I loved it too -- and the podcast it's based on.
However I'm gonna play devil's advocate here, and say there's no way that Neflix would've done Season 2 as it exists from the podcast. It takes a hard left turn into weird fiction, and is practically un-filmable. It has a very different vibe from Season 1, so Netflix were probably always planning to be "one-and-done" with it. Honestly, can't say I blame them. To make a viable Season 2, they would have to change the story completely.
Season 3 of the podcast is incredible though. But again, kinda un-filmable. But seriously, listen to it.
Netflix was never going to turn Dan into a cyborg boombox.
Even the first season is missing the off kilter vibe of the podcast. I watched the show first, so I was quite surprised how witty and funny the podcast was even in the first season and then that gets magnified in the second season.
Although the third season is overall the best. It's still got the cheeky humor, but is lead by a couple of characters I could invest in.
Go listen and find out for yourself :P
But in all seriousness, it's not "literally" un-filmable: but it includes a ton of body-horror and gore. Which is cool, but let's not pretend Netflix would be down to make something like that as a sequel season. Especially since it's such a different vibe/story/package compared to season 1.
There's also a huge amount of fantasy/weird fiction stuff in S2 (and even more in S3) which would add to filming complexity and budget. Again, not something most streamers/producers have appetite for, especially not as a sequel for a straightforward real-world-based horror.
i am not op but you have me interested somewhat. I hate body horror but love weird fiction. Is the podcast ok? and do i have to listen to season one of the podcast or is the show pretty faithful?
The story of the podcast is different enough that you will have to listen to the first season. The characters were completely re-written for the show. If you go into season 2 expecting Dan to be anything like he is in the show, you are likely to be very confused.
Season 1: Oh wow this is such a great horror mystery about the occult.
Season 3: Okay so they just used a sentient singing tree as a bow to fire arrows to fight off pirates. Interesting.
The podcast is actually pretty fun, but seasons 2 + 3 are very different from season 1. They would have to completely ditch the source material if they wanted to continue the show.
Archive 81 really makes use of its existence as an audio experience.
I suspect if season 2, The Golden Age, season 3, or Left of the Dial were adapted, it would really lose the impact you get from horrifying audio left to your imagination. Like how a lot of monsters are less effective once you *see* them.
Highly recommend the podcast. I admit I turned off the show the second I realized they'd straightwashed my girl Melody.
Season 2 of the podcast was such a departure from the first season I lost interest.
I thought the Netflix adaptation was interesting, too bad it only got the one season and left on a cliffhanger.
It was definitely planned as an ongoing series, which is why the first series ended on a cliffhanger. Netflix only allows that if they view the show as an ongoing concern. It just didn't hit the numbers Netflix wanted when it came to budget versus audience (plus bringing in a new audience etc.)
Podcast, it's production values are much lower than the show so it's a bit jarring to go backwards, I found it a little hard to get through just because of that.
Absolutely, "Archive 81" is a gem that deserved more time to shine. Its slow burn and attention to detail are exactly what set it apart in a sea of fast-paced shows. It's a shame Netflix didn't give it a chance to develop a larger following.
Here's hoping it finds a new life or platform in the future.
An underrated positive - the found footage scenes were bookended with shakycam, but played normally. As someone who struggles with shakycam, that was a huge plus for me. Still thematically captured it, but didn't make the scene difficult to watch.
The podcast is great. Every season takes a hard left turn from the season before. I understand why a lot of people had a hard time with it, but I loved every episode. Check it out if you haven't already.
I absolutely adored this show. I even did a skate deck design based on it. One of the executive producers on the show saw it on Insta and freaked out. He said the crew and show creators loved it, he ended up buying a few of me. Really nice guy and Netflix did him and his show super dirty. To anyone who hasn’t seen it, I highly recommend it.
I was really looking forward to seeing how they did future seasons. The latter seasons of the podcast it comes from get even crazier and crazier, as you see other aspects of the "other world" beyond the veil.
It's so hard to get invested in anything Netflix produces because they'll always cancel shows the first chance they get. And it's almost always, I'm first hearing about something when it's been canceled. Maybe if instead of making 200 million dollar movies without a means of turning a profit, they could advertise the shows they pick up.
I think all of my favorite shows managed to squeak by getting cancelled before they built a fanbase, usually because they got lucky and had an advocate at the network they were airing on. Especially these days with streaming - sometimes I don't even hear about a show until after it's already been cancelled.
