While Netflix is known for its many incredible original TV series, the streaming service has excelled with the horror and thriller genre in the past few years. Midnight Mass wowed fans with a beautiful setting and incredible story, and horror fans are still singing the praises of The Haunting of Hill House. In January 2022, Netflix dropped Archive 81, a thriller based on the podcast of the same name. On the series, Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie) and Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi) find themselves tied to each other as Dan restores videotapes that Melody took at the Visser apartment building in New York City in the 1990s. While Dan sees the tapes and becomes more familiar with Melody, Melody and Dan can see each other even though they're in different dimensions.
Season 1 of Archive 81 is a real journey, with scares, a creepy backstory for a cult, well-written characters, and enough mystery to keep fans entertained and interested in tearing through each new episode. While fans wait for news of whether the series has been renewed for a season 2, there are many reasons why Netflix should renew it and allow fans to see more of the sweeping journey that Dan and Melody are on.
The Story Of The Visser Building Deserves A Resolution
The Archive 81 showrunner wants a season 2, and fans would definitely love to watch this story continue to unfold. The Visser apartment building is such a creepy place that it would be a shame not to be able to spend more time there. If season 2 of Archive 81 could continue the tale of the Visser and allow Dan to explore the origins of the cult there, it seems like a potential season 3 could focus on another scary story altogether. This seems doable since the podcast focuses on a different story each season.
While there are many movies about haunted houses, Archive 81 creates a terrifying location with the Visser apartment building. From the floor where Melody is told not to go to the overall old-fashioned and falling apart vibe of each unit, it's easy to see why this was the setting for this story. Since season 1 ends with Dan going back in time and there is no resolution yet, it seems like it would be too bad if he show wasn't given another season.
Melody And Dan Are Two Strong Characters
Archive 81 is a great show with a good tone, and it also has two excellent and well-written main characters. While the show would be awesome if only Dan or Melody was the focus, the show stands out since there two awesome people to cheer for and worry about, depending on what situation they're in.
Melody's innate worry that she will never meet her mother and curiosity to discover the Visser firsthand make her a really fun character to watch. Dan's amazing ability to fix old tapes, his friendship with Mark (Matt McGorry), and the fact that he misses his family who died in a fire all contribute to his desire to help Virgil (Martin Donovan) be able to watch Melody's tapes. A horror or thriller story is only as good as its main characters and with Archive 81, they are both fantastic. Dan is so interested in Melody because he also experienced a tragedy in his past, and Melody feels a kindship with Dan as well.
Fans Want To See A Second Season Set In The '90s
In the final moments of season 1 of Archive 81, Dan wakes up in what seems to be a hospital and learns that he's gone back in time to 1994. He watches TV and learns that Kurt Cobain's death has been recent, and he's absolutely terrified. This is a brilliant way to conclude the first season as for so long, viewers had been watching scary and shocking scenes at the Visser in the '90s, and now it feels right that Dan is back there and about to experience everything for himself.
There are so many questions that season 1 hasn't answered that fans would love a second season. Viewers want to see Dan attempt to get back to his time period and they also wonder how Melody is faring and if she has been able to see her mother again. There are some incredible '90s horror movies and it sounds amazing to be able to return to this time period that people feel very nostalgic for.
If Archive 81 is given a second season and fans are able to see the next part of Dan and Melody's journey, and see if there's any way to stop the evil of Kaelego, the next group of episodes is bound to be just as excellent.