SundanceTV Orders Second Season of ‘Cleverman’

SundanceTV and Australian broadcaster ABC TV have greenlit a second season of Cleverman, the epic drama whose first season debuted on SundanceTV June 1. 

Season two, featuring six hour-long episodes, will go into production in Australia later this year.

The series revolves around two estranged indigenous brothers who are forced together to fight for their survival. Characters include supernatural visitors from a dreamland.

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"The world that Ryan Griffen and the rest of the team behind Cleverman have created is a perfect blend of timeless mythology seen through the prism of a near future lens," said Joel Stillerman, president of original programming and development for AMC and SundanceTV. "This is a series that sophisticated genre fans will no doubt fall in love with. We are thrilled to be working with our incredible partners to continue the West brothers‘ journey."

Cleverman is produced by Goalpost Pictures Australia and New Zealand’s Pukeko Pictures for ABC TV Australia, in co-production with SundanceTV and Red Arrow International. It also counts Screen Australia, Screen NSW and the New Zealand Screen Production Grant among its producers. 

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Red Arrow International will continue to distribute the drama worldwide.

"It’s rare that you get the green light for a second series of a show before the first season has even gone to air, so for me it’s a testament to the quality and audience appeal of Cleverman," said Sally Riley, head of scripted production at ABC TV. "It is also a testament to the unflinching support the show has from our funding partners Screen Australia and Screen NSW here in Oz, and our international partners Red Arrow and Sundance TV."

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.