Netflix’s ‘Anatomy of a Scandal’ – Will there be a second season?

Warning – Contains spoilers

Netflix recently released Anatomy of a Scandal which rolled out a bit slow but steadily pulled me in.

I’m not a huge fan of the British (or Canadian) upper-class ‘Dauddy Dauddy’ thing, so that probably turned me off a bit at the beginning. And some of the crass and vulgar drinking scenes of the presumably British (Brutish?) Oxford students made me so glad I never went to study there.

But it’s just fiction, right? And I must admit, after a short while the highbrow domestic scenes were not annoying but seemed quite convincing and sometimes charming thanks mostly to the gifted child and other supporting actors.

This somewhat predictable courtroom drama is saved from the rubbish bins by two things—very fine performances and some interesting indoor and especially outdoor scenery.

One big “surprise” however was so foreseeable that I discerned it even before it was played out. Still, to be fair, I was pulled in from being slightly bored to binge viewing after not too long.

Another thought that went thru my mind was how unsurprising it was that the big bad wolf was a slightly older white male of so-called privilege. How in keeping with the current cultural climate.

It seems older white males deserve to get nailed because we’re just so thoroughly bad. Meanwhile, a sneaky woman who cheats on her university assignments, another single woman having an affair with a married man, and a woman prosecutor who lies about her egregiously unprofessional conduct all get off scot-free.

That’s the main message here, which I think is both unrealistic and unhealthy.

Despite this sadly typical cultural messaging, Anatomy of a Scandal is still worth watching. And because the ending comes so fast and furious, I was left wondering if there is room for a second season in which some of the ethical imbalances of season one might be better addressed.

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