Netflix’s Boots has officially become fall’s most talked-about drama—and not just because of its powerful message. The series, inspired by Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine, follows a queer teen turned Marine recruit navigating identity, loyalty and belonging in the 1990s. With emotional performances from Miles Heizer and Kieron Moore, a real-world response from the Pentagon, and a finale fans can’t stop talking about, it’s no wonder everyone’s asking: Will there be a Boots Season 2?

Is ‘Boots’ on Netflix based on a true story?

Boots Season 1 debuted on Netflix at the beginning of October, consisting of eight episodes. The plot follows Cameron Cope (Miles Heizer), a queer, bullied teen in the 1990s turned U.S. Marine Corps recruit, who’s just trying to fit in. The plot came from a 2015 memoir entitled The Pink Marine, written by Greg Cope White.

“When the show started filming [in 2023], I don’t think we intended to have this message that’s so relevant to serving today,” Heizer said earlier this month, per Variety. “But then of course, as we’re making it, all these things started happening. It’s very interesting that Boots shines a light on what’s actually happening now, even though the show is set in 1990. It’s upsetting.”

Why the Pentagon responded to ‘Boots’

Following its debut, many people from around the country voiced their thoughts on the show, including the United States Pentagon, which oversees the real life Marine Corps.

“Under President Trump and Secretary [Pete] Hegseth, the U.S. military is getting back to restoring the warrior ethos. Our standards across the board are elite, uniform and sex neutral, because the weight of a rucksack or a human being doesn’t care if you’re a man, a woman, gay or straight,” Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. “We will not compromise our standards to satisfy an ideological agenda, unlike Netflix, whose leadership consistently produces and feeds woke garbage to their audience and children.”

Following that co-showrunner Andy Parker responded by telling TVInsider “I can’t speak to the controversy or what the Pentagon thinks about the show.”

“For me, what is exciting to see is just how many people are responding to the show. That level of response and connection has been incredible. And to be honest with you, not something that I anticipated,” he continued. “I knew the show would find an audience. I think it has a voice and an emotion and an appeal to people’s humanity that I think people are really hungry for right now. But I truly did not expect this kind of response.”

Who stars in the Netflix show ‘Boots’?

Along with Heizer—who is best known for the show 13 Reasons Why—Boots stars Ana Ayora, Blake Burt, Angus O’Brien, Cedrick Cooper, Dominic Goodman, Nichols Logan, Kieron Moore, Liam Oh and Cedrick Cooper.

“It is also wild to have a team of predominantly queer people behind the scenes,” Heizer said of the cast in the same Variety article. “To have so many queer people and women coming together to make this show, I think is very rare.”

“A guy came up to me the other day at the gym and said, ‘Are you in Boots? I was in the Coast Guard and I’m gay,’” he continued. “He didn’t have any trouble with it, but it’s cool to hear people tell their stories.”

After a shocking Season 1 finale—no spoilers, sorry—fans of Boots are desperately waiting for a second season. And while there is no official word on whether there will be one, several of the cast members are feeling hopeful that it will happen soon.

“I think we only scratch the surface for Slovacek ahead of season 2. If we get to go again, it’d be a really wonderful story to explore him a little bit more,” Moore told US Weekly of his character. “I’m just hoping that audience members are curious about him.”

“All of the characters are remarkable, but I know that for me and people around me, everyone [feels that] Slovacek doesn’t really get the time to become something,” he continued. “I think he’s very representative of a lot of young men out there that just need some guidance. They’ve got a skill, passion and abundance.”