Russian Doll season 2 release date: Latest news on time-loop drama
Our sweet birthday baby is on her way back to Netflix.
It's been a long time coming, but Russian Doll season 2 is almost here, with a brand new trailer teasing what existential exploits are in store for Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) and Alan (Charlie Barnett) in the new episodes.
This chapter is set four years after Nadia's fateful 36th birthday party, when she was thrown into a Groundhog Day scenario in which she died numerous times while trying to escape a time loop.
Season 2 will also follow time travel shenanigans, but with a wildly different approach, as our beloved duo discover a time portal in New York City that will force them to viscerally confront their past.
Netflix has been careful not to disclose many other specifics about the plot, but we can confirm that part of the story unfolds in Manhattan's East Village in the year 1982. Intriguing to say the least.
Russian Doll season 2 has also added a big name to its cast in Emmy-winning Schitt's Creek star Annie Murphy, whose role is being kept top secret for now but has been described by co-star Lyonne as “the heart of the show”.
Speaking about the upcoming season, Lyonne teased to Entertainment Weekly: "There's some serious motherf**kers on that Russian Doll show – on a human level – and she's definitely one of the good guys."
Read on for all the details we have on Russian Doll season 2, including release date, cast and trailers.
Russian Doll season 2 release date
Netflix has confirmed that Russian Doll season 2 will land on April 20th, 2022, consisting of seven episodes which will be available to binge all at once.
Production on the second season of Russian Doll was originally due to commence in 2020, but hit a major setback when the coronavirus pandemic brought the world to a standstill.
Filming was officially delayed as we all went into lockdown, as revealed by Deadline, with cameras not rolling on the latest episodes until a full year later.
Co-creator Leslye Headland told RadioTimes.com back in February 2019 that the creative team originally pitched three seasons of Russian Doll to Netflix, so the story could well extend even further down the line.
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Russian Doll season 2 cast
Natasha Lyonne will reprise the role of Nadia Vulvokov in the new episodes – hardly surprising given she earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her performance the first time round.
Fellow time-loop sufferer Alan, played by Chicago Fire's Charlie Barnett, is also set to return, along with Nadia's friends Maxine (Greta Lee) and Lizzy (Rebecca Henderson).
Other familiar faces fans can expect to see in season two are Nadia's troubled mother, Lenora (Chloë Sevigny), as well as her dearly beloved family friend and guardian Ruth Brenner (Elizabeth Ashley).
It has also been announced that Schitt's Creek star Annie Murphy has joined the Russian Doll cast for season 2 in a top secret role, which Lyonne has described as “the heart of the show”.
News followed that Sharlto Copley (District 9) and Carolyn Michelle Smith (House of Cards) would also feature in the second run, but their roles remain similarly undisclosed at this stage.
Russian Doll season 2 plot
Russian Doll will be set four years after Nadia's 36th birthday party in the first season, which saw Nadia die repeatedly while trying to escape a time loop.
However, Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) and Alan (Charlie Barnett) won't be in for an easier ride in season 2, with the pair set to face a fate "even worse than endless death".
Netflix's synopsis reads: "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."
Is there a trailer for Russian Doll season 2?
The first full-length trailer for Russian Doll season 2 dropped in April 2022, a mere two weeks before the new episodes are made available to stream on Netflix. Check it out below.
Previously, Netflix shared a teaser trailer confirming season 2's release date. In the clip, Nadia can be seen stuck in a time loop on a subway train and later raising a drink to announce: "When the universe f**ks with you, let it."
Russian Doll season 1 recap
*Warning: spoilers ahead for Russian Doll season one*
Nadia Vulvokov is an independent and embittered software engineer who dies at her 36th birthday party, before waking up and reliving the night all over again (which always begins with a shout of "sweet birthday baby!" from loyal friend Maxine).
Forced to solve the existential puzzle she's presented with, Nadia initially thinks that she's being haunted (or on a really bad trip), until she meets Alan, a man who died by suicide on the same night, and who is also reliving it.
Nadia soon realises that they're stuck in a repetitive reality similar to that of a video game, where the original night they both died serves as a jumping-off point (see our more detailed explanation of the Russian Doll time loop).
Objects and people begin to disappear as the nights continue, she and Alan discover they have limited time to fix the broken aspect within themselves (for Nadia, it's her guilt over her mother's death, while for Alan, it's the realisation that his girlfriend's infidelity was partly driven by his own actions).
In the final episode of the series, the pair wake up on the original night — but in separate realities – and in each, the other person doesn't remember the shared experience.
Using the personal knowledge of one another that they have developed over the numerous time-loops endured together, Alan and Nadia set out to save each other's lives.
Will Russian Doll be back for season 3?
Natasha Lyonne, Amy Poehler and Leslye Headland had worked on the concept of the show for over two years before pitching it as a three-season series. Hopefully that means season 2 won't be the last we see of Nadia and her fellow time-loop sufferer Alan.
"When initially pitched, Nadia was a presence throughout all three of them. But it was not in a very conventional way, if that makes sense," writer and director Headland told The Hollywood Reporter. "She was always a presence, as we knew Lyonne would always be the beating heart and soul of this show. Whether she was being haunted or she was haunting the narrative, she would be there."
Lyonne added: "There's a very clear sense of character in Nadia so that you can have very high-concept things happen to her, but they always feel earned.
"They're backed by some sort of lived experience, so they don’t feel like they’re floating in space or completely in the realm of sci-fi. From that perspective, I have some big ideas, and I think this show will continue to work so long as that journey continues to be interesting and worth watching and new. I want to be learning in real time along with her and along with our audience."
Read more of our Russian Doll coverage:
- Russian Doll season 2 review: A mesmerising trip down memory lane
- Russian Doll season 2 soundtrack: Every song featured
- Russian Doll season 1 recap: Where did we leave Nadia Vulvokov?
Russian Doll is available to stream on Netflix – check out our guides to the best series on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix. Take a look at the rest of our Drama coverage, or see what else is on with our TV guide.
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