‘Humans’ season 2 spoilers: Are there further deviations ahead?
Like many other adaptations right now on TV, AMC / Channel 4’s “Humans” is following somewhat of a pattern. It starts out somewhat similar to the original product, but then as a little bit of time goes by, you start to notice a little more and more variation come into play. What’s the reason for that? In many ways, it can be traced to the fact that over time, you want to get creative, and you also start to figure out more of what works for your own product versus what worked for an original.
A good comparison here is “Arrow.” This is a show that started off with things being a little more faithful to the Oliver Queen story in the comics, but then you introduced someone like Felicity who was never meant to be a big character. You realized creatively and commercially something was there, and you decides to go with that to the point where you cannot see the show without her. “Game of Thrones” has also separated itself enormously from the George R.R. Martin source material, and “The Walking Dead” from the comics.
Now, let’s put those comparisons away and explain a little what the plan is here for “Humans,” which is adapted from a Swedish TV show. Speaking after the intense, twisty season 1 finale Sunday, show executive producer Sam Vincent teased the following about the creative process moving forward to TVLine:
“It’ll be a further departure. That’s not really a deliberate choice to look at the second season and say, “We’re going to do something really different.” It’s very much a reflection of the organic process of adapting something. If you watch our first episode, you’ll see many, many similar things to the first episode of the original, but then you make one or two little changes and in the process, those changes magnify… What we definitely will do is steal every great thing we can from the original. [Laughs] But I think for Season 2, we’ll be looking at the original more as a… treasure chest than a blueprint. They have so many wonderful and brilliant ideas, and even if their stories are going down a different track, we can just cherry-pick everything that works for us.”
Ultimately, our read is this: Just because characters appear / depart in Sweden doesn’t mean that they are going to here. There could be tonal similarities, but this is meant to satisfy fans of this show, not just those who enjoy the original.
If you do want to get some further updates when it comes to what a second season of “Humans” could revolve around, be sure to head over to the link here right now! Also, be sure to sign up here to get some more TV news on everything we cover, sent right over to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: AMC.)