Season 1 of American Vandal sets up a shocking mystery that unravels over the course of eight episodes. A crude crime sets forth a hilarious look into the politics and injustice within a southern California high school in the quest to determine if a boy named Dylan really did spray paint phallic symbols on 27 cars. Season 1 focuses on Dylan's story, but what would a Season 2 look like? It's not known if American Vandal will return for Season 2, as Netflix has not yet renewed it (which is fair, it hasn't even aired yet). But, the show's creators have plenty of ideas for how to bring their series forward if they're given that opportunity. UPDATE: Funny Or Die, the production company behind the series, announced on Twitter that Season 2 of American Vandal is coming in 2018.
EARLIER: Co-creator Tony Yacenda tells Bustle in a phone interview that Season 2 is already on his mind. "We definitely have plans that we’re very excited for," he says. While Yacenda refrains from going into detail, he says that "there are still so many documentaries that we know and love — and conventions and tropes we haven’t been able to play with yet — that we’re super excited about." Yacenda didn't reveal if American Vandal would continue the same story of Season 1, or tell a new story inspired by other true crime stories. Either way, it's clear that Yacenda and his co-creator Dan Perrault have a lot they still want to do.
When speaking about what true crime series inspired American Vandal, Perrault says that the "biggest inspirations for Season 1 are Making a Murderer and Serial." These two shows, arguably the two most popular stories in the modern world of true crime, share a similar story. Yacenda and Perrault apply this structure to American Vandal to much success, but there are plenty of other true crime series that the pair can satirize in future seasons.
Other true crime shows that the duo mentioned when listing influences included HBO's The Jinx and the classic '80s documentary The Thin Blue Line. While Making a Murderer and Serial focus on the possible innocence of their central convicted figures, shows like The Jinx and The Thin Blue Line take a different approach by sitting down with someone whom people claim are guilty of the crime in question. If American Vandal Season 1 is focused on the innocent man caught up in a graffiti spree, perhaps Season 2 will show the characters interviewing the person who actually committed the crime (assuming Dylan is as innocent as he claims to be).
Whatever approach the show's creators take if Season 2 comes around, they'll do so with an absolute reverence for the true crime genre. With such a deep well of other true crime documentaries, podcasts, and television series to choose from, it's likely that the writers of American Vandal will never run out of source material for their true crime satire. But, while the show does have fun with true crime conventions, Yacenda and Perrault insist that any mocking comes from a place of love.
As Perrault says, "We never really wanted to pointedly make fun of them, we wanted to tell a series of relatable high school stories within the frame of a true crime format." With all of the different opportunities that the true crime genre allows, there are plenty of ways that American Vandal could continue to mix and match familiar true crime tropes with realistic high school experiences. A second season has yet to be confirmed, but Yacenda promises, "Whatever we created in the first season [of American Vandal], we can really perfect in Season 2 and make it even better." Here's hoping he gets a chance to make that promise come true.