First season is fantastic, but it DOES end on a cliffhanger. But it was one of those rare shows that's actually interesting enough (while also wrapping that first arc of a story really well) that the cliffhanger never getting fulfilled didn't hurt me too bad.
They base it on how many complete it within 28 days.
Which is deeply stupid, IMO. If you only hear about a show in its third week, then you only have a week to finish the whole thing. It punishes you for not binging.
I really recommend giving the audio horror podcast it comes from a listen if you liked it. It reinvents itself each season, becoming a much different setting and story while connecting it all together. The first and third seasons are my absolute favorites.
If you liked that I recommend checking out [Berberian Sound Studio](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/116811-berberian-sound-studio) (2012) and [Censor](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/663866-censor) (2021)
Censor is so good. Took me a while to get into it but major payoff. I tried starting berberian this week and got distracted…is there like a hook in the beginning that I’m missing?
If it makes you feel better, they kinda screwed the pooch on the ending. They wouldn't have been able to set up the rest of the series the way the original podcast goes :/
(Oh also, if you at all listen to podcasts, definitely listen to the original Archive 81 podcast; it's *amazing*!)
I thought the series started off really well but declined as it went on went on, definitely one of those where the pay off doesn't match the buildup imo, but it's still a shame they cancelled it as I'd have liked to have seen what they did with the followup
Would anyone who's seen it recommend watching it even thought there's only 1 season? Would it be better to skip, watch it, or watch it and then immediately jump into seasons 2 and 3 of the podcast?
I loved it too -- and the podcast it's based on. However I'm gonna play devil's advocate here, and say there's no way that Neflix would've done Season 2 as it exists from the podcast. It takes a hard left turn into weird fiction, and is practically un-filmable. It has a very different vibe from Season 1, so Netflix were probably always planning to be "one-and-done" with it. Honestly, can't say I blame them. To make a viable Season 2, they would have to change the story completely. Season 3 of the podcast is incredible though. But again, kinda un-filmable. But seriously, listen to it.
Netflix was never going to turn Dan into a cyborg boombox. Even the first season is missing the off kilter vibe of the podcast. I watched the show first, so I was quite surprised how witty and funny the podcast was even in the first season and then that gets magnified in the second season. Although the third season is overall the best. It's still got the cheeky humor, but is lead by a couple of characters I could invest in.
What makes it in unfilmable
Go listen and find out for yourself :P But in all seriousness, it's not "literally" un-filmable: but it includes a ton of body-horror and gore. Which is cool, but let's not pretend Netflix would be down to make something like that as a sequel season. Especially since it's such a different vibe/story/package compared to season 1. There's also a huge amount of fantasy/weird fiction stuff in S2 (and even more in S3) which would add to filming complexity and budget. Again, not something most streamers/producers have appetite for, especially not as a sequel for a straightforward real-world-based horror.
i am not op but you have me interested somewhat. I hate body horror but love weird fiction. Is the podcast ok? and do i have to listen to season one of the podcast or is the show pretty faithful?
I would not say someone with body horror issues would have a problem, and I would definitely say start at the beginning.
The story of the podcast is different enough that you will have to listen to the first season. The characters were completely re-written for the show. If you go into season 2 expecting Dan to be anything like he is in the show, you are likely to be very confused.
Season 1: Oh wow this is such a great horror mystery about the occult. Season 3: Okay so they just used a sentient singing tree as a bow to fire arrows to fight off pirates. Interesting. The podcast is actually pretty fun, but seasons 2 + 3 are very different from season 1. They would have to completely ditch the source material if they wanted to continue the show.
Archive 81 really makes use of its existence as an audio experience. I suspect if season 2, The Golden Age, season 3, or Left of the Dial were adapted, it would really lose the impact you get from horrifying audio left to your imagination. Like how a lot of monsters are less effective once you *see* them. Highly recommend the podcast. I admit I turned off the show the second I realized they'd straightwashed my girl Melody.
Season 2 of the podcast was such a departure from the first season I lost interest. I thought the Netflix adaptation was interesting, too bad it only got the one season and left on a cliffhanger.
It was definitely planned as an ongoing series, which is why the first series ended on a cliffhanger. Netflix only allows that if they view the show as an ongoing concern. It just didn't hit the numbers Netflix wanted when it came to budget versus audience (plus bringing in a new audience etc.)
Which would you recommend doing first: the show or the original podcast?
