Renewed or Cancelled – Will there be a Hard Cell Season 2?

Hard Cell is a mockumentary from Catherine Tate set in HMP Woldsley, a women’s prison in Essex. Tate plays several characters, including the warden, and across six half-hour episodes, the show chronicles a kind of slapstick prison life as EastEnders’ Cheryl Fergison directs the inmates in the production of an original musical. It’s a show that feels very much like a relic from a bygone era, but it ends on a pretty significant cliffhanger, so anyone who watches and enjoys the show will probably be wondering about the possibility of a Hard Cell Season 2. You can find all the information we have on that below.

Renewed or Cancelled status – Will there be a Hard Cell Season 2?

Status: TBC

If we’re being frank, the chances of a second season here are pretty slim. The show already feels like a mid-2000s sketch show, and many of its jokes and attitudes are wildly outdated. There’s a strong chance that it’ll slip by mostly unnoticed and that the few who do watch it won’t be too keen. That isn’t a recipe conducive to renewal as far as Netflix is concerned.

And yet! The first season’s ending suggests there is more of the story to be told, and Catherine Tate still has enough name value to command a degree of respect. If she really pushed for a second season, and the first did even average viewership numbers, there’s a chance that a follow-up could be commissioned. I’d consider it unlikely, though.

What is Hard Cell?

A mockumentary about a women’s prison, Hard Cell is the kind of show that doesn’t really get made anymore, which might well work in its favor. While it’s primarily a comedy, it also sneaks in some drama as we learn more about the various inmates and members of the prison staff. Most of them are pretty arch stereotypes, but a few are decently likable with interesting backstories and predicaments.

Who is in it?

Catherine Tate — and she accounts for many of the main cast, including warden Laura, inmates Viv, Ros, and Ange, and guard Marco. She’d be likely to reprise these roles — and possibly pick up a few others — were the show to be renewed. Alongside her, though, are some other regulars such as Christian Brassington as Laura’s “number two”, Dean, Jola Olajide as the young and pregnant inmate Charlee, and Niky Wardley as the trouble-causing Anastasia.

You can stream Hard Cell exclusively on Netflix.