TNT has set a May 30, 2017 premiere date for season two of the hit dramatic series, Animal Kingdom. Season two will consist of 13 new episodes airing on Tuesdays at 9pm ET/PT and starring Ellen Barkin, Scott Speedman, and Shawn Hatosy. The season two cast also includes Ben Robson, Jake Weary, Finn Cole, Molly Gordon, and Carolina Guerra.
Animal Kingdom is inspired by writer/director David Michôd’s critically acclaimed film and was developed for television by Jonathan Lisco. Lisco, Michôd, Liz Watts, John Wells, Christopher Chulack, and Etan Frankel executive produce. Season one averaged 5.5 million viewers and was one of cable’s top five new dramatic shows among adults 18-49.
The Plot: In season one of Animal Kingdom, 17-year-old Joshua “J” Cody (Cole) moved in with his freewheeling relatives in their Southern California beach town after his mother overdoses on heroin. He finds himself in the care of his estranged grandmother, Janine “Smurf” Cody (Barkin), a woman who rules her sons with a firm but, at times, emotionally incestuous hand. Her second in command is Barry “Baz” Blackwell (Speedman), whose power and position in the family is threatened by the return of Pope (Hatosy), Smurf’s eldest son just released from prison. Smurf’s tough, impulsive middle son, Craig (Robson), has a drug problem beginning to cloud his judgment and endanger the rest of the family, and Deran (Weary), the troubled and suspicious “baby” of the family struggles with accepting his sexual identity. Hovering on the edge of this less-than-idyllic household are J’s girlfriend, Nicky Belmont (Gordon) and Baz’s daughter, Lena. It isn’t long after J’s arrival that he finds his place within the dangerous family, a sense of belonging that he earns at the conclusion of season one.
As the second season opens, the Cody clan is back to their old ways and in the midst of a fun, high-adrenaline heist. But when things don’t go as planned, the family dynamics become more fractured than ever as some members advocate for independence from Smurf. Adding fuel to the fire is an external threat from Smurf’s past that has come back to haunt her.