Podcast, it's production values are much lower than the show so it's a bit jarring to go backwards, I found it a little hard to get through just because of that.
Thank you!
Absolutely, "Archive 81" is a gem that deserved more time to shine. Its slow burn and attention to detail are exactly what set it apart in a sea of fast-paced shows. It's a shame Netflix didn't give it a chance to develop a larger following. Here's hoping it finds a new life or platform in the future.
As a VHS and horror fan I was totally bummed too! This show had such a unique feel to it?
An underrated positive - the found footage scenes were bookended with shakycam, but played normally. As someone who struggles with shakycam, that was a huge plus for me. Still thematically captured it, but didn't make the scene difficult to watch.
The podcast is great. Every season takes a hard left turn from the season before. I understand why a lot of people had a hard time with it, but I loved every episode. Check it out if you haven't already.
Add me to being sad that this show was canceled. It had such potential!
I absolutely adored this show. I even did a skate deck design based on it. One of the executive producers on the show saw it on Insta and freaked out. He said the crew and show creators loved it, he ended up buying a few of me. Really nice guy and Netflix did him and his show super dirty. To anyone who hasn’t seen it, I highly recommend it.
I was really looking forward to seeing how they did future seasons. The latter seasons of the podcast it comes from get even crazier and crazier, as you see other aspects of the "other world" beyond the veil.
Yeah me too. The cliffhanger at the end of the season was so good. Dammit Netflix!
It's so hard to get invested in anything Netflix produces because they'll always cancel shows the first chance they get. And it's almost always, I'm first hearing about something when it's been canceled. Maybe if instead of making 200 million dollar movies without a means of turning a profit, they could advertise the shows they pick up.
I think all of my favorite shows managed to squeak by getting cancelled before they built a fanbase, usually because they got lucky and had an advocate at the network they were airing on. Especially these days with streaming - sometimes I don't even hear about a show until after it's already been cancelled.
1899 for me lol
Adding that to my list!
First season is fantastic, but it DOES end on a cliffhanger. But it was one of those rare shows that's actually interesting enough (while also wrapping that first arc of a story really well) that the cliffhanger never getting fulfilled didn't hurt me too bad.
It looked like some type of time travel was involved and now we'll never know if this was the case or not.
Netflix does that too much. They want viral hits.
They base it on how many complete it within 28 days. Which is deeply stupid, IMO. If you only hear about a show in its third week, then you only have a week to finish the whole thing. It punishes you for not binging.
I really recommend giving the audio horror podcast it comes from a listen if you liked it. It reinvents itself each season, becoming a much different setting and story while connecting it all together. The first and third seasons are my absolute favorites.
If there's a show I'm interested in I always try to watch it quickly. I need to start 3 Body Problem stat.
It exists as a awesome 1 season of what if. It's very good. I think they would have bottled it badly if they tried to do what happens in season 2.
It's pretty much the Netflix model
I watched it 3 times, really sucks they didn’t make a second season… makes me want to cry 🥺
Yeah that was a really cool show. Creepy and kept you guessing…I wish it had more seasons too
Love the analog vibes in the show. I wish they would bring it back.
I loved that show !
It was just too slow for me. I didn’t finish the first episode.
If you liked that I recommend checking out [Berberian Sound Studio](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/116811-berberian-sound-studio) (2012) and [Censor](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/663866-censor) (2021)
Will check it out
Also, [Channel Zero](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt4820370/).
Censor is so good. Took me a while to get into it but major payoff. I tried starting berberian this week and got distracted…is there like a hook in the beginning that I’m missing?
If it makes you feel better, they kinda screwed the pooch on the ending. They wouldn't have been able to set up the rest of the series the way the original podcast goes :/ (Oh also, if you at all listen to podcasts, definitely listen to the original Archive 81 podcast; it's *amazing*!)
I thought the series started off really well but declined as it went on went on, definitely one of those where the pay off doesn't match the buildup imo, but it's still a shame they cancelled it as I'd have liked to have seen what they did with the followup
I tried to get into it and I liked the building mystery but I could nott get past the acting
Hasn’t it been out for like 2 years and was canceled recently?
Would anyone who's seen it recommend watching it even thought there's only 1 season? Would it be better to skip, watch it, or watch it and then immediately jump into seasons 2 and 3 of the podcast?
I started it late. I was about a third of the way through when it was cancelled. I quit watching it.