Kindred, FX’s drama series based on the novel by Octavia E. Butler, will not return for a second season on Hulu. The first season’s eight episodes were made available as a binge drop on December 13. Even though it premiered with mostly positive reviews, FX’s new scripted series Kindred, set to premiere in 2022, has failed to generate the same level of excitement as The Bear.
FX is known for carefully curating its slate and taking time to develop projects, sometimes redoing a pilot, so most of its shows stick around for a while after they premiere.
Dana James (Mallori Johnson), a young Black woman and aspiring writer, has uprooted her life of familial obligation and relocated to Los Angeles in the new series Kindred, created by showrunner and executive producer Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.
Other than Micah Stock and Ryan Kwanten, the cast also includes Gayle Rankin, Austin Smith, David Alexander Kaplan, Sophina Brown, and Sheria Irving.
The series was executive produced by Jacobs-Jenkins, Joe Weisberg, Joel Fields, Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel, Courtney Lee-Mitchell, Jules Jackson, and Ernestine Walker of Protozoa Pictures. The pilot was directed by and featured executive production from Janicza Bravo. That studio was FX Productions.
Will There Be More Episodes of Kindred Next Year?
Since Kindred was suddenly canceled, the universe must have it in for me. Damn. It’s safe to say this is the first time FX has ever canceled a show. Basically, I can’t remember the last time an FX show lasted just one season before being axed.
In the words of Deadline, FX “is known for carefully curating its slate and taking time to develop projects, sometimes redoing a pilot, and most of its shows stick around for a while.” However, perhaps the network is getting ideas from Netflix and Peacock. (eyes roll)
However, the series’ conclusion is possible. It’s likely that showrunner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins will shop the series to other networks in order to fund a second season and potentially more.
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Thank you, Showtime, for hearing our cries and renewing Minx; what’s one more TV show, anyway? After canceling Fate: Winx Saga, Partner Track, and a slew of other TV shows, surely Netflix can afford to put money into Kindred. In addition, the show already has an established fanbase, so its success is virtually assured.
It could be quite some time before the second season of Kindred airs, even if it is renewed for a second run. The first season finished filming in January of 2022, but it didn’t premiere until December of the same year. Even though I’m not great with numbers, I can tell that we won’t see Season 2 until late in 2019.
What We Know About the Cancellation of Season 2 of Kindred
Recent reports claim that the FX network has confirmed the cancellation of Season 2 of Kindred. The first season’s eight episodes premiered on Netflix on December 13, 2022, so the announcement comes nearly a month and a half after the premiere.
Cancellation after only one season comes as a shock given the positive reception the show has received so far. Sixty-three percent of the 27 critic reviews on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10.
The critics agree that “Mallori Johnson acquits herself impressively in a difficult role,” but that “the rest of this ambitious adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s seminal novel is less successful in pulling off its tricky tonal balance.”
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However, 18 critics gave the limited series an average score of 62 on Metacritic, which indicates “generally favorable reviews.” Kindred has received mostly positive reviews, but it has failed to generate the same level of global buzz as the other new 2022 FX scripted series, The Bear.
It’s also unexpected that the change was made so soon, given that FX is known for carefully curating its slate and developing projects, sometimes reshooting a pilot, and generally keeping its shows on the air for a while.
What Is The Kindred Season 2 Plot?
Jacobs-Jenkins mentioned in an interview with THR that he read Butler’s personal papers and old drafts while developing the series and that the author believed she “never cracked” Kindred. I thought, “Well, I guess it would be nice to consider what she felt she couldn’t say.” With our expanded workspace, is it possible to carry out these repairs in stages?
Based on the showrunner’s comments about wanting to divide the book into three or four parts, Season 2 is likely to focus on Chapter 4, “The Fight,” since the first season concludes around the time the third chapter, “The Fall,” ends. In that section of the book, Dana leaves Kevin in the modern world in 1815 for eight days; by the time she returns to the plantation, five years have passed in his timeline.
Dana sets out to find Kevin, who has left Maryland and moved north after Rufus misleads her about writing to him about her return to the plantation. She has been unable to succeed and has given up. But instead of Rufus going to the plantation to meet Dana, Kevin is sent there by his father.
After he returns, their marriage (in the book) seems to have changed, and the stability Kevin’s white privilege provided is thrown into disarray. Nonetheless, he tries to leave the plantation with his wife, but Rufus threatens them with a gun. Kevin and Dana are brought back to present-day Los Angeles once they face an immediate threat to their lives.
Who Are The New Season’s Main Characters And Supporting Actors?
It’s safe to assume that the vast majority of the pilot’s actors will be back for the series’ upcoming second season.
Here are the actors’ names and the roles they will play in the near future:
- Edana (Dana) James as Mallori Johnson
- Micah Stock as Kevin Franklin
- Ryan Kwanten as Thomas Weylin
- Gayle Rankin as Margaret Weylin
- Austin Smith as Luke.
Other cast members may also feature:
- David Alexander Kaplan as Rufus Weylin
- Sophina Brown as Sarah
- Abigail Shannon as Alice Greenwood /Jackson
- Christopher Farrar as Nigel
- Sheria Irving as Olivia
- Lindsey Blackwell as Carrie
- Eisa Davis as Denis.
When Might We Expect To See The Second Season Of The Kindred Premiere On TV?
FX ordered eight episodes of Kindred for the upcoming season in January 2022 after picking up the pilot in March 2021. “The pilot directed by Janicza Bravo is brilliant and we can’t wait to resume production with this incredibly talented and dedicated cast,” FX president Nick Grad said in a statement to Variety.
Production was well underway by June of 2022, with a release date set for December. If the show is renewed, the second installment could start filming in late 2023, according to the schedule.