History 101 Season 2 - What We Know So Far

There are many things in the modern world we tend to take for granted. The fact you can find fast-food restaurants in pretty much any town and the existence of NASA all feel like they materialized one day when there was a natural market for those services. However, the true story behind these concepts is often more fascinating than society tends to give them credit for. That's why the Netflix documentary series, "History 101," is so vital for shining a light and unveiling the often dark truth behind the things we take for granted. 

Using graphs and archival footage, each episode functions as a mini-lesson on a given subject. Season 1 covers a wide breadth of topics, including nuclear power, feminism, and our utilization of plastics. Considering each episode is only about 20 minutes in length, it doesn't take up too much of your time, and by the end, you'll be able to talk like an expert on a number of subjects at your next dinner party. Here's some insight into what to expect for "History 101" Season 2.

The first season of "History 101" debuted on Netflix on May 22, 2020. Normally, shows on Netflix tend to come out in a span of roughly one year, but most everything's been on a delayed schedule in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Perhaps it's for this reason we haven't even received an announcement yet on whether the streaming platform has even decided to pursue more episodes. Granted, Netflix tends to keep a lot of information close to the chest, so we may not hear about more "History 101" until a month before new episodes are supposed to come out, which would likely be later in 2021. 

Netflix seems to love its docuseries. While true-crime shows like "Murder Among the Mormons" and "The Sons of Sam: A Descent Into Darkness" tend to get the lion's share of attention, there are other series that help illuminate subjects that may interest you like "Explained," which put out an episode about the potential of a pandemic in 2019. As such, it wouldn't be surprising to see Netflix carry on with more docuseries to educate the public in a way only it can. 

Most docuseries tend to focus on a single area. For instance, "Rotten" on Netflix shines a light on some of the shady practices conducted by the food industry, from how avocados are utilized by dangerous cartels and how the bottled water industry has devastated various communities around the globe. However, that's not the case for "History 101."

One thing that can be gleaned from the series so far is that it's not afraid of delving into some serious topics, such as the AIDS epidemic and how China grew to be a global superpower in the 21st century. It wouldn't be surprising to see the series carry on this trend going into a second season. If we had to make a guess, then we'd surmise there would be an episode detailing the history of pandemics, perhaps shining a light on the 1918 Spanish Flu and how it paralleled COVID-19. That's only a guess though, so expect to be surprised. 

"History 101" is a British docuseries, but it takes a global approach when discussing serious topics, notably with its plastic episode that details how so much debris has wound up in the ocean. It zeroes in on specific locations when a topic demands it, such as looking at how China grew its economy for so long without many countries taking note. The show also focused on Haiti during its episode on AIDS, which drew a lot of criticism from the Haitian community with leaders criticizing the show for seemingly accusing Haitians of helping spread AIDS in the 1980s (via The Haitian Times). Netflix temporarily removed the episode before putting it back on for people to watch a few months later. 

Without knowing what the Season 2 episodes of "History 101" will even be about, there's no way to say for certain what kind of locations the show will take viewers to. Suffice to say, after the controversy with Haiti for the AIDS episode, hopefully the series is a bit more careful with how it phrases certain information.