Wait, Is ‘The Peripheral’ Season 2 Still Happening?

Amazon Prime subscribers were delighted when the streamer renewed its hit sci-fi series, The Peripheral, for a second season. However, over the past year, there hasn’t been much news on season 2, leading viewers to question if it’s still happening.

It’s not surprising that The Peripheral garnered positive critic reviews considering that Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, the creators behind another hit sci-fi series, Westworld, served as executive producers on the show. The series is loosely based on the book of the same name by William Gibson and set in the near future, where Flynne Fletcher (Chloë Grace Moretz) earns money by playing virtual reality games. But her life changes when, one day, she begins playing a game that transports her to an actual future reality.

Adapting Gibson’s book into a TV series was no easy task, as it’s filled with quite imaginative and complex ideas. Still, The Peripheral does a decent job of making his complex sci-fi concepts more manageable and able to fit into an eight-episode series. It’s thrilling, visually stunning, and gives fans of Westworld another sophisticated sci-fi story to chew on. Meanwhile, with season 1 ending on a cliffhanger, it created the perfect opportunity for the story to continue.

Is The Peripheral getting a season 2?

On February 9, 2023, Amazon officially renewed The Peripheral for a second season. Viewers were relieved to learn it was safe, even as cancellations picked up on many streamers. Unfortunately, the series wasn’t actually safe. Season 2 of The Peripheral is not happening as Amazon backtracked on its renewal and decided to cancel the series instead in August.

The decision was quite shocking, and the only explanation one alleged insider pointed to was the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes over the summer. Apparently, there was concern that the new season wouldn’t arrive until 2025 due to production delays from the strikes, so Amazon simply decided to cancel it. It’s still a very strange decision, as many fans likely would’ve preferred the season later rather than never. Meanwhile, gaps between seasons of TV shows are largely starting to become the norm after the pandemic and the strikes. A two or three-year gap between seasons of The Peripheral likely wouldn’t have phased viewers at all.

To cancel a show after it was already renewed and claim it’s because of the strikes almost feels like the cancellation was retaliation for the workers demanding fair compensation. Meanwhile, given that it’s a complex, big-budget sci-fi show, it is unlikely another streamer will pick it up for its second season. It seems the door has closed on The Peripheral season 2.

(featured image: Amazon Prime Video).