I Am Not Okay With This season 2 was about to start filming before it got cancelled
28 October 2020, 12:37
The funniest bloopers from I Am Not Okay with This season 1
I Am Not Okay With This show-runner Jonathan Entwistle explained why the show was cancelled – and how he asked Netflix if he could re-edit the ending.
I Am Not Okay With This creator Jonathan Entwistle has revealed why the Netflix series was cancelled in a new interview.
Back in August, news that the streamer had cancelled I Am Not Okay With This and The Society shocked fans across the world. The two popular teen shows were preparing for their second seasons, which were then pulled "due circumstances created by Covid."
Despite having not yet been officially announced, I Am Not Okay With This season 2 had already been written, and was about to begin filming when Netflix pulled the plug.
In an interview with Insider, show-runner Entwistle revealed how close they were to starting filming on the next season, detailed some of the factors that contributed to the shock cancellation and explained how he asked to edit the ending of the first season in the wake of the news.
READ MORE: The Society creator teases plans to reveal season 2 storyline after cancellation
Season two was already being written before the first season was even released on Netflix. The streaming service then agreed that it would be a two-season series, and that the follow up would be the final season: "When they commissioned season two and they greenlit us into the writers room, they told us it was to be the final season. So we were writing to a finale that we'd already planned."
READ MORE: I Am Not Okay With This is set in the same universe as The End Of The F***ing World
Shortly after the pandemic caused writers rooms and production to shut down, the I Am Not Okay With This team managed to finish writing season 2. It was basically ready to start shooting. Entwistle explained: "We were budgeting, we were ready to roll. The show was due to start shooting in May/June and obviously it got delayed. We just realised that to COVID-proof the show was going to cost a lot more money."
Entwistle revealed that there was talk of delaying production and holding off on shooting until February 2021, but it ultimately would have cost too much money to keep the actors and crew members attached. He also said it costs "anywhere between $5 to $10 million per season of television" to cover the price of PPE, testing and safety measurements on sets.
Entwistle also revealed that he asked Netflix if he could recut that shock ending to make it less of a cliffhanger after they cancelled the show, but they refused.
In the original graphic novel, Sydney (played by Sophia Lillis in the show) kills herself but the writers didn't want to end her story like that on the series. Instead, they wrote in a cliffhanger, hoping to keep fans intrigued until season 2 revealed all the answers. Now, we won't get to find out what happened.
"When the show was cancelled, I went back to Netflix and said, 'Hey, can you let me recut the last two shots so that there's no dialogue and it just looks like a man appears to her? ... but they wouldn't let me,'" said Entwistle.
Here's hoping we get to see what the creators envisioned for Syd Novak and season 2 of the show one day.
