The controversial documentary series Ancient Apocalypse is returning for a second season on Netflix, and this time actor Keanu Reeves is along for the ride. This season will see journalist Graham Hancock look to unearth evidence that an advanced civilization was once here on Earth and lost to time more than 10,000 years ago. The search brings him to the Americas, where he’ll visit New Mexico, Peru, Brazil, and other locations in the hopes of making discoveries.
This series initially debuted back in 2022, and now it has the star power of Reeves to help draw in more viewership. Hancock has also appeared on episodes of Joe Rogan’s podcast to promote his views. Reeves explained to Hancock in the brief teaser trailer how he’s always felt like the timeline was off, so that could explain why he’s on board and trying to discover new things. Hancock tells Deadline this has been a passion of his for years, and his search brings him to the Americas because he believes it’s an untapped area.
“Exploring the mysterious origins of civilization has been my passion for many years. The Americas have remained largely unexplored in this context and my purpose in the series was to examine compelling new evidence that I hope might spark healthy debate in the archeology community.”
While it might be his dream, Hancock has created quite a stir by promoting his ideas. His theory of a lost civilization has been met with lots of backlash, and many scientists have labeled it as a dangerous pseudoscience.
This series initially debuted back in 2022, and while it’s not one of the most-watched shows on Netflix, it did enough for a second season. Despite the success, Ancient Apocalypse received a lot of pushback from the scientific community. The Society for American Archeology asked Netflix to reclassify the series as science fiction and said there’s no evidence to back up Hancock’s claims in an open letter to Netflix.
“After more than a century of professional archaeological investigations, we find no archaeological evidence to support the existence of an “advanced, global Ice Age civilization” of the kind Hancock suggests. Archaeologists have investigated hundreds of Ice Age sites and published the results in rigorously reviewed journals. The assertion that Ancient Apocalypse is a factual “docuseries” or “documentary” rather than entertainment with ideological goals is preposterous. If there were any credible evidence for a “global Ice Age civilization” of the kind Hancock suggests, archaeologists would investigate it and report their findings with rigor according to the scientific methods, practices, and theories of our discipline.”
Going another step further, The Guardian published an article calling the series “the most dangerous show on Netflix” in 2022. The Guardian also reported the series had to change its filming locations after Indigenous groups pushed back on how they would be depicted in the series. The show has since secured filming permits in Arizona and New Mexico, despite protests from local groups.
“This is embarrassing and a discredit to our agency when we have been working hard to respect Indigenous people and right many historical wrongs,” a staff member wrote to ITN Productions, the producer of
Ancient Apocalypse
. “This is just degrading.”
Despite the controversy the series has drummed up, Netflix is still pushing ahead with its second season. Only time will tell if the series does well enough to secure a third season on the streaming platform. A trailer for Ancient Apocalypse Season 2 can be found below.