Warning: spoilers for season one of Netflix's All of Us Are Dead ahead.
Over the last couple of years, Netflix has been releasing some of the best South Korean dramas out there. From Squid Game to D.P and Twenty Five Twenty One, the streaming giant has been delivering when it comes to K-dramas across various genres — from comedies to thrillers and, of course, good ol’ romance.
One of the most popular titles to join Netflix's K-drama roster was zombie story All of Us Are Dead (지금 우리 학교는).
Starring Park Jihu and Yoon Chanyoung, All of Us Are Dead premiered on Netflix on 28 January 2022, and quickly climbed up Netflix’s Global Top 10 rank.
According to Variety, the series accumulated 124.79 million hours viewed in its first week, which then made it the most-viewed premiere week for a South Korean title since Netflix’s public Top 10 launched.
Naturally, fans who finished the series started frantically looking for All of Us Are Dead season 2 updates on Google as soon as season one ended. If that’s you, here’s what you need to know about the series and its return.
What is All of Us Are Dead about?
All of Us Are Dead follows a group of students from Hyosan High School fighting to survive after a zombie virus spreads across the school and its surrounding areas. The series is based on Joo Donggeun’s digital Webtoon comic called Now at Our School (same as the series’ original title in Korean), which was first published in 2009.
At first, the series might seem like your typical zombie apocalypse story with coming-of-age elements sprinkled in the narrative, but All of Us Are Dead is actually rife with cultural references and timely allegories.
Is season 2 of All of Us Are Dead confirmed?
Yes, it is! On 6 June 2022, Netflix confirmed All of Us Are Dead had officially been renewed for a second season on X (formerly known as Twitter). The streamer also unveiled a season 2 announcement video featuring some of the cast.
“The students of Hyosan High School may have survived their first zombie outbreak, but the nightmare is far from over," the announcement description reads.
As previously noted by Hypebae, Lee Jaekyu, the director of the series, had noted that “the story was written with a second season in mind.” His idea was to continue the story, and Netflix is making that happen.
“It would be great if we could do a second season,” the director reportedly said in the past, teasing that “if it were to happen, there would be more interesting stories.” Lee might focus more on the “zombie survival” during its sophomore season, which would make sense.
But… before we get into that, let's recap for a second.
When is All of Us Are Dead season 2 premiering? Has filming begun?
When the All of Us Are Dead season 2 announcement was unveiled, Netflix said the project would be “coming soon,” and, three years later, we finally have the update we were waiting for: production has officially commenced!
The streamer even released some very tantalising snaps from the first table read and we cannot wait.
As previously reported by Star News Korea, production for All of Us Are Dead season 2 was delayed until 2025 to accommodate for more high-level production.
How many episodes will All of Us Are Dead season 2 have?
Season one of All of Us Are Dead featured 12 episodes, clocking in at just under or over an hour each for a combined total of 728 minutes. (Believe us, once you hit play on the first episode, you’ll want to watch the rest right away.)
It's unclear if season 2 will stick to the same number of episodes and length yet, but that's usually the case with Netflix productions.
Who's in the cast of All of Us Are Dead season 2?
Season one of All of Us Are Dead centres mainly around Nam Onjo, played by 18-year-old Park Jihu and her childhood friend, neighbour, and classmate Lee Cheongsan, played by 20-year-old Yoon Chanyoung. Cho Yihyun also stars as model student and class president Choi Namra, while South Korean-Uzbek actor Park Solomon (also known as Lomon) plays Lee Suhyeok.
The main antagonist of the series – aside from, you know, the virus itself – is Yoon Gwinam, played by real-life sweetheart Yoo Insoo. Lee Yoomi, whom you might recognise from Squid Game, plays Lee Nayeon.
Additional casting includes Im Jaehyuk as Yang Daesu, Lee Eunsaem as Park Mijin, Ham Sungmin as Han Gyeongsu (a.k.a. Chaongsan’s BFF), Kim Jooah as Yoon Isak (a.k.a. Onjo’s BFF), as well as Son Sangyeon and Ha Seungri as siblings Jang Woojin and Jang Hari – among others.
They will be joined by a few new cast members, including Lee Min-jae (Weak Hero: Class 2), Kim Si-eun (Squid Game Season 2), Roh Jae-won (Squid Game Seasons 2 & 3), and Yoon Ga-i.
What is All of Us Are Dead season 2 about?
If you’ve already watched season 1 of All of Us Are Dead, you’d know the series ends on a cliffhanger after the survivors reunite with Namra on the school’s rooftop. Unlike with Squid Game, it’s difficult to guess who could return for the second season since, you know, dead people can become zombies, too. We can assume all the survivors (or at least most) will return now that season 2 has gotten the green light.
Netflix has now released a synopsis of season 2: "After surviving the catastrophic zombie outbreak at Hyosan High, Nam On-jo (Park Ji-hu) is now a university student in Seoul, struggling to move on from the trauma and the friends she lost. But when a new wave of infection suddenly hits Seoul, she finds herself trapped in another deadly fight for survival — this time without the people she once depended on.
“All eyes are on how Lee Cheong-san (Yoon Chan-young), Choi Nam-ra (Cho Yi-hyun), and Lee Su-hyeok (Lomon) are now navigating their lives years after the outbreak. Meanwhile, On-jo forms friendships with her university seniors Yong Ma-ru (Lee Min-jae), So Ju-ran (Kim Si-eun), and Lee Jong-a (Yoon Ga-i) — a group that has found ways to survive amidst the zombie apocalypse. Han Du-seok (Roh Jae-won) brings added tension to the story as a team leader within the National Intelligence Service.”
Of course, there’s another major question all fans have: Is Cheongsan really dead in All of Us Are Dead? Well, it’s impossible to know for sure. We did not see him turn into a zombie and we also did not see his remains. We did see him get blasted with the shock wave from the bomb the government dropped on school grounds, though he barely managed to use Gwinam as a cover.
Realistically speaking, we shouldn't get our hopes up but, that said, stranger things have happened. (And this is Netflix after all!) Speaking to Wikitree, director Lee said: "If Cheongsan were to come back to life, there will be some viewers who won't accept the situation and some that will like it," noting that he “definitely” has a plan that he can't share just yet.
The season 2 announcement does say Park Jihu, Yoon Chanyoung, Cho Yihyun, and Lomon will be “back to school” so… I guess we can officially say this is not the end for Cheongsan?
This post will continue to be updated as news about All of Us Are Dead season 2 breaks.
A version of this story originally appeared on Teen Vogue.
