Since I started covering Netflix shows, one of the biggest remains 2019's Bodies. It spend 4 weeks in the streamer's Top 10 English-language TV shows list which wouldn't make it seem like one of the biggest Netflix series, but it created so much speculation and discussion of tis twisting plot that you don't always get for a streaming show.
But it's been over a year since Bodies aired on Netflix, and the streamer hasn't uttered a word on it since. Has it been cancelled? Is there a Bodies season 2 on the way? We just don't know, and fans are getting frustrated.
Bodies is set between four timelines, about investigations in 1890, 1941, 2023 and 2053 around the exact same body which shows up in the exact same London lane in each period. We follow the investigations as they slowly link together, with one mysterious character at the center of the plot.
It was certainly a twisting and complicated show, if our lengthy Bodies ending explainer is anything to go by. But its mystery kept fans guessing, and judging by how a Bodies subreddit remains active with speculation, fan fiction and theories, it kindled an interest in the world of the series. Fans clearly want more!
The first season ended with a plot twist that teased a second season, even though the main story was over, however we still have no idea if a second season is on the way! So let's look into the likelihood of a Bodies season 2.
Why there may not be a Bodies season 2
I have to be honest: after researching for this article, I think it's unlikely that Bodies season 2 is on the cards.
For one the creator, Paul Tomalin, seems apprehensive about a return for the show. Speaking to Radio Times he stopped shy of ruling it out, but stated that he'd told the story he wanted. The issue seems to be that a second season could cheapen the first, but that the door isn't totally closed.
Another thing to bear in mind is that the comic book series that Bodies is based on, created by Si Spencer, covers the same story as the show. So there's no source material for any continuation.
But perhaps the most damning evidence comes from Netflix's silence. While it's created a reputation for quickly cancelling shows if they underperform, it's just as rapid at renewing them soon after release if they're popular.
Most times, we hear about a renewal within weeks or even days if a show is successful; One Piece was given a new season within a month of its debut and 3 Body Problem and Avatar: The Last Airbender were given two whole seasons off the back of their successful firsts.
The fact that we've heard nothing about Bodies makes me feel like its renewal window has passed.
A little bit of hope
Despite the reasons above, there's some hope that Bodies could come back, or at least reasons not to give up hope just yet.
The main reason to remain optimistic is simply how popular Bodies was. Netflix rarely lets its hits fall by the wayside, especially with how it remained in viewers' minds much longer than most of its other shows do.
Some fans point to Bodies' billing as a mini-series as evidence that it was never intended to be brought back. However Netflix has released second seasons of mini-series before so it's not evidence that no more is in the works.
Bear in mind that Bodies ended with a bit of a twist, regarding Shira Haas' Iris Maplewood (I won't say what, in case you haven't seen it yet). In his aforementioned interview Tomalin did refer to this as a "cute dot dot dot at the end, just in case", stating "we do have an idea" as to where it could go, so the creative team has evidently thought about a Bodies season 2.
Many of big-budget streaming shows have two-year season arcs (or even longer, for big ones like Stranger Things) and that would put a release date for Bodies season 2 as October 2025. Netflix often doesn't give concrete information about shows that far in the distance, so there's an outside chance that it'll be brought back.
But at the end of the day, only time will tell whether Bodies will be brought back, or left in the ground like a... well, like a body!
