Starz’s The Serpent Queen season two’s official trailer provides the first good look at Oscar nominee Minnie Driver as Queen Elizabeth I. The new season premieres on July 12, 2024 on the app and Starz linear.
Two-time Oscar nominee Samantha Morton leads the cast as Queen Mother Catherine de Medici. The returning cast includes Danny Kirrane (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales), Ray Panthaki (Away), Raza Jaffrey (Homeland), and Enzo Cilenti (The Last Tycoon). Also returning are Amrita Acharia (Game of Thrones), Ruby Bentall (Industry), Beth Goddard (Manhunt), Ludivine Sagnier (Lupin), and Rupert Everett (Adult Material).
Angus Imrie (Fleabag), Emma McDonald (Moonhaven), Stanley Morgan (The Sandman), and Philippine Velge (Station Eleven) have come on board as series regulars. Rosalie Craig (1899), Isobel Jesper Jones (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), Bill Milner (The Flatshare), Ashley Thomas (Them), and Alexandre Willaume (The Wheel of Time) recur in season two.
Poster for ‘The Serpent Queen’ season 2 (Photo Credit: Starz)
“The Serpent Queen tells the story of Catherine de Medici (Morton) who, against all odds, became one of the most powerful and longest-serving rulers in French history,” reads Starz’s synopsis. “In season two, Catherine de Medici is Queen Regent of France now that her son, Charles IX has come of age. Distracted by the personal conflicts of the Valois children, a new mysterious prophet named Edith gains a loyal following who vow to challenge the current religious establishment, sparking tension across the country. Feeling threatened by the rising strain, the divided court turn to their own schemes for selfish benefit. The Guises commit unholy acts while the Bourbons turn to a familiar foreign sovereign, Queen Elizabeth I of England in hopes of personal gain.
As France falls into political and religious turmoil, Catherine struggles to maintain her power, but The Serpent Queen will do whatever she needs to regain control.”
Based on Leonie Frieda’s Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France, The Serpent Queen is written and executive produced by Justin Haythe. Additional executive producers include Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games Franchise) and Erwin Stoff (Edge of Tomorrow). Lionsgate Television and 3 Arts Entertainment produce.
Tongayi Chirisa as Talamasca agent Ciprien Grieve in ‘Mayfair Witches’ (Photo Credit: Alfonso Bresciani / AMC)
Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe is expanding at AMC Networks with the addition of Anne Rice’s The Talamasca (working title). The new series is targeting a 2025 premiere and has Oscar nominee John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) and Mark Lafferty (Halt and Catch Fire) confirmed as writers, co-showrunners, and executive producers.
The first season will consist of just six episodes airing on AMC and AMC+. Filming is expected to begin this fall in Manchester, England.
“This is a story we’ve been developing and wanting to tell from the earliest moments of this franchise, focused on a fascinating and compelling secret society that has already appeared in both of our existing Anne Rice series, The Talamasca,” stated Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks. “As with all of these shows, we are thrilled to have such a high level of talent involved, represented here by John Lee Hancock and Mark Lafferty, and of course working closely with producer Mark Johnson as the creative head of our Anne Rice Immortal Universe.”
John Lee Hancock is confirmed to direct.
“This all started for me with a call from Mark Johnson, who asked if I’d ever heard of The Talamasca. I was intrigued by the idea of an organization that, to me, had more than a passing resemblance to the CIA or MI6, which are necessary but not always necessarily transparent. An organization with its own secrets. Thankfully, Dan McDermott liked the take and so did Mark Lafferty, who is so talented and accomplished in the world of television,” said Hancock. “Many thanks to everyone from Gran Via to Mark Lafferty, to our talented writers and everyone at AMC, who have been supporters, advocates and cheerleaders from day one. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be involved and look forward to presenting a third series in the Anne Rice Immortal Universe.”
The new series focuses the men and women responsible for tracking and containing the witches, vampires, werewolves and other creatures scattered around the globe.
“With the second season of Interview with the Vampire currently receiving the best reviews of any show on television and with the production of Mayfair Witches about to wrap in Ireland, promising an even more compelling and unnerving second season, the question is what do we now add to the Immortal Universe of Anne Rice? The answer is a completely different show from the first two, but a show that nevertheless belongs under the Anne Rice umbrella,” said Mark Johnson. “The Talamasca marries the procedural spy thriller with the supernatural and expands the thrills and the pleasures of our franchise’s ambitions.”
