'Black Summer' Canceled - Won't Return for Season 3 at Netflix (2024)

Black Summer was expected to have been ghost-canceled last year, but finally, we’ve got confirmation that the zombie series won’t be returning for a third outing on Netflix.

For those unfamiliar, Black Summer is a Netflix Original horror series created by Karl Schaefer and John Hyams and is the prequel (or spiritual successor at the very least) to the incredible zany zombie Syfy series Z-Nation.

The second season of Black Summer was a great improvement upon the first, arriving two years after the first season debuted back in November 2019. Sixteen episodes were produced in total, with the second season of eight dropping in June 2021.

Has Black Summer been renewed for a third season on Netflix?

Official Netflix Renewal Status: Cancelled

Season 2 debuted on Netflix in June 2021, and until 2023, there was absolutely no word on the future of Black Summer.

Given this lengthy period without any news and based on prior Netflix Original releases, we expect the show to have been ghost-canceled, but in April 2023, John Hyams, the co-creator of the show alongside Karl Schaefer, quietly confirmed on X (Twitter) that the show wouldn’t be returning for any third season.

On April 14th, 2023, Hyams was asked, “Season 3 of Black Summer or nah?” to which he responded, “Sadly, nah.”

There was some hope at the end of the year with a new Instagram account which suggested a new season would be coming in 2024, but looks to be a fake with Hyams unaware of any plans of it happening.

I’ve seen the same things but know nothing about it

— John Hyams (@jrhyams) December 31, 2023

Around the time of the release of season 2, Jamie King was optimistic about seeing a third season happen. Speaking with the Express, she has expressed some ideas she has for season 3 and can’t wait to get into the writer’s room. However, her comments have also suggested that a third season could be the show’s last.

Why hasn’t Black Summer gotten a season 3 renewal order?

Black Summer Season 2 seems to have lacked global viewership, not to mention popularity in English-speaking countries such as the US and UK.

Despite making it into the United States TV top ten between June 17th, 2021, and July 2nd, 2021, the way Netflix has now introduced a secondary way of viewing top tens, has removed Black Summer from the top ten between those dates, losing out to the likes of CoComelon, Sweet Tooth and Newly Rich, Newly Poor.

On a global scale, the series failed to break into the TV top ten, which means Black Summer season 2, in what would be the second and third week of its release, failed to beat Lucifer season 3, which had a total of 9,550,000 hours viewed.

According to FlixPatrol, the show petered out of the top 10 charts around the world relatively quickly. The importance of this is that most of the canceled shows of 2021 have all failed to stay in the top 10s for 30 days.

In the United States, the show featured in the top 10s for 12 days, whereas in the UK, it only stayed in the top 10s for 14 days.

What can we expect from Black Summer Season 3?

The final moments of Black Summer Season 2 left us with plenty of questions for Season 3.

Wait, was that Lance!?

The last we saw of Lance was at the end of season 1 when he was running away from a small horde of zombies, and his fate was unknown. Arguably, no one was expecting to see him return in the second season, but we finally learned the sad and albeit tragic fate of the character.

After stopping his car to allow a pregnant woman inside, she tricked him and unlocked the driver’s side of the door. This allowed the man that Lance failed to stop for, to get inside and shoot him in the neck. With his blood all over the dashboard, the pair attempting to steal the car crashed, which then lead to a dramatic chase between the now zombified Lance and his murderer.

It’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of Lance, but to have the character return, we finally learn of his fate is more than appreciated.

Where is the plane taking Sun?

Of all of the survivors that made it to the airstrip, the only person to make it onto the plane was Sun. After conversing with the pilot, it’s still unclear where the pilot is traveling to. We know that the pilot has to stop to refuel, and with the amount of attention that the plane brings, there’s no guarantee Sun and the pilot will get the chance to take off again.

Will Rose survive?

In their dramatic confrontation, Rose used the flare gun to destroy fuel barrels behind Ray, but the resulting explosion injured the pair. Rose’s injured leg left her unable to board the plane and was prepared to die and be left behind in order to see Anna board the plane, but her daughter opted against boarding and made it back to her.

We were left wondering what the fate of Rose is going to be as Anna was able to find a car, but when she made it back to Rose it looked like she was questioning what her next move is.

Anna has shown that the zombie apocalypse has taken a dramatic toll on her mental health. While it’s highly unlikely she would leave Rose to die, the fact Anna witnessed her leave Spears to die clearly resonates with her months later.

Will Mance join Rose and Anna?

Mance took on the small horde of zombies practically single-handedly and came out unscathed. With an injured Rose to look after, Anna could do with all the help she can get.

Will Ray join Rose and Anna?

Just like Rose, Ray is injured from the explosion and is arguably in a worse state than Rose after receiving a beatdown from some of the other survivors.

If Ray lives and can change his attitude then he would be an incredible asset to the group. But if there is too much bad blood between himself and Rose, then that could set up the pair for even further conflict in the near future.

The Ski-Lodge

With the plane no longer a viable option, the most logical place for the survivors to go to is the ski lodge. The lodge has enough comfortable beds for everyone, food that can last for over a year, fuel, and plenty of water.

The main issue facing anyone staying at the lodge is it is incredibly hard to defend. Due to the number of entrances and windows, it’s not hard for anyone, including zombies, to get inside.

The lodge is secluded enough that survivors and zombies will be few and far between. But it’s still a giant gamble.

Would you have liked to have seen a third season of Black Summer on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below.