Why Is Space Force Season 2 Only 7 Episodes Long?

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Space Force season 2.

Netflix’s Space Force season 2 is shorter than its predecessor with only seven episodes rather than 10, so why the change?. The workplace comedy from previous The Office collaborators, Steve Carell and Greg Daniels, is back for its sophomore year. But as exciting as this is for viewers who have been waiting to see what’s next for General Mark Naird (Carell) and his team, some can’t help but be curious why the streaming giant decreased the show’s number of episodes.

Premiering in May 2020, Space Force follows Naird as he becomes a four-star general and new leader of Space Force — the sixth branch of United States Armed Forces. Throughout his first year, he and his team encountered a string of issues including increased scrutiny from Congress for their bloated budget and a tense rivalry with China on the moon. In Space Force season 2, Naird is able to keep his job despite everything that happened in the organization’s first year. But his problems don’t stop there as he now has to run Space Force with a halved budget which births more issues for his team. 

Naird’s story in Space Force season 2, however, had to be efficiently tackled since it only had seven episodes, three fewer than season 1 did. For those wondering why, it all boiled down to the changes made to its production on the heels of its debut year. Despite the hype surrounding the project considering Carell and Daniel’s past successful collaboration, Space Force season 1 got mixed reviews. At one point, some didn’t even think that it would be renewed for another season. Thankfully, it did. When the news broke out, however, it was revealed that it would undergo a “creative revamp,” with Daniels acting as showrunner with Norm Hiscock from Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Meanwhile, Jimmy O. Yang, who plays Dr. Chan Kaifang, joined its writing staff. Finally, Space Force‘s production was moved from Los Angeles to Vancouver — an indication that season 2 had a reduced budget, which may have very well factored into its shorter year. 

Interestingly, Space Force‘s real-life hurdles mimicked what the organization was going through in season 2. After Naird not only miraculously got to keep his job but also not land in prison, his biggest problem was to run Space Force with limited funding. This meant cutting a lot of perks for his employees and even shelving Dr. Adrian Mallory’s (John Malkovich) Mars project. They were able to manage, but Naird also had to make sure that everyone in his team was still motivated and committed to their jobs. At one point, almost all of them were considering leaving, but luckily, after the four-month trial, they were able to convince the new administration that the job that they do is important. Correlating this to Space Force‘s future at Netflix, whether or not the show will be renewed for season 3 hinges on the response to its latest outing. 

At this point, it’s too early to tell if the streaming giant will renew the show. Netflix renewing or cancelling shows usually takes a few months to decide. However, based on Space Force season 2 finale, it’s clear that the show’s creators are hoping for a third season that will reveal how Naird will handle the new asteroid threat. 

Space Forceseason 2 is now available to stream on Netflix.

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