The glow from an old television set can linger long after the power is cut, casting faint patterns across a quiet room and stirring questions that refuse to settle. This article examines Jane Schoenbrun’s 2024 film I Saw the TV Glow in detail, traces the ongoing fan campaigns pressing A24 for a sequel, and explores the concrete ideas circulating among viewers about how a follow-up might engage with the digital landscape of the mid-2020s.

Picture the final moments of I Saw the TV Glow, with Owen frozen in that suburban living room as the old show flickers back to life on a screen that should not exist anymore. The unease lingers because the story refuses to close, leaving viewers wondering how far media can pull someone away from their own life. This article looks at the original film, the reasons fans keep pushing for a sequel, and the specific ideas they have shared about what I Saw the TV Glow 2 could explore if A24 and director Jane Schoenbrun ever decide to continue the story.

As the credits rolled on Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow earlier this year, audiences were left in a haze of existential dread and pixelated nostalgia. A24’s latest foray into psychological horror did not just unsettle; it burrowed into the psyche like a late-night rerun you cannot shake. With its blend of 90s kids’ TV obsession, trans allegory, and creeping unreality, the film earned critical acclaim and a devoted cult following. Box office numbers were modest at around $7 million domestically, but its cultural ripple effects have fans clamouring for more. Whispers of a sequel have yet to materialise from A24, yet the internet buzzes with wishlist dreams. What if I Saw the TV Glow 2 became reality? Here, we unpack the ultimate fan-driven blueprint for expanding this surreal nightmare.

The original film, released in May 2024, follows teenagers Owen and Maddy, whose lives unravel through their fixation on a mysterious children’s show called The Pink Opaque. Schoenbrun, a trans filmmaker drawing from personal hauntings of media and identity, crafts a slow-burn terror that culminates in body horror and fractured realities. Critics hailed it as a masterpiece: The New York Times called it “a chilling dispatch from the edge of perception”. Now, with A24 riding high on horrors like Hereditary and Midsommar, the studio seems primed for a sequel that doubles down on its bold vision. Fans are not just hoping; they are scripting their desires. Similar questions about how stories shape us appear in Schoenbrun’s earlier work We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, which also treats online spaces as places where identity can quietly dissolve.

At Dyerbolical we have followed how these kinds of open endings often lead to richer conversations years later, and the same pattern appears here as viewers revisit the film through the lens of evolving platforms and shifting cultural conversations around identity.

Recapping the Glow: Why the Original Demands a Sequel

To wishlist a sequel, one must first honour the source. I Saw the TV Glow masterfully evokes the pre-internet era of VHS tapes and shared TV myths, where a show could feel like a portal to another world. Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Jack Haven) bond over The Pink Opaque, a fictional series about two girls battling supernatural foes. As Maddy disappears into the screen, Owen grapples with dissociation, his body literally bloating with suppressed truth. The film ends ambiguously: Owen trapped in suburbia, haunted by the show’s return on a new channel. That kind of ending matters because it mirrors how many people experience identity questions that never fully resolve in real time.

That open-ended finale screams sequel bait. Schoenbrun told Variety in a post-premiere interview, “There’s more to say about how media devours us, especially now”. The film’s 84% Rotten Tomatoes score and Sundance buzz underscore its potential. A24 has greenlit sequels for less: think Everything Everywhere All at Once’s multiverse hints. Sequels in A24’s horror wheelhouse, like the anticipated Midsommar 2 whispers, prove the model works. Fans want closure, escalation, and deeper dives into the lore. Films such as Skinamarink have shown that audiences will sit with long stretches of analog dread if the emotional core feels honest.

Context from earlier decades helps explain why the film resonates so strongly. Programs like Are You Afraid of the Dark? and similar anthology series from the 1990s often blurred the line between entertainment and personal reflection, giving young viewers a shared language for fears they could not yet name. Schoenbrun builds on that foundation while updating it for audiences who now navigate recommendation engines instead of channel surfing.

The Unresolved Mysteries Fueling Fan Fever

The original leaves several threads hanging that feel too pointed to ignore. The Pink Opaque could be read as either a literal cursed broadcast or a metaphor for dysphoria, and fans keep returning to both possibilities because each one changes what the story ultimately means. Maddy’s disappearance raises questions about whether she found escape or simply vanished, while Owen’s final moments suggest a breaking point that has not yet arrived. These open questions connect directly to how the film uses 1990s television as a stand-in for any media that promises belonging while quietly reshaping the viewer.

  • The Pink Opaque’s True Nature: Is it a cursed broadcast or a metaphor for dysphoria? A sequel could reveal its origins, perhaps tracing back to 70s public access horror.
  • Maddy’s Fate: Did she transcend or perish? Flashbacks or dream sequences could clarify.
  • Owen’s Descent: His final scream hints at awakening; what horrors await in part two?

These threads, amplified by fan edits and podcasts, demand expansion. A sequel could transform niche acclaim into mainstream phenomenon.

