The first season of American Vandal was arguably one of the best and most accurate depictions of life in high school in modern pop culture. It may have also been one of the best Netflix originals, turning the popular true crime genre on its head. With Netflix pushing out the trailer for the second season, which is due out on September 14th, one has to wonder whether or not the new season can live up to the high bar established by the original.
First, let’s take a look at the trailer for season two. Peter Maldonado and Sam Ecklund return to tackle a new whodunit, but instead of trying to figure out who did some dick drawings (#WhoDrewTheDicks), this one is all about poop.
The second season appears to have all of the clever charm of the first season, but will the format feel stale now that we know what to expect?
American Vandal was a total surprise. Mockumentaries aren’t anything new, but the manner in which American Vandal tackled such a silly topic as if it was the crime of the century was brilliant fun. The CGI depiction of an alleged handjob may have sealed the deal. Incredible production values for what boiled down to a dick joke.
Perhaps most remarkable was how the first season morphed from a comedy into more of a drama as the season wore on. Over the last few episodes, you really want to know who drew those dicks. It’s going to be pretty difficult for the season season to keep throwing out the surprises with the first season still familiar in viewers’ minds.
The first season also thrived on the incredibly believable (and dumb) performance by Jimmy Tatro as Dylan Maxwell. This new season appears to be centered around a character named Kevin McClain, who like Dylan in season one, was expelled for his alleged crimes. The format sounds similar, but will the character of Kevin resonate as well as Dylan? The entire season may depend on it.
Based on the trailer alone, the writing appears to be just as clever as the writing in the first season. The topic, poop, fits extremely well with the fact its the second (number two) season. Hopefully the shift in setting to a private school and the show being even more self-aware will assist in keeping things fresh.
Let’s hope the hunt to discover the Turd Burglar is as fun as the original.
