After a long time away from Netflix, Russian Doll season 2 is nearly here.
Russian Doll is an absurd comedy meets time travel romp starring But I'm a Cheerleader's Natasha Lyonne.
It revolves around Lyonne as the poofy red-haired Nadia, a raspy-voiced, chain-smoking video game developer who keeps dying and reliving her 36th birthday party, as she is trapped in a surreal time warp where she keeps getting killed.
The Emmy-nominated comedy series is co-created by Lyonne, who is also an executive producer, director and writer on the show.
The series is a fan favorite, and as The Wall Street Journal comments: “It is recklessly paced, dealt out in small, furious bites, and its finger has found a comfortingly absurdist pulse in the culture.”
Here's everything we know about the second season of the Netflix series.
Russian Doll season 2 release date
Netflix has confirmed that Russian Doll season 2 returns on Wednesday, April 20.
The second season is seven episodes long and each episode will be approximately 30 minutes long, and you can watch all of season 1 on Netflix currently.
What's the plot?
For Russian Doll season 2, Nadia and Alan have escaped the time loop together, but now, we see their lives four years later. The existential themes from the show continue with comedy intermixed with a science-fiction bent.
This time, the duo dive into their own personal pasts through a portal in New York City and get caught up in a different kind of loop, one they didn’t know would have such serious consequences. Once again, they're forced to search for a way out.
Talking about playing Nadia, Natasha told Variety that: “The character of Nadia is somebody who’s been sort of my, and I hate to use this reference because I’m somebody who’s pushing 40; I’m no longer a tween, but remember how [Charles] Bukowski always had Henry Chinaski? I always had Nadia in everything I would write, and it was based on Nadia Comaneci, who was my favorite gymnast from the ’80s. It was a name and a character who has been following me at attempts and stabs at writing for the better part of a decade.
“Nadia is not me, and her life is not my life. As much as any of us draw on personal things in the arts, I knew who that person was and why she was making the choices she was making on a deep, deep level, even from things that had been omitted.”
Who's in the Russian Doll season 2 cast?
Starring alongside Natasha is Chicago Fire's Charlie Barnett as Alan, who helps Nadia navigate the strange metaverse that has bled into their own sense of reality.
For the second season, other cast members include Carolyn Michelle Smith (House of Cards), as well as Sharlto Copley (District 9) and Emmy Award-winning Schitt's Creek actor Annie Murphy.
Talking about Murphy's role, Natasha told EW: “There's some serious motherf****ers on that Russian Doll show — on a human level — and she's definitely one of the good guys.”
Nadia’s two best friends return from the second season. That includes The Morning Show’s Greta Lee playing the role of Maxine and Inventing Anna’s Rebecca Henderson playing the role of Lizzy.
Since there was already a cameo from Chloë Sevigny starring as Nadia’s troubled mother Lenora Vulvokov in season one, there are rumors she may return for the second season of Russian Doll, too.
Nadia’s two best friends return from the second season. That includes The Morning Show’s Greta Lee playing the role of Maxine and Inventing Anna’s Rebecca Henderson playing the role of Lizzy.
Since there was already a cameo from Chloë Sevigny starring as Nadia’s troubled mother Lenora Vulvokov in season one, there are rumors she may return for the second season of Russian Doll, too.
Is there a Russian Doll season 2 trailer?
Netflix gave us our first glimpse at Russian Doll's second season in a teaser trailer which was released in early March. And now we have a full trailer to enjoy. Check it out full trailer directly below.
You can also watched the previous teaser trailer right here:
Who's directed Russian Doll season 2?
Leslye Headland, Jamie Babbit and showrunner Natasha Lyonne all direct episodes for the second season of Russian Doll.
Leslye is a director who is best known for directing her 2012 film Bachelorette, a comedy starring Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan, and Isla Fisher, and her 2015 film, Sleeping with Other People, a romantic comedy starring Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie.
Jamie is the director of But I’m A Cheerleader, a 1999 film that starred Natasha alongside Ru Paul and Clea DuVall, and The Stand-In, which featured Drew Barrymore and was released in 2020.
Natasha is sharing the executive producing credit with 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.
As Natasha explained to EW, this new season will be just as puzzling as season one of Russian Doll.
“It's for sure a puzzle box,” she said. “With my whole heart, I hope that people watch it all and see where the game goes and lands. I can't believe we pulled it off.”
