Russian Doll Season 2 First Look: Netflix's Time Loop Series Returns With A New Twist

Gotta get up, gotta get out, gotta get ready for the return of "Russian Doll." Natasha Lyonne's mind-boggling Netflix dramedy is finally coming back, with big plans to break our brains in twisty new ways. The first season followed Nadia Vulvokov (Lyonne) through a never-ending time loop akin to "Groundhog Day," which she relentlessly fought to escape. Dying over and over is not as fun as movies make it seem, but the series deftly mixed comedy and darkness throughout her journey. Most importantly, it featured Lyonne swaggering around New York City with an endless supply of snark and cigarettes. When the season drew to a close, it ended so perfectly that a second season didn't feel required — but why wouldn't we welcome more time with Lyonne?

Of course, news of a second season is a lot less positive for Nadia, who didn't exactly enjoy her experience in the time loop and will apparently have more sci-fi dramatics to endure moving forward. According to series star, co-creator, and showrunner Natasha Lyonne, the chaos is ramping up. Lyonne told Entertainment Weekly, "We all pushed ourselves to the limit of what we thought we could make happen visually and through the storytelling."

Spoilers for season 1 of "Russian Doll" will follow.

Natasha Lyonne has been unsurprisingly cryptic in the lead-up to season 2, but she returns bearing exciting gifts: first-look pictures and vague quotes! Lyonne let us in on some exciting new details, and we now know that the second season picks up four years after the first. Nadia and Alan (Charlie Barnett) have escaped the deadly time loop, but their journey doesn't end there. The series is delving right back into existential territory, with the duo confronting "a fate even worse than dying over and over again". Encountering an unexpected portal in one of Manhattan's most iconic locales forces them to sift through their past. Not gonna lie, this sounds pretty bleak. Off the top of my head, the only thing worse than constantly dying would be, uh, finality. "Russian Doll" really doesn't pull its punches.

Netflix

Netflix

Based on the first-look photos, Nadia and Alan's latest universe-bending haunt is an NYC subway station. That's quite unfortunate. As all New Yorkers know, nothing good ever goes down in a subway car and it certainly doesn't help when existentialism gets involved. Here's the synopsis for the upcoming season:

Set four years after Nadia (Natasha Lyonne) and Alan (Charlie Barnett) escaped mortality's time loop together, season two of Russian Doll will continue to explore existential thematics through an often humorous and sci-fi lens. Discovering a fate even worse than endless death, 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.

Of the many treats this season clearly has in store is an exciting addition to the cast. Along with Lyonne and Barnett, "Schitt's Creek" star Annie Murphy is getting in on the fun. Lyonne described her character as a "core component and the heart of the season" who will become an unexpected ally for Nadia, helping her come to terms with "the nature of mortality." Lyonne added,

"There's some serious motherf—ers on that Russian Doll show — on a human level — and she's definitely one of the good guys."

Netflix

Expect to enjoy the presence of fan favorite, Oatmeal the cat, and many more season 1 easter eggs hinting at the saga's big mystery. Lyonne describes it as a "puzzle box," which adds another hilariously meta layer to the show, given Nadia was a game designer before her life derailed into unending cosmic insanity.

Season 2 of "Russian Doll" arrives on Netflix in spring 2022.