Despite middling viewer numbers, CBS has renewed summer sci-fi thriller Extant for a second season. The show, about an astronaut who spend thirteen months in space on a solo mission and returns to Earth pregnant, is produced by Halle Berry and Steven Spielberg. This was Halle Berry’s first television series and a big bet for CBS. While live viewers were small in number, DVR and streaming viewers boosted ratings high enough for CBS to give it another go. Extant will return next summer, along with Stephen King’s Under the Dome for it’s third season. Reckless did not get renewed and was cancelled after it’s third season.
Season one of Extant followed astronaut Molly Woods and her nuclear family sometime in the near future. She returns from a thirteen month solo mission only to discover that she’s pregnant, which puts a strain on the process of reconnecting with her family and friends. Molly must discover how she became pregnant and uncover a far reaching conspiracy in the process in order to assure that she, her family, and her mysterious child are safe.
I didn’t think much of Extant and felt that the season finale answered enough questions and had an air of finality that didn’t necessarily require a second season. However, it was certainly open ended enough to provide series creator Mickey Fisher and his writing team with ample material for a full season of crazy story lines about alien babies, immortal entrepreneurs, omnipresent artificial intelligences, and anti-robot terrorist groups. Could be fun.
Source: Variety
