Originally released on a weekly basis between 2016 and 2021, there are 200 episodes in total, making this an extremely bingeable show for latecomers like me. Since this is a review of the second season please note that this review does contain some spoilers for Season One. 

In Season Two we return to the mysterious Magnus Institute. Jonathan Sims and his fellow archivists are struggling to recover from the violent attack by the worm-filled entity formerly known as Jane Prentiss, which took place during the finale of Season One. The inescapable conclusion of those events is that some of the supernatural tales and experiences the institute meticulously documents are real. Jonathan and his assistants Tim and Martin are badly shaken and the first few episodes chart the impact of those events on them. For some strange reason Sasha doesn’t seem nearly so bothered.

The ever-changing tunnels under the institute also gave up another secret. The body of Sims’ predecessor, Gertrude Robinson, has been found and with it a stash of her own tape recordings. Sims manages to get his hands on some of these, allowing Gertrude’s voice (played superbly by Jonathan Sims’ own mother, Sue Sims) to be heard on the show for the first time. This provides the basis for some standout performances, especially Episode 62 First Edition, where she interviews the recurring character of Mary Keay, performed with an unsettling level of quiet menace by Carrie Cohen.

Gertrude’s fate and who was behind this plays on Jonathan Sims’ mind, so in this season we have recordings within recordings. The statements continue to be captured on tape and archived but in addition we have supplemental recordings, where Sims reports on the progress of his investigation to uncover who has murdered Gertrude. Suspecting it to be someone within the institute, he doesn’t know who to trust and Sims’ performance is filled with fear and growing paranoia as he tries to put the pieces together with limited success.

Overall, Season Two is delivered with more assurance now the premise and format of the show has been firmly established. Jonathan Sims really is a fantastic voice actor, taking each statement and delivering them with such nuance, creating a variety of voices that make you forget you’re listening to the Head Archivist until his thoughts break the spell at the end of each recording.

This show creates a brilliantly in-depth world, weaving together historical events recounted in the archive records with those which took place more recently. Everything has meaning and much of the fun comes from trying to work out how all these strands come together and what those connections mean. A number of questions posed in Season One are answered in Season Two, but Sims is a skilled writer and the balance between the ongoing mysteries which keep you listening and certain reveals is faultless. I also enjoyed the fact that the listener often knows more than Sims and his assistants, perfectly demonstrated in Sasha’s storyline. Stories like Episode 77 The Kind Mother will have you yelling into your speakers/headphones in frustration.
I’m only two seasons in (actually, this is a lie, as I couldn’t wait to write this review and have already started Season Three) but I can already tell this is a horror classic. Despite its low-budget origins (both of Sims’ parents play parts in the show) Sims and his producer, director and fellow actor, Alexander J Newell, have created something truly marvellous in The Magnus Archives, which is an absolute must for horror fans.