A Series Of Unfortunate Events is back and its just as much fun as the first season.

Based on the best selling series of books by Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler), season two of the Netflix original series takes us further into the darkly comedic mystery of the Baudelaire orphans – Violet (Malina Weissman), Klause (Louis Hynes), and Sunny (Presley Smith). Neil Patrick Harris returns as the evil Count Olaf to give another tremendous performance this season that is both fun and terrifying. As a fan of the books, the show once again feels like it leaped from the pages onto my TV screen and longtime fans of the source material will not be disappointed. Season two is incredibly faithful to the books with some added twists and of course some new unfortunate events.

Where season 1 was the set-up, season 2 sets the show in motion giving the viewer more clues about the world the Baudelaire’s inhabit. Season 2 spans books five to nine (The Austere Academy, The Ersatz Elevator, The Vile Village, The Hostile Hospital, and The Carnivorous Carnival) leaving us the final four books for season 3.

The story picks up right where the last season ended with the orphans at the dreary Prufrock Preparatory School meeting the dreadful Carmelita Spats (Kitana Turnbull). Of course, Count Olaf and his band of oddball theatre goofs are one step behind them looking to get their hands on the Baudelaire fortune. The first episode sprinkles in a pinch of happy moments with the orphans meeting Duncan (Dylan Kingwell) and Isadora Quagmire (Avi Lake) who are also orphans and two of three children of the unnamed parents played by Cobie Smulders (How I Met Your Mother) and Will Arnett (Flaked). Of course, this is no happy tale and things quickly take a dark turn for the orphans and everyone they meet.

A Series Of Unfortunate Events feels like nothing else on TV right now. It’s a really unique show in an incredibly crowded space. Lemony Snicket (Patrick Warburton) returns to narrate the story and drop “red herrings” for the viewer. Lemony is also joined by his brother Jacques Snicket (Nathan Fillon) who is an active participant in the story and is just a delight on screen. With new guest characters every other episode, the show feels fresh, frantic and fun and is perfect for a Sunday binge-watch. Hats off to the casting directors for casting such a wonderful bunch of weirdos that really play off one and another. It’s clear everyone is having a lot of fun on set.

From a visual standpoint, the show is also in a league of its own. The sets look huge but they have a certain DIY quality you don’t see often. It’s as if the sets around our beloved orphans are going fall apart at any moment. The set pieces perfectly line up what I envisioned while reading the books so many years ago. CG has been pushed aside in favor of more fleshed out practical sets and that’s a bold choice I can get behind.

Fans of the books and the first season of A Series of Unfortunate Events will not be disappointed. I’ve gone back and watched the season twice now (minus the last two episodes that were not available for review) and found a ton I’d missed on the first round including some hilarious lines from NPH. This is an astounding season that stages the stage for a hopefully killer finale sometime next year.