This New Hulu Sci-Fi Drama Has The End Of The World All Planned Out

Fans of cop shows, sci-fi, conspiracies, and doomsday scenarios may just have a new show to put in their queues. Hard Sun premiered on Hulu on March 7 for US audiences, and combines all of those aspects. The premise is a cover-up of epic proportions; due to the sun failing, the human race will be soon be extinct. But does that mean that it's a limited series? There's already some evidence that there will be a Season 2 of Hard Sun. In fact, the show’s creator has much more than one season additional planned for the new series.

Although the series only recently premiered in the US, series creator Neil Cross (Luther) has already revealed plans for the future of the show in an interview with Red Carpet News. When asked if he thought Hard Sun would be successful and have the longevity to last more than a season, was optimistic.

“We hope so. I have a cunning, Stalinesque five-year-plan for Hard Sun,” he said. “The show is designed to start ostensibly, resembling a cop show, and over the course of … subsequent episodes we see that it’s something else entirely. It’s written into the show’s DNA that it can develop and change into any number of interesting directions.

The showrunner told the Radio Times about his “five-year plan” and promised that he won’t cheat viewers on the central premise of the show. “I didn’t want to give myself a way out,” he said. “We end [Season 1] on a moment of revelation.”

However, as that same Radio Times article notes, there was no word yet from BBC on a second season for the series as of February. Unfortunately, the delay may be because of a critical reception that’s been less than euphoric. Its aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes is a mere 55 percent from critics. Matt Zoller Seitz wrote for Vulture that the series is “a waste of a great idea.” And Sophie Gilbert of The Atlantic called it “almost impressively demented … yet another disappointment of a British import.”

After watching the six episodes that make up the first season, many in the general viewing public were not impressed with the series either. Express noted that following the finale, fans were all over social media expressing displeasure at how the first season ended. At the time of publication, Rotten Tomatoes hadn't listed audience scores for Hard Sun.

Of course, fans of the series shouldn’t freak out like a sun-based armageddon is coming. While there is reason to be a bit concerned about the future of the series, it seems unlikely that Hard Sun will not get at least one more season. Sometimes it take a season or two for a show to find its feet and its audience. Moreover, Cross has proven he can write a successful series. While Rotten Tomatoes hasn’t been as friendly to Hard Sun, Cross’ other series Luther has tremendous reviews on the website. It currently boasts an 89 percent rating from critics and 93 percent rating from audiences.

But Hard Sun’s introduction to the world was as murky as some of the responses to it. Digital Spy noted that originally, the series was set to air in 2017. However, it ended up being delayed and didn't premiere until early 2018. If Season 2 were to be greenlit now, it is safe to say that a new season may not air until 2019, at the earliest, given that the show took a few years to produce in the first place.

The end of days is a compelling story, and with a creator like Cross, Hard Sun may still be worth the watch despite the fact that it's not everyone’s cup of tea. No second season has been confirmed yet, but it hasn’t been cancelled by the BBC either. That bit of hope for fans is certainly a better prospect than the doomsday the show predicts.