Overview
Sweet birthday babies, the big dose of déjà vu you've long been waiting for is finally almost here. It's been three years since Russian Doll first brought its Groundhog Day-meets-The Good Place vibes to Netflix, proved a hit and got renewed for a second season — and if you've been hanging out to rehash the smart and twisty Natasha Lyonne-starring series all over again, it'll drop new episodes in April.
Orange Is the New Black, Irresistible and The United States vs Billie Holiday star Lyonne plays New Yorker Nadia, who had a 36th birthday she'd never forget in Russian Doll's first season — although she desperately wished that she could. While getting stuck at a celebration in your own honour will sound like a literal party to most folks, that wasn't Nadia's path. So, after a couple of go-arounds, she went searching for answers. Indeed, being trapped in a loop featuring her closest pals (Sisters' Greta Lee and Werewolves Within's Rebecca Henderson), friendly ex (Yul Vazquez, Severance), wise aunt (Elizabeth Ashley, Ocean's 8), a cute roaming cat and a determined but neurotic guy (Charlie Barnett, You) who lives around the corner wasn't quite bliss for the show's acerbic, misanthropic lead character.
Co-created and co-written by Lyonne, the one and only Amy Poehler, and filmmaker Leslye Headland (Bachelorette, Sleeping with Other People), the show's eight-episode first run was one of the highlights of 2019 — and fingers crossed that its second season proves the same in 2022. As well as announcing that Russian Doll's second season will drop on Wednesday, April 20, Netflix also released a first sneak peek at the new episodes, although little is given away story-wise.
Examining fate, logic, life's loops and wading through limbo in a clever and compelling way is this show's wheelhouse, though — and proving dark, heartfelt, hilarious and inventive all at once, too, even though the do-over premise has become a well-established trope on both the big and small screens. So, if any series was well-placed to serve up a savvy second season — a do-over in a show that's already about do-overs — it's this one.
NYC's subway system does feature prominently in the season two trailer, so there's one big clue. Also, Barnett is back as Alan. A graveyard is seen, too, as so is Nadia providing her latest advice: "when the universe fucks with you, let it."
Plus, although they're not glimpsed in this first sneak peek, Schitt's Creek and Kevin Can F**k Himself star Annie Murphy and District 9's Sharlto Copley also join the cast.
Check out the first teaser trailer for Russian Doll's second season below:
The second season of Russian Doll will be available to stream via Netflix on Wednesday, April 20.
Image: Netflix.