One of the greatest pieces of television to come along in a long while was this year’s Dark Side of the Ring series that looked to explore some of the most infamous stories in the history of pro wrestling. And now, there’s confirmation that this fascinating show has been renewed for a second season.
Many had hoped that the series would get a second season, and this news was announced during the recent TCA tour. Even better, the episode count will be upped to ten episodes this time out.
The official press release on this news reads:
VICE TV’s summer hit DARK SIDE OF THE RING will return to UK screens after it was announced today that a second season has been commissioned. The return was announced by VICELAND President Guy Slattery at the Television Critics Association semi-annual Press Tour in Los Angeles.
The news follows ratings success and critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. In the US, DARK SIDE OF THE RING it racked up the best premiere ratings in P18-49 and total viewers (P2+) of any series in the channel’s three-year history,* garnering attention from some of the sport’s superstars, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The UK ratings mirrored this success when it launched on VICE TV in early June, becoming the highest-rating US VICE original premiere on the UK network in the last quarter.
“We were thrilled with the positive response to Dark Side when it debuted,” said Slattery, “the enthusiasm from fans and non-fans alike was contagious. We can’t wait to tell more of these stories.”
The second season of DARK SIDE OF THE RING will almost double the initial episode order, with ten hour-long examinations of the collision of fantasy and reality and the stars’ larger-than-life characters in and out of the ring from returning executive producers Evan Husney and Jason Eisener. Production is already underway on the second cycle.
DARK SIDE OF THE RING is produced by VICE Studios and has been commissioned by Canada’s Bell Media for their Crave platform.
When we caught up with Dark Side of the Ring director Jason Eisener and producer Evan Husney this June, the pair revealed that they had already begun loose work on a second season. Already, the duo had worked on an episode based around the mafia-ordered death of Dino Bravo.
In the show’s debut season, the show dived deep on the infamous murder of Bruiser Brody, the marriage and break up of “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth, the Montreal Screwjob, the tragic loss of the Von Erich family, the life and career of the opinion-splitting Fabulous Moolah, and the shocking death of Gina Hernandez.
Sadly, the wrestling world is one that has plentiful shocking and tragic moments littered throughout its history. That means that there are so many possible people and moments that could be explored in Season 2 of Dark Side of the Ring. And, to the credit of Eisener and Husney, they have a brilliant knack of being respectful with their subject matter while also fleshing out every angle of some of the wrestling industry’s most notorious of moments.
Expect more on Dark Side of the Ring’s second season as we get it.
