The methodology behind how Netflix handles renewals is enough to make your head spin, with seemingly no rhyme or reason behind how long it takes to confirm whether an original series is going to return or be cast out into the ether.
For example, The Diplomat was shooting its second season a mere seven weeks after the first premiered on the platform, whereas the wait for Shadow and Bone to discover its fate has been dragging along for almost five months. A few weeks back, a spate of rapid-fire renewals were handed out, but other times it can take an indefinite – and massively frustrating – amount of time.
However, the case of Danish comedy Baby Fever takes the cake. The premise follows a nurse who gets drunk and decides to inseminate herself with her ex-boyfriend’s sperm, leading to a chain of events that ends up leaving her pregnant, terrified, and wracked with guilt and doubts over how to both handle the situation, and tell the prospective father-to-be.
Baby Fever arrived on Netflix back in June of 2022, but it’s only been officially confirmed for another run of episodes today, a wait of close to 15 months. Obviously, it’s not a marquee title or massive property, but well over a year is still a ridiculous amount of time to leave both fans and the key creatives on tenterhooks waiting to find out whether or not there would be a follow-up.
One net positive, though, is that there’s hope for Shadow and Bone yet.