Netflix asked Russian Doll to change its original ending because it was too similar to Maniac

Indiewire

Co-creator Leslye Headland found having to change the ending frustrating, but says it ultimately benefitted the first season. “I guess the thing we had pitched was similar to a twist in Maniac," she tells Indiewire. "And they were like, ‘We are very sad to tell you this, obviously no one knows this except the people that are working on Maniac, which happens to be us, this feels like it’s a little too close to that.’ That was a hard day.” She adds: “We worked really hard to figure this out, but what was amazing is the ending that we came up with, was, in my opinion, a gajillion times better than the ending we had come up with before. It was much harder and more challenging, and it was more of a nailbiter, in the sense that (it was a risk) if this doesn’t get pulled off correctly.”