It depends how confident they were. Some shows wrap up the season in a satisfactory enough way that you could end it there while still leaving the possibility to explore the world further if it is renewed.

Others end on a cliffhanger and never get renewed.

We shall see...

I doubt they knew it would be renewed when they filmed the final episode.

Utopia series 1, totally amazing.

Utopia series 2, total mess.

Even as a huge fan of Series 1, I wouldn't have renewed for a third series!

Utopia was given a horrible slot too, whereas Humans has been given the best slot they have.

Not necessarily. If they had finished filming before the announcement they wouldn't do a cliff hanger, would they?

Is Sunday night really a good slot? I find it difficult as it's a bit close to trying to get ready for work after a couple of days off.

Oh good, now we can stop analysing figures and wondering



To be fair the ending will not be changed by this news. So either we will get a cliffhanger but at least we will know that it can be resolved in S2, or we will not get a cliffhanger and we will know that S2 is an entirely new story. It's not like with this news they are going to suddenly go and refilm to end on a dramatic cliffhanger whereas before we were going to have everything neatly tied up.

My guess is that it will be a bit of a mix, with some storylines resolved and some left to be continued in S2 (although that doesn't mean that it has to be a massive cliffhanger). For example I'd guess that Laura and Joe's marriage storyline will be resolved, and Karen and Pete may well get some sort of resolution, but the conscious synths will probably be left with an ongoing storyline; perhaps they will figure out the code in their heads and some/all of them will set out to wake other synths, or they will discover Elster isn't dead or was murdered instead of committing suicide and that will give them a new quest for S2.

They might have done one in the hope of getting a second series. But that just makes the second series an even better thing as otherwise it would be left unresolved forever. It's also possible to resolve a lot of things while still leaving ongoing elements to be carried into S2.


I think it is for drama, yes. Most people are in on a Sunday night and probably relaxing in front of the tv by 9pm.

Sundays at 9 is a great slot, one of the best on TV. That's why it's so competitive.

Glad it's going to be renewed. But to keep it going they're going to have to delineate where synths still have things left to learn from humans and why they're not as superior as they like to think they are!

Excellent news! I wonder who will continue into Series 2

Channel 4 must be so relieved/pleased, especially after Cucumber bombed so badly. After all the shows that fail or get critical acclaim but no viewers they've hit the jackpot. Also nice that Gemma Chan seems to be universally praised after she had to take some undeserved critisicm in Shetland.


They got a good cast together for series 1 but I would think they can do better than Katherine Parkinson and Tom Goodman-Hill for series 2. They're going to need a heavyweight to replace William Hurt.

did wounder where this thread was now i found it.yes what a fantastic series this has been well done channel 4 ,& yes a 2nd series to be born,fantastic,yes we are putting this 1st series on disc & no doubt the 2nd will be too. its the best since kyle xy ,now why can't they do that again?

Delighted it has been renewed and I was wrong.
But it does beg the question just how low an American cable network's audience for a show can get and still be continued.

If Channel 4 got AMC to co-fund Series 2 on a 50-50 basis, they have amazing
commissioning negotiators.

As I said previously, aside from the anomalous ratings for The Walking Dead, AMC's original dramas don't tend to get "great" ratings at all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mad_Men_episodes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...g_Bad_episodes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...heels_episodes


And as someone else said in this thread, it's not merely about the total ratings - it's the target demographic that's important.

It may have sold well abroad - genre shows do tend to do well in overseas sales, it's always been surprising that UK broadcasters don't commission more of them. Maybe the success of Humans will make Channel 4 think a bit more outside the box in future.

When selling abroad it has to compete with the original version, which by all accounts is better (I've not seen it myself). And remaking an existing success is hardly thinking out of the box.

Not on C4. Weekends on C4 have tended to be a ratings blackhole. Humans has done incredibly well in the ratings and consolidates to over 4 million.

As other posters have said, it's a shame that Utopia didn't do as well. It's basically Humans, but much more ambitious and creative. I've really enjoyed Humans, but it's SO conventional and suburban by comparison.

And I too can't really see what AMC get out of the arrangement. If it was their idea to put the American William Hurt into the show, then bravo. He's easily the best actor in the show.

I can imagine C4 decided who should play the mum and dad. Terrible casting. Easily the weakest links in the series. But still, it's encouraging that we have another telefantasy hit. Hope season two isn't a car crash, like Utopia.

I've just looked up the actor who plays Leo in the original Swedish version. Andreas Wilson. Mmm. Mama likes! (Not that Colin Morgan isnt a cutie, mind)

I agree totally about the casting of the Mum and Dad, expecially the ginger total loser Dad, very weak characters. Catherine Parkinson is doing her best though.

Think the whole series was dependent on Leo, Mia, Niska and William Hurt's character.
He will be a huge miss, as he had genuine understanding of the human condition and was communicating this to the synths.


Oh and btw, AMC owns 49.9% minority stake in BBC America (Oct 2014 deal) yet again the BBC miss an opportunity and instead make dull and boring period dramas.

You might find them dull and boring, but they're very popular.

The BBC and AMC are doing a co-production together. A mini-series adaptation of John le Carre's novel The Night Manager.

Interesting - I initially raised the query about 9pm on Sunday as I know it's not great for me. It's not terrible but I would prefer 9pm on weeknight or Saturday. Sunday is a stressful night trying to switch back into work mode.

I hadn't heard of Utopia until reading posts in this thread. I wonder if Humans has had more publicity than other shows. The fancy TV ad strikes me as something I haven't seen before and I can't remember seeing an ad for a C4 TV show on the side of a bus before either. I don't think I watched because of the adverts but they must have contributed to the reason I was aware of Humans to even choose to watch it as oppose to something like Utopia which entirely passed me by.

Yeah I'm the same😊
Never caught utopia either, the time slot is ok for me, hehe always busy getting things ready, bedtime in the hols for kids, getting work stuff together or term time bedtime and school bags, and work stuff thank heavens for +1 or 4od, spoilt these days I am looking forward to buying the DVDs or blu rays second hand and cheap next year!

Has been a great programme and got me and my teenage daughter talking about scenarios a lot involved vocaloids like hatsune miku and various you tube vids of " real" androids. Arrgh scary

I hope the season doesn't end with all synths gaining consciousness. I think there'd be a lot of allegorical drama to be mined out of the attitude of sentient synths to their non-sentient brethren! Plus, how would you know whether you were dealing with a non-sentient synth or a sentient one pretending to be non-sentient?