The James Wan-produced series Archive 81 was released through the Netflix streaming service on January 14th, and seemed to do well. It made it onto Nielsen and Netflix’s list of weekly Top 10 ratings for originals, and even ranked #1 on Netflix in the U.S. for a short time. But it didn’t do well enough to earn a second season. Deadline reports that Archive 81 has been cancelled.
Said to be “very loosely” inspired by a supernatural horror podcast of the same name, Archive 81 told the following story:
When archivist Dan Turner takes a mysterious job restoring a collection of damaged videotapes from 1994, he finds himself reconstructing the work of documentary filmmaker Melody Pendras and her investigation into a dangerous cult. As Dan is drawn into Melody’s story, he becomes convinced he can save her from the terrifying end she met 25 years ago.
The series stars Mamoudou Athie (Underwater), Dina Shihabi (Jack Ryan), Martin Donovan (Ghost Whisperer), Matt McGorry (Orange Is the New Black), Julia Chan (Silent House), Evan Jonigkeit (Bone Tomahawk), Gameela Wright (John Wick), Martin Sola (Knights in Newark), and Ariana Neal (Hidden Figures).
Stranger Things director Rebecca Thomas directed half of the episodes. Rebecca Sonnenshine of The Boys and The Vampire Diaries served as showrunner. Paul Harris Boardman, who has worked with Scott Derrickson on multiple projects, executive produced the show alongside Thomas, Sonnenshine, Wan, Michael Clear, and Antoine Douaihy. Rob Hackett was a co-executive producer, and the podcast’s creators Marc Sollinger and Daniel Powell co-produced.
I intended to watch Archive 81 at some point, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. Our own Alex Maidy gave it an 8/10 review that you can read at THIS LINK. From that, it doesn’t sound like a second season was totally necessary. “For all the reveals that Archive 81 unspools over this season, the ending does manage to answer most of the mysteries teased through these eight episodes. There is enough left open at the end for a sophomore season to either connect to this story or for the creators to turn this property into an anthology.” But I’m seeing a lot of viewers that are disappointed to hear there won’t be more Archive 81 for them to watch.
Did you watch the Archive 81, and were you hoping for a second season before it got cancelled? Let us know by leaving a comment below.