Dark Matter season 2 will be especially exciting for fans of Blake Crouch's 2016 sci-fi novel of the same name. While it was great that season 1 faithfully adapted the standalone book and made several great additions to the canon, the upcoming run is set to extend the saga with entirely original events. However, there's another reason why I can't wait for the show to return, and it all comes down to how another Blake Crouch adaptation was handled a decade ago.
Debuting in 2015, Wayward Pines was the first live-action adaptation of Blake Crouch's work. The first run of episodes got the show off to a great start, but it was promptly canceled in 2016 when season 2 didn't live up to the high standards season 1 had established the year before. There is a very specific reason why this severe dip in quality occurred, and Dark Matter has already taken several steps to avoid it from happening again.
How Dark Matter season 2 has already avoided Wayward Pines season 2's biggest mistakes
Blake Crouch's Wayward Pines trilogy was published between 2012 and 2014, with a new book hitting the shelves each year in that time. While it may seem like common sense to adapt each novel into a season of television, the Fox show made a strange decision to cram the events of the literary trilogy into a single run of episodes. So, Wayward Pines season 1 was a pretty truncated version of Crouch's original sci-fi saga.
When Wayward Pines season 2 arrived, it was treated as a sequel to season 1, with a new star that did, in fairness, make full use of the story's premise. However, the live-action continuation just wasn't as interesting, and the new characters weren't as well-written. To this day, I maintain it was the quality of Blake Crouch's source material that had the biggest role in making season 1 so good, and that Fox should have used the books to make three seasons instead of cramming them into one.
Apple TV's approach to adapting Dark Matter may seem the same as how Fox brought Wayward Pines to the small screen, but there are some very notable differences. First of all, the events of the Dark Matter novel fit comfortably within season 1's nine-episode run. If anything, the book was too short, and so it needed to be fleshed out to avoid being over before it could really get started. Thankfully, the additions all felt authentic – and there's a very good reason for that.
Crouch only had three writing credits for Wayward Pines season 1, and he never penned any of the scripts on his own. His episodes list showrunner Chad Hodge among his collaborators, and also Stranger Things' the Duffer Brothers. In season 2, Crouch didn't write any of the episodes. By contrast, the Dark Matter author is the man in charge of its Apple TV adaptation, so everything goes through him. Because he understands the source material better than anyone, I'm confident he won't allow the same thing that happened to Wayward Pines season 2 to happen again in Dark Matter's upcoming return.
I hope Blake Crouch gets another shot at Wayward Pines someday
When Fox pulled the plug on Wayward Pines, I bought the books to see how close the adaptation was. I realized pretty quickly that the story of Ethan Burke, played by Matt Dillon in the show, wasn't going to be contained to the first novel, and I was actually quite surprised when I figured out that season 2 is pretty much all original material. After reading them, I found myself disappointed and frustrated that Fox had made such a rush job of bringing the books to life.
I'm still convinced that a three-season run of Wayward Pines was required to do the books justice. Season 1, as it exists, is pretty good. On the other hand, it could have been even better if key moments from the source material hadn't been completely omitted just to fit the story into 10 episodes. Season 2 isn't without merit, but it pales in comparison to Crouch's trilogy.
Since Wayward Pines ended on Fox, Crouch's experience making TV shows is more substantial due to his role as the Dark Matter showrunner. So, rather than giving the reins to industry icons like M. Night Shyamalan, who directed the Wayward Pines pilot, letting Crouch make a more faithful adaptation of his trilogy would likely result in it coming out way better than last time. You only need to watch Dark Matter to see how much of a natural he is.
Dark Matter season 1 is streaming now on Apple TV. Season 2 will arrive in 2026, but an exact date hasn't been confirmed.