It’s really been a long minute since we had any “Russian Doll,” Netflix’s hit hipster series about a woman living on New York’s Lower East Side in the early aughts who gets caught in some strange time loop where she keeps on reliving the same day over and over again. Created by writer/director Leslye Headland and its star Natasha Lyonne, “Russian Doll” was quite the cultural sensation when it first arrived in 2019. Its first season received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Lyonne.
Of course, things have really changed since then. For one, the pandemic really delayed the series, and Headland has basically left the series, too busy with a Lucasfilm/” Star Wars” project to do much other than executive produce from afar.
That’s ok because Lyonne has stepped up and taken over, directing every episode of season two, showrunning the series, starring, and writing too. Talk about multi-hyphenate. As you’ll remember, Lyonne’s characters Nadia and Alan (Charlie Barnett) escaped the time loop at the end of the first season, but don’t worry, season two, set four years later, still promises to have lots of strange and humorous sci-fi, time-travel elements as well.
Among those joining the cast in season two, the highlight might be Annie Murphy, known for her role on “Schitt’s Creek.” Returning and recurring cast members include Greta Lee, Chloë Sevigny, Yul Vazquez, and Elizabeth Ashley.
Here’s the official synopsis:
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, the New York City subway. 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.
The Emmy-winning show returns with Lyonne serving as showrunner and executive producer, and is also executive produced by Alex Buono, Amy Poehler (Paper Kite Productions), Leslye Headland, Lilly Burns (Jax Media), Tony Hernandez (Jax Media), Dave Becky (3 Arts), Kate Arend (Paper Kite Productions), Regina Corrado, and Allison Silverman. RUSSIAN DOLL is also produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
“Russian Doll” returns on April 20 for seven episodes that are 30 minutes each. Check out the new official trailer below.