Emma D’Arcy and Matt Smith in ‘House of the Dragon’ season 2 (Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO)
Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith, and Harry Collett were among the members of Team Black who took part in HBO’s House of the Dragon season two press conference. The new season finds the Seven Kingdoms in a state of chaos, with Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (D’Arcy), Prince Daemon Targaryen (Smith), Prince Jacaerys ‘Jace’ Velaryon (Collett) and their allies preparing for war against the newly crowned King Aegon II Targaryen.
Season two begins with an episode titled “A Son for a Son.” Rhaenyra and Daemon are grieving not just the loss of King Viserys, but also the murder of Prince Lucerys by Prince Aemond. Episode one’s title implies that Luke’s death will be quickly avenged. However, viewers will have to tune in on Sunday, June 16, 2024 at 9pm ET/PT to find out how that might be accomplished.
The following are spoiler-free highlights from House of the Dragon‘s recent press conference in support of the launch of season two.
On the impact of season one’s younger version on her performance in season two:
Emma D’Arcy: “It’s been really nice, actually, coming back to the show. I like to be quite a conscientious worker, so understanding the job description better really suits my conscience. And yeah, I mean I think we’re very lucky. A lot of the work of an actor, I think, is to sort of fill in the unseen time. I think that’s like a lot of the labor, the labor of love is to fill in the unseen time. And in this case, I can actually just watch it on my telly. It’s lovely. [It’s] very unusual to have a sort of character grounding that you can literally watch and return to.
I’ve sort of said this before, but I had never, I suppose, shared the character with another actor with a different age before. I’d never done that timeshare. But I think it does a lovely job of physicalizing, externalizing the split self. I definitely, when I think of myself as a younger person, I think I perceive myself from the outside, as though they were now a person I could have a conversation with and advise or something. So, yeah, I just thought that that sort of structurally, that was beautifully imagined here. Where you can see the younger self from the outside and see the sort of division in time, division of maturity, or something.”
On how the death of King Viserys affects Daemon moving forward:
Matt Smith: “He lost everything. I think it’s all about … Emma mentioned in this meeting we had earlier that kind of grief is the great catalyst of the season in many ways. And I think that, yeah, everything is about the death of his brother, really. Every single action is often related to him. I think it sort of allows this to see a version of Daemon which is slightly more exposed and honest, and he just misses him. Doesn’t even know how to communicate that. It’s quite simple, really. So he’s like a f**king crazy person, which is great.
Yeah, and I miss Paddy [Considine] as well. So, it’s life and art imitating itself.”
On playing a character who isn’t the loudest voice in the room yet wields great power:
Emma D’Arcy: “I suppose I was interested in a character who never expected to find herself in this position. She doesn’t start series one expecting to be heir. And she has a personality that is built by [being] in some way marginal, like still in this deeply privileged royal family. But she gets quite a lot of freedom because she’s not expected to take on responsibility. She’s not expected to be a ruling person.
I guess I was really interested in the total dissolution of self that comes with being told suddenly that actually it’s you. And like suddenly being centered when you had all of your sort of tenacity, your humor comes from being sort of de-centered. I wanted to see what it was like just to watch a person try to put on power and also, I guess, witness how that’s then received by people around her, to varying degrees of success.
I was imagining, especially in season one, what it would be like to take on an incredibly high – walk into an incredibly high-powered job having never done [it]. I mean, I wanted to bring imposter syndrome into fantasy, I suppose, because presumably that would be honest. And then, I suppose by series two, that trepidation has become quite fatigued, I think. I think she is tired of the softer approach, that sort of endless doublethink, a desire to do something and having to choose a path of manipulation or careful persuasion, so that you don’t watch people’s prejudice get weaponized against you. I think that’s starting to run thin by series two.”
