The Popularity and Potential of The Glory
From 2022 to 2023, Netflix released the South Korean web series, The Glory, and despite the show's incredible success, there is no sign of a season 2 yet, which in some ways, could actually be a great thing. The Glory is a South Korean thriller following a young woman who intends to seek revenge for the bullying she faced in school by forcing herself into the life of one of her former attackers. The series originates from South Korea, has 16 episodes, and is loosely based on a true story of middle schoolers from Cheongju, South Korea who repeatedly extorted money from and physically abused one of their classmates.
The Glory Poster
Since part one of The Glory season 1 was first released back in December 2022, it is interesting that Netflix has yet to announce a second season of the series. While Netflix is known for canceling well-liked series after only one season, The Glory is actually a prime candidate for renewal. The series is not only appreciated by audiences, but it also has the numbers to back it up. In this way, there must be some other mysterious reason that is holding the streaming service back from confirming a second season.
The Glory Netflix
A major reason why The Glory is such a strong candidate for renewal is that, for many months of 2023, the series was Netflix's most popular non-English language show. According to Netflix's 2023 engagement report, which reveals how many hours each series was watched, The Glory takes the number three spot under The Night Agent and Ginny & Georgia season 2. In total, The Glory was watched for 622,800,000 hours. For further comparison, this means that The Glory was watched more than Netflix's best shows of 2023 like Wednesday and Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.
The Glory Cast
These numbers alone are huge for The Glory, especially considering that it is an international series. Although Netflix has added ample international series and movies in recent years, they still do not get the same recognition as Netflix's English-speaking projects. In this way, The Glory made massive bounds forward for South Korean content on Netflix, and also, international films and shows in general, in 2023. Therefore, it would only make sense that Netflix would deem this to be enough to confirm The Glory season 2.
The Glory Series
The Uncertainty of The Glory Season 2
As of now, it is pretty unclear whether The Glory season 2 will happen. Although the show was well-liked and had incredible success on Netflix, there has been no news confirming The Glory season 2, or even the possibility of a season 2 being made. Furthermore, this lack of news has come from both Netflix and the South Korean creators of the show. At this time, The Glory season 2 is just fan speculation. Ultimately, the most likely conclusion to glean from this is that, although The Glory could come back in the future, as of now the series will remain with just one season.
The Glory Dong-eun
Another aspect of The Glory and its potential for a second season is the fact that The Glory could have been intended to be a limited series. Despite the fact that Netflix never specified whether The Glory was a limited series, it could still be true nonetheless. What helps to back this up is the way that The Glory season 1 ends. At the end of The Glory, Dong-eun's bullies have all been killed, put in prison, or gravely injured. In this way, Dong-eun accomplished what she set out to do, and therefore, there is not really a reason why the series would need to continue after that.
The Glory Dong-eunn
The Case Against The Glory Season 2
Ultimately, The Glory season 2 shouldn't happen. It is incredible that The Glory saw so much success upon its Netflix release, but that does not mean that a second season needs to happen. In fact, a second season could ruin the solid ending of The Glory season 1. When a series ends in such a complete way, it can be beneficial to leave it as it is rather than risk losing the magic by adding more story that never needed to be there in the first place. This is true for The Glory. In the end, it should remain a strong international limited series that helps other series gain success.
The Glory Dong-eun and Yeo-jeong
