The Turd Burglar Strikes In 'American Vandal' Season 2, Dropping On Netflix Friday

Netflix's pursuit of original content has helped expose audiences to groundbreaking true crime documentaries like "The Keepers" and "Making a Murderer." These shows, which often explore taboo and controversial subjects, have garnered cult followings amongst genre enthusiasts. Meanwhile, Netflix's comedy series, "American Vandal," eviscerates the cliched tropes of the burgeoning wave of new true crime media. Now returning for a second season, the show is set to explore the scatalogical criminality of the so-called Turd Burglar.

Created by Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda, American Vandal Season One used a mockumentary format to investigate the fictional crimes of a phallus-obsessed grafiti artist. With twists and turns smartly satirizing the beats of other popular, long-form docu-series, the show received positive reviews from critics.

"There is a certain joyful nuttiness in going the whole way," wrote LA Times critic Robert Lloyd. "'American Vandal' is presented as the work of smart kids who perfectly understand the language of the series they're emulating but are still limited by their circumstances. ... It's as engrossing as the series it set out to satirize and moving in ways you would not expect. A story well told is a story well told, however it comes together."

Now, the protagonists are back to investigate a new immature miscreant. After poisoning a school's food supply and causing a bad rash of diarrhea nicknamed "The Brown Out," a digital bandit begins taunting crime-stoppers with viral content. Will our amateur detectives be able to put a stop to this fecal felon before it's too late?

"Poop is funny — but it goes a lot deeper than that," muses an interview subject in the show's trailer, which was released in August 2018.

Reviews for the second season have also been largely positive.

"While you were busy guffawing at CSI-style re-creations of teenage handjobs, the show morphed into a sly critique of long-form crime documentaries and an of-the-moment exploration of how teens’ lives are shaped and recorded by social media," writes Slate critic Sam Adams. "'[The show's] second season has bigger ideas than its first, and the turn toward wistfulness in its final episode feels less forced this time around."

Check out the preview for "American Vandal" Season 2, below.

"American Vandal" Season 2 is available to steam on Netflix in full as of September 14.

[Photo: Netflix]