The Sound of Magic – Picture: Netflix
After a stand-out first season of The Sound of Magic, the whimsical K-drama lived up to fan expectations and then some. Although fans hoped that the show would return, Netflix has ruled out any potential The Sound of Magic season 2 in a recent update to the show’s page on the service.
As a quick recap, The Sound of Magic is a South Korean Netflix Original musical fantasy series written by Kim Min Jeong, directed by Kim Seong-Yoon, and based on the webtoon Annarasumanara by Ha Il-Kwon.
Abandoned by her parents due to debt, Yoon Ah Yi supports herself and her younger sister. Despite how busy she is with her part-time job and her studies, Yoon Ah Yi is still one of the top students at the school. All Yoon Ha Yi wishes is to grow up as fast as possible so that she can have a stable job, and when she reveals her dream to the magician Ri Eul, her life is changed forever.
The Sound of Magic season 2 Netflix renewal status
Official Netflix Renewal Status: Pending (Last Updated: 12/05/2022)
When the show first released and we published our season 2 renewal status article, it looked like the show could certainly return in some form. Weeks and months went by without any news, however.
In December 2023, though, someone dutifully spotted that The Sound of Magic was among a slew of various Netflix Original Korean Drama shows that had their label updated in the Netflix UI to reflect that they’re now limited series. That means we won’t get a season 2 of The Sound of Magic.
This shouldn’t be overly surprising. For any long-term fans of K-dramas, you’ll know that it’s usually against the rule of thumb for a series to get renewed beyond a first season. Netflix hasn’t done an overly good job of indicating that these shows were what we commonly refer to as “limited series” or “mini-series,” but the updates to the pages are welcome and provides closure.
How well did The Sound of Magic perform on Netflix?
In its first week, The Sound of Magic has already made it into the top ten lists of 42 countries around the world and has made it into the number one spot for multiple countries such as UAE, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Egypt.
The show went on to feature in the global top 10s for two weeks in total, and in the Netflix Engagement Report, the show picked up 6.4M hours for the entirety of the first half of 2023.
| Week Period | Hours Viewed(M) | Rank | Week in Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1st, 2022 to May 8th, 2022 | 9,640,000 | 8 | 1 |
| May 8th, 2022 to May 15th, 2022 | 16,930,000 (+76%) | 4 | 2 |
The show did, however, miss out on being in our most-watched K-dramas of 2022 list.
Did The Sound of Magic need a second season?
When discussing a second season of The Sound of Magic, the elephant in the room was whether or not the story needed a second season. This is mainly because many of the story threads seen in the first season are wrapped up by the end of episode 6.
There’s also the issue with the source material as the webtoon only lasted seven chapters, eight if you include the prologue. With practically all the source material covered, the writers would’ve had to have gone above and beyond for a second season.
If they had renewed the show for a second season, we provided some predictions on where the show could’ve gone next:
- What happened to the magician Ri Eul? After Ah-Yi used magic to help him disappear and evade the police, Ri Eul was never seen again. As Ah-Yi begins to explore more magic, will Ri Eul return to teach her more of his secrets?
- Will Ri Eul’s name ever be cleared? Framed for a murder he didn’t commit, will a second season see Ri Eul’s name fully cleared for good.
- With Ah-Yi’s father making good on his promise to find a job to clear his debts, will it give Ah-Yi the freedom to pursue a new career as a magician?
- Abandoned by her mother, Ah-Yi has pined for her mother, leaving her messages and letters in the vain hope she’ll one day return. As Ah-Yi begins to make something of her life, nothing could be more disruptive than her mother returning.
- Ah-Yi has a potential budding romance with Na Il. We’d expect this relationship to be explored even further in season 2, especially with Na Il dropping out of college as he tries to take control of his life away from his parents.
Would you have liked to have seen a second season of The Sound of Magic on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!