Plot Wishlist: Escalating the Surreal Nightmare

Fans envision I Saw the TV Glow 2 picking up years later, with Owen (now in his 30s) spotting The Pink Opaque reruns on a streaming service. The show has evolved, incorporating modern internet culture: TikTok witches, viral hauntings, and algorithm-driven unreality. New characters – perhaps Owen’s estranged child or online forum allies – join the fray, blurring suburban ennui with digital abyss. This shift would matter because it moves the story from VHS-era isolation to the constant low-level surveillance of today’s platforms.

Key plot beats from the wishlist include the return of the show as a prestige reboot that starts predicting Owen’s life events, the introduction of a “Midnight Realm” where television characters recruit living viewers, and an escalation of body horror that includes AR glitches bleeding into everyday spaces. The story could end with Owen stepping through a haunted smart TV to confront whoever created the program. This structure maintains the original’s deliberate pace while ramping tension. Analysts predict it could tap into post-pandemic media saturation anxieties, much like Skinamarink did for analog fears.

Discussions since the film’s release have also referenced how later works such as Late Night with the Devil extended similar ideas about live broadcasts invading personal space, showing that audiences remain drawn to stories where screens act as thresholds rather than simple entertainment.

Cast and Characters: Who Stays, Who Returns

Justice Smith’s vulnerable Owen anchors the wish. Fans beg for his return, aged up with prosthetics for the horror toll. Jack Haven as Maddy should cameo from the “other side”, her ethereal presence via green screen wizardry. These returns would give longtime viewers the emotional continuity they crave while allowing the story to show how time and repeated exposure to the same media can wear someone down.

Wishlist additions include Briga Heelan as Tara, Owen’s sister now working as a true-crime podcaster, a non-binary Gen-Z streamer who uncovers hidden codes in the episodes, and cameos from original cast members alongside 90s icons such as Sarah Michelle Gellar. Such choices deepen representation, blending nostalgia with fresh voices. Schoenbrun’s trans lens could explore intergenerational trauma, making it resonate wider.

A24’s Magical Touch: Production and Style Hopes

A24 excels at atmospheric dread: dim fluorescents, synth scores, practical effects. For the sequel, wishlist a bigger budget – $15-20 million – funding ambitious visuals. Director of photography Eric Yue’s smeared lenses return, now with glitch art and deepfakes. Erik Jensen’s score evolves from lo-fi electronica to dissonant chiptune horror. Production design could feature abandoned video stores as literal portals and Zoom calls that slowly warp the participants’ faces.

Technical Wishlist Highlights

Practical effects such as inflatable bodies and phosphorescent screens would keep the horror grounded. Visual effects would stay restrained, using subtle AR overlays rather than large-scale digital set pieces. A runtime around 110 minutes with a post-credits tease could set up further entries while respecting the original’s measured rhythm. A24’s marketing might lean into lost-media aesthetics and simple AR filters to recreate the feeling of stumbling across something you were never meant to see.

Themes to Amplify: Identity, Media, and Modern Dread

The original’s trans allegory via media escape was groundbreaking. Sequel wishlist expands: social media as the new TV glow, doxxing as soul-erasure, deepfakes dissolving self. Owen’s arc could culminate in reclamation, fighting the algorithm-devil. Trends align perfectly. Surreal horror surges with titles such as Late Night with the Devil, and A24 continues to lead that conversation. Culturally, it could spark discourse on digital dissociation, echoing Schoenbrun’s We’re All Going to the World’s Fair.

Broader conversations around media influence have continued into 2025 and 2026, with new studies on how recommendation systems shape self-perception adding weight to the film’s core concerns and giving any sequel timely relevance.

Industry Impact: A Franchise for A24’s Golden Age

A sequel solidifies A24’s horror dominance post-Talk to Me. It counters superhero fatigue with intimate terrors. Predictions include Oscar nods for screenplay and a breakout moment for Justice Smith. Challenges remain around balancing arthouse sensibilities with wider accessibility, which is why a dual theatrical and streaming approach might serve the project best. Fan campaigns like #TVGlow2 have already shown strong support, and pressure continues to build even as Schoenbrun balances other projects.

Bibliography

Box Office Mojo, “I Saw the TV Glow Domestic Totals,” accessed October 2024.

Manohla Dargis, review of I Saw the TV Glow, The New York Times, May 2024.

Variety, Jane Schoenbrun interview, June 2024.

Rotten Tomatoes, I Saw the TV Glow audience and critic scores, 2024.

Letterboxd user discussions and fan theories on I Saw the TV Glow, ongoing since May 2024.

Reddit threads in r/horror and r/A24 analyzing open endings and sequel potential, 2024-2025.

Interviews with Jane Schoenbrun on media and identity, published across indie outlets through 2025.

Reports on A24’s sequel strategies and horror slate updates, 2024-2026.

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