After a lengthy hiatus, Master of None is finally returning for a third season on Netflix in May 2021.
The comedy series, which was created by Alan Yang and Parks and Recreation star Aziz Ansari, first premiered on the streamer in 2015 to widespread acclaim. The second season aired in 2017.
Season three will consist of five episodes and run under the title Master of None Presents: Moments in Love. Ansari will direct all episodes which have been written by the comedian along with actress Lena Waithe who plays Denise in the series.
The new episodes will focus exclusively on Waithe’s character, who was central to the season two episode Thanksgiving. The episode, which was inspired by Waithe’s own experiences, won an Emmy award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy.
The return of the popular series was, in part, due to Ansari becoming entangled in #MeToo controversy in January 2018. The actor and comedian was accused by a woman with the pseudonym “Grace” of coercing her into sexual activity after the pair had been out at dinner. The woman described her experience with Ansari in a post uploaded to the now-defunct babe.net website drawing scepticism from many that her claims were spurious and simply described what was a “bad date.”
Ansari defended himself in a statement made at the time saying, “In September of last year, I met a woman at a party. We exchanged numbers. We texted back and forth and eventually went on a date. We went out to dinner, and afterwards, we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual.”
Regardless, Ansari subsequently retreated from the public eye and relocated to London.
In 2019 he released a stand-up special on Netflix called Right Now which was directed by Spike Jonze. During the set, Ansari addressed the allegations saying, “There’s times I felt scared. There’s times I felt humiliated. There’s times I felt embarrassed. And ultimately, I just felt terrible that this person felt this way.”
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