Stateless Season 2 - What We Know So Far
Even though the Australian drama series Stateless takes place in the mid-2000s, the light it shines on issues surrounding immigration, migration, and the policies of countries like Australia feels as timely as ever. In just six episodes, it managed to tell a captivating and heart-wrenching story of people caught up in the mandatory detention program of the Australian government, one that left many viewers wanting more.
As of now, there hasn't been an announcement about a second season of Stateless. While the show is billed as a limited series, the existence of season 2 of the "limited series" Big Little Lies demonstrates that labels can easily be changed should those in charge decide to do so.
Back in February, series co-creators Cate Blanchett and Tony Ayers were asked about the possibility of a second series during an interview with Deadline. While Blanchett said the show was, "Definitely conceived that way [as a one off]," she didn't completely dismiss the idea of a second season. She explained, "What's happened ... is the problematic nature of the situation has only deepened and become more enmeshed and politicized. In that way, the series does feel open-ended."
Based on the show's breathtaking finale and other details dropped by Blanchett, we have a few ideas about what season 2 of Stateless could look like.
When we can expect to see Stateless season 2
Before everyone gets too excited, let's get one thing straight: Without any official word on if there will even be a season 2 of Stateless, it's hard to say when the aforementioned season will release. There are, however, a few things we do know that might help us hammer out a potential timeline.
Stateless began filming at the end of May, 2019, as confirmed by a report from The Advertiser. The series then premiered on Australian TV beginning on March 1, 2020 before it later became available to international audiences on Netflix in July.
So, we do know that the show took less than a year from the beginning of filming to airing on TV. If a second season does get announced, this might prove to be a helpful guideline to determine how soon after that announcement we should expect season 2. Given everything we know about Stateless' season 1's production, and the general state of TV and film production around the world right now, we expect season 2 of Stateless would arrive some time in 2022 at the earliest.
Will Stateless season 2 have the same cast?
Who may appear in a second season of Stateless depends on what direction the series takes. If the show is a continuation of the stories told in the first season, there are some cast members who seem more likely than others to return. The stories of conflicted detention center employees Cam (Jai Courtney) and Claire (Asher Keddie) felt like they had strong conclusions.
On the other hand, Ameer (Fayssal Bazzi) ended the series on a more ambiguous note. His daughter, Mina (Soraya Heidari), received a visa and went to live with a foster family in Australia, while he remained in detention indefinitely. It was heavily implied that he was to be deported back to Afghanistan, but his final moments in the series felt more open-ended than those of other characters.
Much like Ameer, Sofie (Yvonne Strahovski) had an ending that left her character arc feeling unresolved. Even though she was rescued from the detention center by her sister, she still ends up in a psychiatric hospital, and the look on her face in her final moments on the screen isn't one of happiness. If the show was choosing which storylines to continue in a second season, Ameer's and Sofie's feel like the most likely options.
Of course, there's a good possibility that the series would bring in an all new cast. Comments by series co-creator Blanchett imply that a second season would bring fresh stories to the fore.
Where the plot of Stateless season 2 might go
When questioned about the possibility of a second season during the interview with Deadline, Blanchett said, "What's more important to us — rather than going on and making another series, even though there are so many more stories to tell in this vein — is scaffolding a conversation around it."
This implies that if there is a second season, it may very well focus on completely different stories also centered on Australia's immigration policies. The finale of the first season ends with some information about the state of the Australian immigration system, including the fact that since 2012, migrants arriving by boat have been detained on offshore detention facilities in places like the Micronesian island nation of Nauru. This policy has been highly controversial, and was even declared unlawful by an International Criminal Court prosecutor (via The Guardian). If the show is interested in "scaffolding a conversation" around migration and detention by telling more stories, that particular story could be the way to do it.
Ultimately, we'll have to wait and see if a second season of Stateless materializes. If it does, the show has set itself up to have a new season just as emotionally moving and politically complex as the first.