Netflix just renewed its must-watch mystery thriller series 'Untamed' for season 2 — here's what you should know

Tom's Guide

3 days ago

Netflix confirmed today that "Untamed" will return for a second season, offering fans another suspense-filled descent into the dark heart of the wilderness.
Written by Mark L. Smith and Elle Smith, the mystery thriller show starring Eric Bana was initially announced as a limited series. But Netflix seems keen to order more after "Untamed" crashed the Netflix top 10 shortly after arriving on July 17. It went on to rack up an impressive 24.6 million views in its first week of release.
'I am absolutely thrilled that we get the chance to bring another season of 'Untamed' to life,' Bana said in a statement shared by Netflix on Tuesday. 'The response to season 1 has been a testament to the incredible effort by our crew to deliver something truly unique. I can't wait to take Kyle on his next journey. Massive thanks to Netflix, John Wells Productions, Warner Bros. Television and our fans.'
Bana will reprise his role as Kyle Turner, a brooding investigator for the National Parks Service who works to enforce human law in nature's vast wilderness. In season 1, the investigation of a brutal death sends him deep into Yosemite National Park, where he uncovers dark secrets that force him to confront a past he's been running from.
"Untamed" is Mark Smith's second Netflix show of 2025 after 'American Primeval," a Western thriller that's on the short list for our favorite shows of 2025. So far this year, he's batting a thousand among critics and audiences, as "Untamed" is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an 80% critics' score and 71% on the Popcornmeter.
In her "Untamed" review, my colleague Alix Blackburn wrote, "If you're after a mystery that doesn't rely on gimmicks or overblown twists, 'Untamed' is the rare Netflix thriller that keeps things feeling real, and that's exactly what makes it work."
Since "Untamed" only just got renewed for its sophomore outing, details are pretty scarce right now. But showrunners Mark and Elle Smith offered some details about what we can expect from Turner's next chapter.
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For starters, the next time we see him, he'll have already been working at a few different parks before landing at his season 2 destination to investigate a whole new mystery.
'Elle and I envisioned it as a stand-alone, six episodes,' Mark told Netflix of plans for the first season. 'But then the more that we got into it, it was just such a great cast … it was just like, 'Oh yeah, how do we keep this going?''
'We've done Yosemite. What's the next park that could feel different from that?' co-creator Elle added. 'Each national park has such a different cultural identity, geographical identity. Being able to explore those places through the case and through Turner's journey is what's so fascinating.'
A fresh mystery will accompany the new frontier as well. "We can make the case organic to a different kind of park, a different kind of landscape, [and] not have someone just fall off another mountain,' Mark said.
'Our theme has been that this park is our main character, this park is sort of alive,' Elle said. 'We do want to maintain that thread. Whichever park we choose will be a character, and it will kind of play a role in Turner's emotional frame of mind.'
Given the change of scenery, Turner will be trekking into unfamiliar territory that puts him on the back foot. This time around, instead of playing the grizzled veteran, his role will be closer to that of his rookie sidekick, Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago), in the first season.
As Turner gets his bearings in the new setting, he'll also be getting to know its inhabitants. 'We're going to make sure we populate it with characters that are interesting and help him in ways both good and bad,' Mark says.
It's unclear whether we'll see Turner's colleagues from Yosemite reprise their roles in season 2. 'We're trying to figure that stuff out because my God, we loved our cast and we loved the characters that they brought to life,' Mark said. 'In an ideal world, we would be able to pull something off.'
"Untamed" has quickly become one of this year's most popular watches on the streaming service. With just six episodes, it's perfect for a weekend binge.
Since the first season was planned as a limited series, there aren't really many loose ends to tie up or cliffhangers to explore in season 2. But if "Untamed's" sophomore outing is as compelling as its first, fans will likely be eager to dive into more classic murder mystery twists and turns set against the beautiful yet terrifying backdrop of the remote wilderness.
There's no word yet on when "Untamed" season 2 will premiere. Production hasn't started yet, but if we had to guess, we'd expect a likely premiere sometime in late 2026 or early 2027. For now, you can stream the first season of "Untamed" (again) on Netflix or check out our round-up of the 5 best shows like "Untamed" to tide you over in the meantime.
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