On not having any time jumps in season two after the huge leap forward in season one:
Matt Smith: “How has it made it different? Well, l look, I suppose there’s a more condensed period that you see. I mean, you see a lot happen to Daemon in quite a shorter period of time, but it’s just like a more condensed whirlwind, really. It’s still a vortex of chaos and vengeance and madness and sort of weird signs all coupled together. Just sort of squashed into a tiny two-week ball of madness with Simon Russell Beale. He plays Ser Simon Strong who is amazing, by the way. Yeah. So, it was good. It allowed for a good deal of unraveling.”
Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy in ‘House of the Dragon’ season 2 (Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO)
On Daemon and Rhaenyra’s relationship following Viserys’ death:
Emma D’Arcy: “I think the fact that they can’t communicate really proves an obstacle in the series. I suppose, once again it’s kind of the working of grief. I don’t know that either of them are able to find solace, actually, with each other in this loss of Viserys and the loss of Lucerys, subsequently. I don’t think that they can share that. I don’t feel that Daemon can share his experience of losing his brother. And, yeah, so I think there’s a dislocation taking place.”
Matt Smith: “I agree. I think they can’t unburden themselves from this shadow. And the way he died was so horrendous, and they were right there next to it seeing all of him decompose. I think there’s this sort of elephant in the room constantly that they refer back to. And they sort of weaponize against each other and it’s quite uncomfortable for both.
I think I personally believe that there is a very deep sense of love between the two of them, which is challenged in many quarters. But it’s tested because it’s like he feels unaccepted by her, I think, and reacts as Daemon reacts.”
On if there’s a particular aspect of his incredibly complex character he enjoys delving into:
Matt Smith: “Yeah, I do, loads of them, absolute madman. No, do you know what I quite like about Daemon is that he flies by the beat of his own drum. And that he’s, I think, like his moral compass is his own. I admire that about him. I admire his conviction in his mistakes and his actions. For better or worse, he does them anyway. He’s like a f**kin’ wild man, ‘This is how I’m gonna roll!’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah!’ I play just to that. I like feeling that spirit of chaos and bravado. It’s like walking on a piece of glass. Yeah, it’s that and I like the tightrope that he’s defined for himself.”
Harry Collett and Tom Taylor in ‘House of the Dragon’ season 2 (Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO)
On how the hair and costumes helped him get into character:
Harry Collett: “This season it’s just, I always say this, but it is just genuinely like bigger and better. The way the costumes were done, especially this year, it just felt so immersive. As soon as I put that costume on, I just looked at myself in the mirror. I was like, ‘Damn, I’m Jace now.’
It was very, very immersive, especially the whole Winterfell cloak stuff. That was really, really cool. It just felt really surreal. And yeah, [the] props, it’s so in detail. There are scrolls that you can pick up in any room, and it will be written out in Velaryon or something like that. It’s just so unbelievably detailed. And little things like that, when you step on set, it just helps you experience getting into character, and it makes it so much easier.”
On emotional connections and a favorite moment from the new season:
Harry Collett: “I mean for me, personally, I was excited about having that mother/son moment with Rhaenyra because we don’t really get to see them two have any moments like that in season one. And to watch them connect on the script and then finally on screen, it was just really nice because it’s just very real. Obviously, they’ve both been caught up in various things and when they finally just sort of leap into each other’s arms, I just thought that was a really beautiful moment.
Yeah, I don’t think I will say anything else about that…”
Oscar nominee Steve Carell (the voice of Gru) provides a crash course in “The Megaverse” in Illumination’s new Despicable Me 4 featurette. In the one-minute video, Carell jokes that the five Mega Minions in the film are just the start of the Megaverse: 50 interconnected stories shared across various mediums for the next 100 years.
Kristen Wiig returns as Lucy, Miranda Cosgrove is back as Margo, and Dana Gaier reprises her role as Edith. The voice cast also features Madison Polan as Agnes, Steve Coogan as Silas Ramsbottom, and Pierre Coffin as the voices of the minions. Newcomers to the weird world of minion mania include Will Ferrell and Sofia Vergara as Maxime Le Mal and Valentina. Joey King (Bullet Train), Stephen Colbert (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert), and Chloe Fineman (Saturday Night Live) also voice new characters.
