Posted in: Netflix, SYFY, TV | Tagged: revival

Revival Hits Netflix on Monday; You Can Help Make Season 2 a Reality

With the adaptation of Tim Seeley and Mike Norton's Revival hitting Netflix on Monday, here's how you can help make Season 2 a reality.

January 2nd was "Revival Day" in writer Tim Seeley and artist Mike Norton's Image Comics series. June 12th was a kind of "Revival Day," marking the date in 2025 when the live-action series adaptation by showrunners Aaron B. Koontz and Luke Boyce premiered on SYFY. And on August 24th (in the U.S.), we have another "Revival Day" coming – and possibly, in more ways than one. As far as series adaptations of beloved comic book series go, the first season had it all. Amazing visuals, excellent writing, a pair of showrunners talented enough to be able to both honor the foundation of Seeley and Norton's work while also expanding it for television in some very unique, interesting, and wonderfully frustrating ways. The cast was top-notch across the board, highlighted by the refreshingly real and cliche-free family dynamic between Melanie Scrofano's Deputy Dana Cypress, Romy Weltman's Martha "Em" Cypress, and David James Elliott's Sheriff Wayne Cypress. As a "The Walking Dead" fan, I would be remiss not to give Steven Ogg's Blaine all the flowers, with bonus points for having Lenore Zann and CM Punk in play. 

And yet, with August 14th marking the one-year anniversary of the season finale, things have been quiet about the show getting a Season 2 green light. But that's about to change this Monday, when Revival hits Netflix for the first time. The creative team and cast are getting the word out that the streamer would consider a second season, depending on how Season 1 does. You know what that means, right? Once it hits, start streaming and get the word out to everyone you know to check it out. Remember: it's not just about getting big numbers; it's also about longevity (big numbers over a long stretch of days; usually around 20 days). Here's a look at what Koontz and Boyce shared with us last fall about plans for the show's future.

During our interview with the co-showrunners from August 2025, Koontz and Boyce discussed their plans for a second season and expanding upon the universe created by both the live-action adaptation and Seeley and Norton's work. "We talk to Mike and Tim all the time. They have been part of our dialogue from the very beginning. We brought them into the writers' room at one point, and we've talked to Tim, specifically about ideas we have in season two and on. They're a creative voice that we want to honor because they started this thing, and we love the comic, and we want to do well with it. We fashioned this season to tell a lot of that story so that we could, in future seasons, start to tell more original stories in this world," Boyce shared.

"The intent is to still go back and see how we can play with other stories from the comic, other characters, storylines, things like that, and we have that intent. Even with their creative input, we want to tell original stories in this world. We want to achieve this balance and mix that we hope to do, and we have ideas for multiple seasons is definitely the intent there, with their blessing as well."

We'll work with them on it, but then still weave in stories, things that were touched on that weren't completely finished, because there is great 'side quests' as we would call them that happen in the comics that we want to still play with in future seasons. There is a lot there that we still think we can do while still taking stuff from the last issue. There are so many other issues before that that we can now make happen later, and change the order in which some of these get on earth."

On one miraculous day in rural Wisconsin, the recently deceased suddenly rise from their graves. But this is no zombie story, as the "revived" appear and act just like they once were. When local Officer and single mother Dana Cypress (Scrofano) is unexpectedly thrown into the center of a brutal murder mystery of her own, she's left to make sense of the chaos amidst a town gripped by fear and confusion where everyone, alive or undead, is a suspect.

The series stars Melanie Scrofano (Wynonna Earp: Vengeance), Romy Weltman (Slasher), David James Elliott (JAG), Andy McQueen (Mrs. Davis), Steven Ogg (The Walking Dead, Snowpiercer), CM Punk (Heels), Gia Sandhu (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds), Katharine King So (The Voyeurs), Maia Jae Bastidas (Gen V), Nathan Dales (Letterkenny), Mark Little (Mr. D), Glen Gould (Tulsa King), Lara Jean Chorostecki (Hannibal), and Conrad Coates (Fargo).

Scrofano's Dana Cypress is "constantly having to prove her worth to a stubborn sheriff, who just so happens to be her father. And just when she is about to leave her small town for good, the events of Revival Day change that, instead sending her into her most important case to date."

Weltman's Martha "Em" Cypress is the sheriff's younger daughter who, "having led a very sheltered life due to a recurring illness, is still figuring out her place in the world. A world that, for her in particular, is now turned upside down."

Elliott's Wayne Cypress is the longtime Wausau sheriff who is "determined to keep his town and family as normal and safe as possible — a tall order when the dead return to life in the small town he's sworn to protect."

McQueen's Ibrahim Ramin is a scientist from the Center for Disease Control "who has been stationed in Wausau to study the bizarre phenomenon that brought people back to life."

"Raised by a fire-and-brimstone pastor," Ogg's Blaine Abel sees Revival Day as his divine calling and will use the fear and chaos within Wausau to build and rally a militia of true believers against the Revivers."

Sandhu's Nithiya Weimar is "a seasoned psychologist fighting Stage 4 cancer."

King So's May Tao is "a local journalist with a healthy distrust of the Wausau Police who harbors big secrets of her own."

Bastidas' Kay is "Em's opinionated college roommate with a penchant for getting high and getting into trouble."

Dales' Deputy McCray is "the obnoxious, abrasive head of the local Drug Task Force.

Little's Deputy Brent is "Dana's closest confidant on the force – quirky, sweet-hearted, and the lead bowler of the Pinsconsin Pride."

Gould's Deputy JP Brissett is "second in command under Wayne Cypress, a sheriff's deputy who is one of the few that can keep a level head within the chaos following Revival Day."

Chorostecki's Patty Cypress is the "deceased mother of Em and Dana and the late wife of Wayne Cypress. The glue that held the Cypress family together."

Coates' Mayor Dillisch is "Wausau's Mayor who, despite his best efforts, is thrown into the center of the Revival Day mystery and is constantly at odds with the Sheriff."

Produced by Blue Ice Pictures and Hemmings Films, the upcoming SYFY series Revival was created by showrunners Aaron B. Koontz and Luke Boyce, who executive produce alongside Scrofano, Lance Samuels, Daniel Iron, Samantha Levine, Daniel March, Greg Hemmings, Neil Tabatznik, Stephen Foster, and Amanda Row.

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