What a freaking concept. Back in January 2019, Russian Doll kicked off a fantastic year on TV with a hefty (and much needed dose) of Natasha Lyonne, who executive produced alongside Amy Poehler and Leslye Headland. The first season (of Groundhog Day-esque universe f*ckery) was close to perfect, which (of course) presented quite a challenge: how to actually do justice to that debut while upping the stakes on Nadia and Charlie’s respective ongoing plights in a followup.
That’s a tall bill. The good news is that Russian Doll (hopefully) took the time to get the job done right, and Season 2 will will not only recruit Annie Murphy but also shows Nadia toasting the universe over its insistence upon sh*tting all over her. The YouTube revealed tagline — “The universe is back on its bulls@%t” — surfaces alongside this teaser, and oh boy, we’ve got subway stairs. Here’s the season synopsis from Netflix:
Set four years after Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) and Alan (Charlie Barnett) escaped mortality’s time loop together, season two of Russian Doll will continue to explore existential thematics through an often humorous and sci-fi lens. Discovering a fate even worse than endless death, this season finds Nadia and Alan delving deeper into their pasts through an unexpected time portal located in one of Manhattan’s most notorious locations. At first they experience this as an ever-expanding, era-spanning, intergenerational adventure but they soon discover this extraordinary event might be more than they bargained for and, together, must search for a way out.
Charlie Barnett’s mustache is certainly a twist. I’m still waiting on that Oatmeal spinoff over here, but I can be patient.
Also important: Russian Doll will return on April 20.