“Following the 2022 summer blockbuster phenomenon of Illumination’s Minions: The Rise of Gru, which earned almost $1 billion worldwide, the biggest global animated franchise in history now begins a new chapter as Gru and Lucy and their girls — Margo, Edith, and Agnes — welcome a new member to the Gru family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad,” reads Illumination’s synopsis. “Gru faces a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal and his femme fatale girlfriend Valentina, and the family is forced to go on the run.”
Oscar nominee Chris Renaud (Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pets) directs from a screenplay by Emmy winner Mike White (White Lotus) and Despicable Me veteran Ken Daurio. Patrick Delage co-directs, with Illumination’s founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and Brett Hoffman producing.
Despicable Me 4 opens in theaters on July 3, 2024.
AMC’s Interview with the Vampire outdid itself with season two episode five, “Don’t Be Afraid, Just Start the Tape.” The bar for the remaining season two episodes has been set high, and now the question is whether episode six will be able to live up to its immediate predecessor. We can hope, right?
Season two episode six, “The Light By Which God Made the World Before He Made Light,” airs on Sunday, June 16, 2024 at 9pm ET/PT.
The season two cast is led by Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac, Eric Bogosian as Daniel Molloy, and Assad Zaman as Armand. Sam Reid stars as Lestat de Lioncourt, Ben Daniels is Santiago, and Delainey Hayles takes over the role of Claudia.
Assad Zaman as Armand in ‘Interview with the Vampire’ season 2 episode 6 (Photo Credit: Larry Horricks/AMC)
Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Plot, Courtesy of AMC:
The interview continues in season two. In the year 2022, the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac (Anderson) recounts his life story to journalist Daniel Molloy (Bogosian). Picking up from the bloody events in New Orleans in 1940 when Louis and teen fledgling Claudia (Hayles) conspired to kill the Vampire Lestat de Lioncourt (Reid), Louis tells of his adventures in Europe, a quest to discover Old World Vampires and the Theatre Des Vampires in Paris, with Claudia.
It is in Paris that Louis first meets the Vampire Armand (Zaman). Their courtship and love affair will prove to have devastating consequences both in the past and in the future, and Molloy will probe to get to the truths buried within the memories.
Ben Daniels as Santiago in season 2 episode 6 (Photo Credit: Larry Horricks/AMC)Roxane Duran as Madeleine in season 2 episode 6 (Photo Credit: Larry Horricks/AMC)Jan Hofman as Basilic, Matej Strunc as Merde’Em, and Ben Bradshaw as Hans Luchenbaum in season 2 episode 6 (Photo Credit: Larry Horricks/AMC)Suzanne Andrade as Celeste, Emse Appleton as Estelle, Jordan Unachukwu as Planche and Genevieve Dunne as Eglee in season 2 episode 6 (Photo Credit: Larry Horricks/AMC)Jacob Anderson as Louis De Point Du Lac in season 2 episode 6 (Photo Credit: Larry Horricks/AMC)Delainey Hayles as Claudia in season 2 episode 6 (Photo Credit: Larry Horricks/AMC)
CBS’s The Real CSI: Miami marks the first true crime series of the popular CSI franchise. The first season kicks off on June 26, 2024, and focuses on investigations into real-life cases with an emphasis on the families affected by the crimes.
The network released this description of episode one, “The Catch:” On a quiet island in the Florida Keys, a tragic double murder shattered the community. Among the victims was a beloved neighbor and devoted mother, Tara Rosada, who had dreams of a bright future for her family after she finally cut ties with her troubled ex-husband and met a new love, Carlos Ortiz. Florida’s most tech-savvy crime scene investigators utilized cutting-edge data forensic techniques to retrieve deleted, buried, and drowned evidence and bring this community justice, on the series premiere.
This sixth entry in the CSI franchise is executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Anthony E. Zuiker, KristieAnne Reed, and Ann Donahue. Additional executive producers include Carol Mendelsohn, Jo Sharon, Casey Kriley, and John Henshaw. The series is produced by JBTV and Magical Elves.
New episodes will air on Wednesdays at 10pm ET/PT.
The original CSI premiered in 2000 followed by CSI: Miami in 2002, CSI: New York in 2004, CSI: Cyber in 2015, and CSI: Vegas in 2021. CSI: Vegas was recently canceled after just three seasons.
