Of course the Russian Doll season 2 trailer came out on Thursday. What a concept!
This time, Natasha Lyonne’s Nadia isn’t worried about dying over and over again. No, in Russian Doll season 2, Nadia’s existential issues become way bigger: she’s messed up the timeline completely.
Set four years after Nadia and Alan (Charlie Barnett) joined forces to escape the time loop, the pair are back in action in the depths of New York City. In the trailer, the software engineer is lost in the subway, though she knows exactly where she is. The problem? Time has warped so much that she can’t figure out what decade, exactly, she’s found herself in.
“What is this, some kind of ’80s flash mob?” Nadia croaks. Yes—that’s precisely what this is, because she’s landed smack dab in the middle of the 1980s, full of Sophie’s Choice posters and warped neon lights.
The stakes are high as the time traveler (or, as she calls herself, “time prisoner”) must solve a new mystery in order to find a way out. Be it Penn Station or Grand Central, Nadia and Alan’s season 2 adventure will feature a time portal located in “one of Manhattan’s most notorious locations” and home in on a train enigma. Something with a family’s stolen money from decades ago? Who are these people?
The first season of Russian Doll was released over three years ago on Netflix. Lyonne starred and served as showrunner on the series, which followed her character as she relives her death over and over again in a Groundhog Day-like scenario. Other returning stars include Charlie Barnett, Greta Lee, and Rebecca Henderson. Annie Murphy, Sharlto Copley, and Carolyn Michelle Smith are new additions to season 2.
After earning widespread acclaim (including a viral “Thursday! What a concept!” Twitter account) and a handful of Emmy nominations, Russian Doll was renewed for a second season. The New York City-based show had unfortunate timing, though: filming for season 2 began in March 2020, along with the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. They restarted a year later.
Russian Doll season 2 will debut on Netflix on April 20, a fitting release date for the mind-bending series.
