Season Review: Woke Season Two

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Now that Keef has developed a following for his comic, everyone is asking what’s next? He’s wondering that himself, and figuring it out doesn’t get any easier as the season progresses. From learning to balance power and responsibility, to dealing with an ambitious venture capitalist, the challenges come fast and hard this season as Keef and his friends wrestle with wokeness and what it means in today’s world.

Our Take:

Woke launched with a first season of surreality, silliness and serious topics back on Hulu in late 2020. Due to that premiere date, it came at a perfect time for those wanting to stay at home and needing to laugh more to deal with the newfound realities of daily life mid-pandemic. Now season two has arrived in a whole new way—both for the show itself and the world it’s being released into.

That starts with the production itself, which on top of boasting a new showrunner, had to be shut down three separate times due to COVID breakthroughs throughout filming last year. Though leading lad Lamorne Morris has said that the storyline itself wasn’t affected by the goings-on behind the scenes, the delays did cause some schedule conflicts, which means that there are both new faces this season and an absence of some old friends.

Luckily, that doesn’t change the overall scope of the show, which is still all about Keef’s life as an artist newly-famous for his experiences with racism in everyday life in San Francisco. There’s been a short time skip, and now that he’s developing more of a following Keef’s under immense pressure to say something and do something and make a difference. But what? That’s the question that occupies him throughout the second season, and although he engages in some serious topics, the show stays pretty light-hearted because, hey, sometimes the only way to deal with the world is to laugh at it. That’s definitely the make it or break it thing about the show, you’ll either totally get it or be a little offended or called out.

Along with Keef’s journey in season two, we get to see more from his friends. From Ayana’s grind as a struggling journalist to Clovis having to deal with his father’s situation and the fallout those flashbacks bring, Woke is even more of an ensemble this season, and that’s not a bad thing because this cast is great!

One of my favorite parts of the show is also the part that makes it a candidate for review here at BubbleBlabber: the animation! Though I would certainly classify the show as live-action, of course, the little moments where Keef’s imagination shines through and allows objects to come to life are great and really give the show a style all its own. It also adds a ton of comedy that wouldn’t be possible otherwise, and because it relates back to Keef’s occupation as an artist, it doesn’t feel out of place, either.

Overall, Woke is a really fun show and season two doesn’t do anything to change that fact. Despite all of the challenges that COVID posed for the production, the final product is one that the people involved can be proud of and viewers at home will enjoy without wondering about what went on behind the scenes—except for the fact that a few characters (such as Adrienne) are missing this time around. If season one was all about Keef’s awakening awareness of the power he has in this world, season two is even more ambitious, covering subjects and stereotypes that aren’t as widely discussed these days. For all these reasons and more, I don’t think anyone should be sleeping on Woke’s second season.