Sundance Now and AMC+ have set a June 27, 2024 U.S. premiere date for Domino Day: Lone Witch. The supernatural drama, which premiered on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer earlier this year, follows BAFTA nominee Siena Kelly (Adult Material, Hit & Run) as a modern-day witch who makes use of dating apps … but not to find a date.
New episodes of the six-episode season stream on Thursdays.
“Hailed by critics as ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Charmed,’ this supernatural drama follows Domino Day (Kelly), a powerful young witch with a dark secret – she has to feed on the energy of humans to survive,” reads Sundance Now’s synopsis. “What she doesn’t know is that a coven of witches is already tracking her every move, convinced they have to stop her before her powers destroy everyone and everything around her. When a dangerous figure from Domino’s past comes back to haunt her, will it be a fresh start for them all … or a final showdown?”
Series star Siena Kelly says we’ll meet Domino when she’s in a bad place. “When we meet her she’s already aware she’s a witch and is experiencing this deep hunger that she doesn’t know how to control. The only way she can satiate it is if she feeds on humans, which she doesn’t like doing,” offered Kelly. “It’s scary for her that she can’t control it and she doesn’t even know what she’s trying to control. So it’s her journey of learning how to control this urge and learning where it came from and what it means.”
The season one cast includes Babirye Bukilwa (Dreaming Whilst Black) as Sammie, Poppy Lee Friar (Mr Selfridge) as Geri, Alisha Bailey (Grace) as Kat, and Molly Harris (Industry) as Jules. Sam Howard Sneyd (The Children) plays Silas, Percelle Ascott (I Came By) is Leon, Lucy Cohu (Cobra) is Esme, Christopher Jeffers (The Order One) is Mike, and Jonah Rzeskiewicz (Masters of the Air) is Jason.
SIENA KELLY in ‘Domino Day: Lone Witch’ (Photo Credit: Dancing Ledge Productions,Sophie Mutevelian)
Lauren Sequeira (Gangs of London) created the series and serves as writer and executive producer. Eva Sigurdardottir (Good Night) and Nadira Amrani (Extraordinary) direct, and Charlene James (A Discovery of Witches) and Haleema Mirza (Secret Invasion) are season one writers. Additional executive producers include Laurence Bowen, Chris Carey and Elinor Day for Dancing Ledge Productions, and Lucy Richer and Ayela Butt for the BBC.
Sequeira describes the lead character as a very powerful witch who doesn’t understand the extent of her powers. “All she knows is she needs to feed off the energy of others and she uses dating apps to find her victims,” explained Sequeira in an interview with BBC. “There is a coven of witches based in Manchester that see her as a threat and want to stop her before she hurts someone.”
ALISHA BAILEY in episode 1 (Photo Credit: Dancing Ledge Productions, Sophie Mutevelian)MOLLY HARRIS in episode one (Photo Credit: Dancing Ledge Productions, Sophie Mutevelian)SIENA KELLY and PERCELLE ASCOTT in episode 1 (Photo Credit: Dancing Ledge Productions, Sophie Mutevelian)SIENA KELLY in episode 1 (Photo Credit: Dancing Ledge Productions, Sophie Mutevelian)
Grammy winner Melissa Etheridge recalls growing up in Leavenworth and seeing the prison from her backyard in the official trailer for Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken. The documentary series spotlights Etheridge’s work with Topeka Correctional Facility residents and explores the increase in female incarceration over the past four decades.
Brian Morrow and Amy Scott directed the two-part docuseries, with Shark Pig Studios’ Jonathan Lynch producing. Etheridge serves as an executive producer along with Primary Wave Music’s Deb Klein; BMG Films’ Kathy Rivkin Daum and William Kennedy; and MTV Entertainment Studios’ Bruce Gillmer and Michael Maniaci.
Melissa Etheridge in ‘Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken’ (Photo Credit: James Moes / Paramount+)
“Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken tells an inspiring story of healing and transcendence through the power of music when five female residents from the Topeka Correctional Facility, a women’s prison in Kansas, write letters to Etheridge that she then uses as inspiration to create and perform an original song for them. Having recently lost her son to opioids, Etheridge works to understand and interrupt the cycle of addiction while connecting with these women who, so often, are forgotten by society,” reads Paramount+’s synopsis. “Additionally, the docuseries explores themes of female incarceration, redemption, substance abuse, generational trauma, grief and healing. With female incarceration rates up 700 percent since 1980, Etheridge bonds with the women through the conduit of music as an act of empathy, understanding and hope.”
