Is What/If renewed for season 2, canceled at Netflix? The series’ future

Beyond today’s launch, is there a chance for a What/If season 2 over at Netflix? By the time you make it through the first batch of episodes of the anthology series, we may be at a point in which you are asking that question. That’s especially true if you end up enjoying it. Reviews, at least so far, have been mixed to positive on the Renée Zellweger series, with many calling it quality entertainment even if the storyline is super-soapy and a little bit over the top.

Of course, sometimes, isn’t that precisely what you want? Isn’t it fun to dive into something a little bit on the soapier side? It’s not something that Netflix has a lot of in this specific form, and that opens the door for all sorts of opportunities … if the streaming provider wants to pursue them.

Here’s what we do know right now — it doesn’t seem as though there will be a direct continuation to whatever we have in the first season. Netflix is billing What/If to be some sort of anthology a la American Horror Story or Fargo, meaning that each season is meant to be roughly its own thing. Think a different story with, presumably, different characters. We do think anything’s possible if season 1 is well-received enough, but sometimes, content creators have to just let go of when something is working and then try to find a way to move forward to the next big thing.

One thing that is certainly possible, should Netflix want to bring the show back, is to just do something similar to what American Horror Story does with its cast — use a lot of the same people, if possible, but put them into different roles. If you’re someone like Renée Zellweger, who may not have signed on were this a standard scripted show, wouldn’t it be excited to dive into someone totally new for a second go-around? That could be enticing enough for her to want to come back, provided the idea is right.

For now, though, there are no firm decisions as to the future of What/If. If Netflix does what they often do, they’ll probably wait a month or so before determining what they want to do. The show’s performance in terms of both total streams and retention will matter, but probably the latter more so than the former. Netflix as a service wants to know that people are finishing their stuff, mostly because that’s an indicator that there’s enthusiasm out there for the project and people may want to see a little bit more of it.

For the time being, we’re considering the chance of a What/If season 2 a toss-up. We could see it happening, but unless the ratings are enormous, it’s going to be easy for the service to move on and try some risks with other limited series.

Do you want to see a What/If season 2 renewal over at Netflix? Be sure to share right now in the comments, and check back soon for more! (Photo: Netflix.)