We hope you were happy with Netflix’s Ratched being a standalone series… because it’s not getting a second season.

The prequel series, set in 1947, told the story of nurse Mildred Ratched (played by Sarah Paulson) prior to the events of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest first premiered on Netflix in September 2020.

Just days ago, in a video posted to X, Paulson is asked if a second season is on the cards, to which she replies, almost sadly, ‘No.’

Season one ended with plenty of unanswered questions particularly regarding her brother Edmund (played by Finn Wittrock), who she threatened to ‘track down’ after he escaped execution.

But perhaps the biggest loose end, how Mildred becomes the head nurse at a psychiatric hospital in Oregon and develops into one of the most iconic villains in film. With 13 years between Ratched and Cuckoo’s Nest, there’s plenty of room for that story to roll out.

In 1975, the infamous character was portrayed by Louise Fletcher in the movie adaptation of the 1962 novel, earning Fletcher an Academy Award. Her acceptance speech was 100% on brand:

netflix Ratched