The docuseries premieres on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 on Paramount+.
Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy in ‘House of the Dragon’ season 2 (Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO)
Co-creator, writer, and executive producer Ryan Condal takes on sole showrunner duties with the much-anticipated second season of HBO’s House of the Dragon. Season one ended with Queen Alicent snatching the crown from the rightful heir, Princess Rhaenyra, following the death of King Viserys Targaryen. Alicent conspired with her father, Ser Otto Hightower (Hand of the King), and the small council to name Aegon ruler of the Seven Kingdoms before Rhaenyra learned of the death of her beloved father.
Season two finds the Seven Kingdoms on the verge of what promises to be an incredibly bloody civil war. Once best friends, Rhaenyra (Team Black) and Alicent (Team Green) are now powerful opposing forces in the battle for the Iron Throne.
House of the Dragon season two premieres on June 16, 2024, with new episodes airing on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. HBO hosted a press conference in support of the new season, which was divided into three parts: Ryan Condal alone and then Condal with Team Green, followed by Condal with Team Black. The following are key takeaways from Condal’s portion of the press conference.
House of the Dragon Season 2 Ryan Condal Press Conference Highlights
Confirming season two’s new dragon count:
Ryan Condal: “I think I promised five and I think it’s still correct. I said five a year and a half ago and I think I’m sticking to it, so five new ones that you haven’t seen before, I think…”
On season one’s finale setting the stage for the scope of season two:
Ryan Condal: “Well, that was the place that, going back now five years, we always wanted to end the first season with because we felt like that was the proper moment that sort of catalyzed everything else that followed. But really, the question was how do you build up to that moment and have it not only land as a moment of spectacle and shock and all that, but something truly rooted in the many years-long character dynamics that we’ve been setting up since Rhaenyra and Alicent were children? And we felt like if we did that and then that moment would land with the impact that I think it did, then we’d be off to the races.
And then at that point, people are invested. I think that’s my hope is that that’s where we are right now. [Season two] picks up a couple days later and off we go to the next horrible tragedy.”
On the loss of so many characters in season one influencing writing season two:
Ryan Condal: “I mean, it’s a point of no return in a way. I mean, there are multiple points of no return it feels like in this show because everything … it’s one of these kinds of entrenched conflicts. So, you have these two sides that share a lot of common history that hate each other, and the hatred only gets worse as things go on and the tragedies pile up. And it felt like Vhagar killing Luke was–that’s a big sea change in the way things are going to be looked at. And then what are they going to? What’s the counterpunch? What’s the counter-response to that?
And, again, we just wanted to set all that stuff up so that you know all of the characters and understand where they’re coming from, and what makes them weak and strong and what they want and what they love, and then throw them into the mix and see how they respond.”
Harry Collett, Emma D’Arcy, and Oscar Eskinazi in ‘House of the Dragon’ season 2 (Photograph by Theo Whitman/HBO)
Creating the balance between larger-than-life dragons and stunt work and vulnerable human emotions:
Ryan Condal: “I mean that’s the trick of the job. It’s television, ultimately, so you’re telling these big stories that are often at an intimate scale. I think the things that I’m proudest of in the show are often two characters in a room in conflict with one another because you’re making the shows 8 episodes, which amounts to probably about nine hours of television all end to end. You can’t fill it all with dragons fighting each other. You have to have these kind of stage stories. And those are the things that I think people engage with most are the character levels. So that when the spectacle comes, if you’ve done your job right, you care about the characters involved with the spectacle and that’s why you take up this really emotional experience out of it.”
On not just recreating the magic but finding new ways to elevate the story:
Ryan Condal: “We sort of run from one thing to the other in this show, so it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, there was a first season. It wasn’t just all one thing that ran into itself.’ No, I mean, I’ve said my anxiety in season one […] was is anybody going to watch the show? And because you’re following The Beatles, the most successful television show of all time, how do you follow that? You don’t. You just try to make something good that stands on its own.
