Will Netflix pick up Damnation season 2? Will another streamer or channel run with the story? The TV show from 2017 seemed to come to a grinding halt but it may not be the end of the series.

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Damnation ran for one season in 2017 and featured depression-era Iowa farmers as they battled to survive the harsh financial and cultural conditions of the time. The story is different from the usual and seemed to go down okay with fans and critics. The news that is was not being renewed for a second series was not a surprise to some but that may not be the end of the story.

Damnation TV series

Despite the dramatic title, this isn’t a show about demons or sin but of Iowa farmers during 1930s America. More specifically, the show follows a preacher called Seth Davenport who is intent on fighting the Man and stirring up trouble. Frustrated with the class and wealth gap between the have’s and have-not’s, Davenport wants to stir the pot and try to level the playing field.

With Killian Scott as Seth Davenport, Logan Marshall-Green as Creeley Turner, Sarah Jones as Amelia Davenport and a solid supporting cast, there is certainly nothing wrong with the lineup!

The story is gritty and pulls no punches and follows Davenport as he tries to rebel against authority while being thwarted by a wealthy industrialist who uses all his resources to maintain the status quo. It’s a familiar story that we have seen many times before but it is told in a compelling way and has a very strong cast which makes it very watchable.

Damnation shows Davenport trying to convince Iowa farmers to strike in order to get a better life. The industrialist hires a strike breaker and the Black Legion vigilante group wants a piece of the action too. As the characters unfold, you feel for the farmers and understand why Davenport is doing what he is doing even if you may not agree with it.

Season 1 ran for ten episodes culminating in a showdown that see two diametrically opposed viewpoints coming together to share a common goal.

While Damnation was set in the 1930s, the basic premise rings very true about now. It’s about the wealth gap, about big business versus the people, about good and evil, about the underdog, the lone fighter for good and all the things we are going through right now as a country and as a society.

Why did Damnation not get renewed?

The airing network, USA, didn’t get the viewers it thought it would for series 1 so canned it. Apparently viewing figures were only around half a million for it so the decision was made to not renew it. I imagine a period drama such as Damnation cost a lot to make and the network didn’t want to throw good money after bad.

At the time of writing the future of Damnation has not yet been decided for sure. The USA network has said there will not be a season 2. Netflix owns the first-run rights to Damnation outside of the US and may well take on the story. Nothing has yet been announced but there have been a few ‘watch this space’ hints by people associated with the show.

Will Netflix make Damnation season 2?

Netflix may have the rights to show Damnation outside of the US but that doesn’t mean it will. This is one of those shows that won’t translate to every other country. The Iowa setting, depression-era Iowa and the way of life won’t resonate with other cultures. The characteristics of the time and the challenges may be universal but the setting is uniquely American.

Other series like Westworld did okay but mainly traded on the movie link and Anthony Hopkins even though it was a fantastic show in its own right. This kind of setting just doesn’t work for other cultures even if the storyline does.

The depression and the grittiness of the time is also a little too close to reality to work well right now too. Some exposition pieces on the time may work well but I don’t think Damnation is one of them.

Personally, I don’t think Netflix will make a series 2 of Damnation. Period dramas are expensive, appeal is limited and the international appeal is more limited still. For a company that’s all about global viewing figures, making a TV show with such limitations doesn’t make sense. I could be wrong though, I have been many times before.

Did you like Damnation? Want Netflix to pick up season 2? Got anything else to say about the series? You know what to do…