of death and destruction, followed by mass panic and starvation.
Cheerful stuff, this is not. Highly compelling and brilliant, it most certainly is.
The first season of Black Summer can currently be streamed on Netflix.