January Is A Sad Month For All Of Us Are Dead Fans

Although All of Us Are Dead season 2 will likely arrive sometime in 2026, the fourth anniversary of season 1’s Netflix release is still a sobering reminder of its slow arrival. The iconic zombie series All of Us Are Dead is one of the genre’s best outings, managing to offer a fresh, innovative take on this familiar setup.

Set in a high school as the zombie apocalypse breaks out, All of Us Are Dead follows the perspectives of numerous assorted students and teachers as they try to survive the terror. Park Ji-hu’s Nam On-jo and Yoon Chan-young’s Lee Cheong-san are the story’s leads, while All of Us Are Dead’s cast is rounded out with familiar high school archetypes.

There is the class president, the violent juvenile delinquent, and a spoiled rich kid, all of whom show unexpected depths as the crisis worsens. There are some major older characters, Lee Kyu-hyung’s heroic detective Song Jae-ik and Kim Byung-chul’s villainous science teacher Lee Byeong-chan, but the students are the true heroes.

The end of All Of Us Are Dead season 1 is fairly devastating, with many of the show’s most likable characters dying before the outbreak is contained. However, at least one major hero survives to see the second season, and their character transformation makes the prospect of All of Us Are Dead season 2 all the more exciting.

All Of Us Are Dead Season 1 Turns 4 This Month

A group of zombie kids in All Of Us Are Dead

Sadly, viewers will need to wait another while to see this character grace their screens again, and the arrival of January 2026 makes this wait even harder. It has now been four long years since All Of Us Are Dead season 1 debuted on Netflix, but there is still no sign of a release date for its follow-up, season 2.

For a frame of reference, Squid Game has released both its second and third seasons at the same time. Even the infamously slow Netflix hit Stranger Things released its three-part final season in the time since All Of Us Are Dead season 1 was released, making this one of the streaming service’s slowest shows ever.

The news that All Of Us Are Dead season 1 turns four in January 2026 makes the idea of the show’s return feel more distant than ever, and this is a particular shame when the show had such a promising start. Almost the entire run of Netflix’s Spanish series Money Heist was released in the same timeframe.

Few Netflix Shows Have Taken This Long To Come Back

While Netflix’s shows have gotten bigger over the years, and this has inevitably resulted in longer waits between seasons, the wait since All Of Us Are Dead season 1’s release remains almost unparalleled. Almost three years passed between Wednesday‘s seasons 1 and 2, but that’s a lot less than All Of Us Are Dead’s four-year wait.

Similarly, writer/director Mike Flanagan produced a new horror miniseries for the streaming service almost every year from 2018 until 2023. This means the creator made The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, and The Fall of the House of Usher during the same time it took All of Us Are Dead to get from season 1 to season 2.

This makes it tough to imagine a comeback from the South Korean zombie series that could justify such a lengthy absence. This is a shame, since the show’s first outing was superb and viewers were initially rooting for the success of its sophomore release. However, waning enthusiasm is almost inevitable with such a slow timeline.

Will All Of Us Are Dead Season 2 Premiere In 2026?

Jin Ho-eun's Jung Min-jae in All of Us Are Dead

Since All of Us Are Dead season 2 officially entered production in July 2025, the show’s second outing should arrive on Netflix somewhere in 2026. This is great news for everyone awaiting All of Us Are Dead season 2, but fans shouldn’t rush to celebrate. After all, an official release date has not yet been announced.

Moreover, the show’s slow production process means there is no guarantee season 2 will necessarily arrive in 2026. If it does, the show might repeat a trick used by the creators of Stranger Things season 5 when they promised the final outing of the series would arrive by the end of 2025.

The production and post-production process of Stranger Things season 5 was infamously slow and long, but the show’s creators firmly stated that the series would end before the year 2025 was out. As such, it was not shocking when the release dates of the final episodes were revealed to be December 26 and December 31st, respectively.

All Of Us Are Dead Season 2 Will Have To Win Fans Over Again

Technically, All of Us Are Dead season 2 could repeat Stranger Things season 5’s risky release schedule trick and arrive in 2026 while leaving viewers waiting until 2027. However, this would be much riskier for the long-awaited second season.

After so long, All of Us Are Dead season 2 will need to win over viewers all over again, whereas Stranger Things had gradually built up hype for its finale over nine long years and four full seasons. As such, All of Us Are Dead season 2 is better off arriving a lot sooner than later.