Wellmania – Freemantle Australia / Nondescript Productions
Australian comedian Celeste Barber was at her very best in her latest comedy-drama, Wellmania. After an impressive first season for the comedy series, there are already some looking ahead, and hoping for a second season. However, Netflix has yet to renew the series for the second season, but we’re hoping to learn more soon. For now, we’re keeping track of everything related to the second season of Wellmania.
Wellmania is an Australian Netflix Original comedy-drama series created by Brigid Delaney and Benjamin Law, which is based on the book written by Delaney, Wellmania: Misadventures in the Search for Wellness. The series is produced by Law, along with Belinda King, Celeste Barber, Bree-Anne Sykes, Chris Oliver Taylor, and Warran Clarke, with production handled by Fremantle Australia, and Nondescript Productions.
When human tornado and food critic Liv is diagnosed with ‘catastrophic health’ – trapping her in Australia and jeopardizing her dream job in New York – she throws herself body-first into a radical wellness journey, hell-bent on getting well to return home.
Wellmania Season 2 Netflix Renewal Status
Official Renewal Status: Pending (Last Updated: 03/04/2023)
At the time of writing the Australian comedy has yet to be renewed by Netflix.
The first batch of weekly top-ten data will be available soon, which will give us an early indication of how well the series is performing.
There are already some early positives for the series as it has already made its way into the top lists of multiple countries from around the world, including the USA, the UK, and Australia. While the series hasn’t made it to the number-one spot in many countries, in some instances this is because The Night Agent is performing exceptionally well.
On the global list as of April 3rd, the series is ranked 7th on the top ten list.
Will Netflix renew?
Compared to many other comedies Netflix has released, Wellmania is already considerably more successful. However, until we see some data it’s hard to determine if the comedy will be renewed.
Does the series need a second season?
It was an extremely topsy-turvy season for food critic Liv, and at the first opportunity she could take to Sydney, and her family behind, she jumped at the chance. However, before she was given the go-ahead to fly, Liv was confirmed to be alright physically, but she was also at risk of having some severe panic attacks. It’s Liv’s eagerness to return to New York that her mother, Lorraine, revealed her guilt for pushing Liv’s father into continuing his swimming, despite warnings, which ultimately led to his heart attack.
Liv returned to New York without giving her family a proper goodbye, and upon returning, almost immediately picked up where she left off with her career. However, when she was selected to be a judge for an exciting new cooking show she suffered a panic attack. She’s able to pull through, and finishes the show, making a name for herself in the process in the food industry.
Finally taking care of herself, and propelling her career, it’s also gotten in the way of an emergency with her family after her mother is hurt in a serious car accident back home in Sydney. Her brother, Gaz, immediately tried to phone her after the crash, but as Liv was busy judging the cooking show, she missed the call and is unaware of what has happened to her mother.
While Liv has been able to find some wellness for herself, she still has an unhealthy relationship with some of her family, including Lorraine. Once she finds out that her mother has been involved in a serious accident, she will need to choose between putting her family or her career first. If she were to put her career first and if anything happened to Lorraine she would never be able to forgive herself. However, life continues to push Liv back to Sydney, and just as her career was about to take off, life has thrown another obstacle in her way, one she will need the support of her family to get through.
Who will be in the cast of season 2?
Naturally, Celeste Barber would return to reprise her role as Liv Healy. In an interview with the Guardian, Barber revealed her love for the book, amongst many other things, and how she was approached about an adaptation before Netflix was involved.
I read the book and I was like, ‘This is a brilliant idea’, I love Brigid’s writing: she’s very clever, very personable – and funny! Really funny – so I was on board from the beginning.
Given a chance at a second season, it’s safe to say that Barber would jump at the chance.
We’d expect to see the following cast members make a return for the second season.
- JJ Fong as Amy Kwan
- Lachlan Buchanan as Gaz Healy
- Genevive Mooy as Lorraine Healy
- Virginie Laverdure as Valerie Jones
- Johnny Carr as Doug Henderson
- Remy Hii as Dalbert Tan
- Alexander Hidge as Isaac Huang
- Leah Vanderburg as Dr. Priyanka Singh
Would you like to see a second season of Wellmania? Let us know in the comments below!