Harry Nilsson’s “Gotta Get Up” might be ringing through your ears once again. “Russian Doll,” co-created by and starring Natasha Lyonne, has been picked up for a second season by Netflix. A release date hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the new season will have eight episodes.
The renewal was announced today by Lyonne and Netflix vice president of content acquisition and original series Cindy Holland during Recode’s Code Conference and is noteworthy for several reasons. As a dark, time-bending comedy written and directed by all women, the show is an example of how Netflix and other streaming services can give a platform to content that might otherwise have a hard time finding a distributor. Though Lyonne is a well-respected actress, she has mostly appeared in supporting roles, but her lead performance was one of the reasons “Russian Doll” became a breakout hit earlier this year.
During their Code Conference panel, Holland said “Russian Doll” was a “hit relative to cost” and underscored the “eclectic tastes” of Netflix’s audience, while Lyonne described Netflix’s algorithm as “a bit of a relief,” adding that “boundaries are sort of healthy for the creative process in a way.”
