Surviving Death Season 2 - What We Know So Far

Earlier this year, the first season of "Surviving Death" debuted on Netflix. It's a six-episode docuseries which takes a journalistic approach to exploring the science — questionable, or otherwise — behind near-death experiences. It specifically focuses on stories from people who have been skeptical about the possibility of life after death, but have since changed their minds after having a near-death experience of their own. The show is based on a book of the same name written by investigative journalist Leslie Kean.

So far, the show has an 80% critical rating — but only a 61% audience approval rating — on Rotten Tomatoes. It also received a thumbs-up from Decider, encouraging their readers to stream it as opposed to skip it (although they've previously taken a hard pass on hit shows like "The Nevers," so take their advice with a grain of salt). 

In any case, "Surviving Death" is getting a lot of people talking, and it has a formula that could easily extend to many future seasons. Here's everything we know about the release date, interviewed experts, and potential stories that we may see in Season 2 of "Surviving Death."

There is only speculation about a second season at this point, and even that is in short supply. Multiple reports, including a very thorough review by The Cinemaholic, suggest that a "Season 2 seems unlikely." Bustle also talks about the work history of the show's director and producer, Ricki Stern, and makes a similar conclusion based on her habit of jumping from project to project. The previous docuseries which she has directed were all limited to a handful of episodes, covering the topic at hand and tying everything up with a neat little bow by the final episode. She did the same with the Season 1 of "Surviving Death," so a decision not to return for a second season is an entirely plausible scenario.

If you're a die-hard fan of the show, though, don't give up hope just yet — because there's no official word from Netflix on the subject one way or the other. Plenty of shows have had close calls when it came to cancellation, but were either brought back by popular demand or picked up by another network. So there still may be some glimmer of hope for a second season, if the parties involved are interested in creating one.

Throughout the course of the first season, the show "Surviving Death" explores several stories from people who have walked away from near-death experiences, people who believe themselves to be reincarnated and have memories of past lives, and mediums who claim they can commune with the dead. The show then explores their testimonies and briefly touches on alternative explanations for the paranormal phenomena that they claim to experience. 

While some critics were more open-minded about what the show's experts had to say, others were more skeptical about the expert testimony that was featured. The Guardian weighed in on the show's experts by reiterating that historical figures such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle have also studied paranormal phenomenon, lending some semblance of credibility to both Kean's book and the show itself. Meanwhile, critics over at Live Science accused the show of mixing "the debunked, the unknown, and the unprovable" in order to push a narrative that they largely believed to be fictional. 

If the show does come back for a second season, it's likely that audiences will see more of the same. Whether or not the show would bring on an entirely new gaggle of experts, or focus on new stories from the old ones, is yet to be determined — and at this point, with Season 2 unconfirmed, it's far too early to guess.

Speaking of stories, "Surviving Death" Season 1 took a unique approach to the subject at hand by talking to people who used to be skeptical, but — due to the experiences described on the show — aren't anymore. The very first story in Episode 1 featured orthopedic spine surgeon Mary Neal who was clinically dead for almost 30 minutes after a kayaking trip went horribly wrong. She claims to have felt her spirit leaving her body as the spirits of deceased relatives escorted her up to Heaven. That experience transformed her from a no-nonsense, science-only medical professional into someone who was willing to admit that "we don't know everything." And her story was not the only one which followed the "skeptics become believers" formula. 

We can only imagine that if a Season 2 ever happens, many more people like Mary will be interviewed and featured in upcoming episodes. 

No matter what you believe happens when we die, it's safe to assume there's an audience for this type of entertainment. The show has clearly had an impact on many, since fans are curious about a possible Season 2 of the show. Sadly, we won't know if the series will return with more episodes until Netflix makes an official statement. But when they do, we'll be sure to update you.