The first season of Love, Death & Robots was 18 episodes of crazy animated sci-fi, horror, mind-bending, and comedy shorts that pushed the boundaries of viewers' expectations, but the second season is coming in at less than half that number with only 8 episodes. Why is it so much shorter and what does this mean for future seasons of the show?
One of the biggest appeals of Love, Death & Robots Vol. I was the sheer variety of stories afforded by the number of episodes. While the overall diversity in genre isn't impacted by Vol. II's shorter episode count, the specific mix of styles and tones is certainly impacted, simply due to the fact that fewer episodes means the variety presented within each genre is reduced. There's a variety of reasons why Netflix would make the second season of Love, Death & Robots so much shorter.
One of the biggest factors to consider is the 26-month gap between the release of Vol. I and Vol. II, and with the first trailer confirming Vol. III is already on the way for a 2022 release, it's highly possible Netflix opted for a lower episode count in order to minimize the time between seasons as they've done for a number of other shows. Some animated shows like Voltron: Legendary Defender, for example, had much shorter seasons in the middle of its eight-season run, but it also had new seasons release just a few months apart, making it far more engaging for its audience.
Of course, with delays due to coronavirus in 2020, it's also possible season 2 was originally twice as long and it was cut in half to avoid further delay, allowing them to release the other half of the episode as Vol. 3. Considering the production timeline on animation of this caliber, it's likely the shorts belonging to Vol. 3 were in the works well before Vol 3. was even confirmed, adding credence to the theory Vol 2. was split up.
The exact release date for Love, Death & Robots Vol. 3 hasn't been confirmed yet, but if it is actually the second half of Vol. 2, then, fortunately, it should be expected probably in Q1 2022, although it will also be shorter than the first season. On the bright side, if Vol 2. does well, it's possible Vol. 4 could be underway in the near future, in order to keep the wait between future seasons shorter than the initial 26-month gap between Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.
Whatever the reason, the faster turnaround between seasons means potentially more Love, Death & Robots to go around, and if that's the case, smaller installments is a more than fair price.