I think that was the challenge in season one, and I think there are less nerves going into season two. But now we also have to kind of outdo ourselves, because that’s the expectation set before us.”
On Author George R.R. Martin’s involvement in season two:
Ryan Condal: “Well, look, I mean, he wrote the book, so in that way, he’s always with us. But yeah, he’s very busy [there] working in this massive universe. They want to make many more shows about this world. He’s definitely aware of what’s going on. I do keep in contact with him. But I think now that we’re kind of off to the races with the show and we’ve done a good job about rendering Fire and Blood into dramatic form, that I think we’re operating on our own now, in a good way. But George always looms large in the background of House of the Dragon.”
On the continuing appeal of the fantasy world created by George R.R. Martin:
Ryan Condal: “They’re just incredibly well-crafted stories and characters. It always goes back to the characters for me with that world. And I think if you were to move slightly beyond that, I would just say that the world is so textural and well-realized that it feels real. Even reading Fire and Blood, which again, is a fake history book … which is George’s words, not mine … it’s an in-world history written about this, which could be very dry but it’s incredibly engaging because it’s so textural.
I think because it’s … this is no secret, but Fire and Blood, or this story, this particular story is based on the Anarchy, which is a famous and very bloody conflict that happened in English Medieval history. I think those little touchpoints that connect to real history make it feel real versus coming into a world that’s entirely fantastical and entirely made up from whole cloth. It does feel like it actually happened in a lot of ways, particularly to me who lives it every day.
But I mean, I don’t know. I think that’s it. And that helps inform all of the sets and the banners and the costumes.”
Olivia Cooke in ‘house of the Dragon’ season 2 (Photograph by Theo Whitman/HBO)
Challenges faced by Alicent Hightower in season two following Aegon crowned King:
Ryan Condal: “I think Alicent gets put through the wringer this year and is really forced to kind of come to reckon with the fact that the thing that she was sort of groomed to do since she was 14 years old, by her father, which is to lift up the greatness of her own house, she’s done that and now she’s had a son who’s a king. [She] put him on the throne and, in doing so, has diminished her own power. Because the minute Aegon wears the crown, Alicent’s power as queen is reduced, because she’s no longer the queen of the Seven Kingdoms. She’s now the dowager queen, the queen that used to be.
I think she probably didn’t realize in the moment how much of a, even though it’s a subtle thing, power shift that is. And I think very much this season, so much of what Alicent experiences is reckoning with this thing that she was sort of made to do her entire life, did it, accomplished it, and then how it’s landed on her and what that means.”
Structuring season two without any time jumps:
Ryan Condal: “I mean, it was a great challenge in structuring season one just because of that. And really, it was less the sort of figuring out the time jumps, as they’ve been come to be called. It’s like how do you cover 20 years of story and history in 10 episodes of a brand-new television show and expect everybody to follow it?
I think in season one, really, up until the very end, the episodes sort of happen in these discrete timelines. So, the traditional tools that we rely on as storytellers where you have a cliffhanger at the end of episode two and then you pick up in episode three, you could do a little bit of that. But because they were happening in these, again, discrete time zones, it was harder to lean on that. So, these stories had to be kind of complete as formed.
And now in season two it’s very much … I think this is traditional serialized storytelling where it’s all happening in real-time, and we kind of move from episode to episode. And it’s exciting because it’s a way of keeping momentum moving and building excitement and all those things.
There were challenges definitely to season two, but I think season one was a particular narrative pretzel that I did. And I don’t know that we need to do that again.”
On the challenges of adapting such a complex, overarching story:
Ryan Condal: “I think there’s nothing unique necessarily about this show versus other shows that are multi-point-of-view. It’s just there are so many wonderful characters in the show, all of which have their own three-dimensional, four-dimensional, five-dimensional stories. It’s how do you keep the narrative moving forward, tell character stories within, and service everybody in a way that feels deeply rich and realized, and have them cross and interact with each other, sometimes when they’re not literally crossing and interacting.
And something I’m particularly proud of this season that we found in the sort of post-production process is, as everybody knows, Alicent and Rhaenyra are – even though they spent much of season one together, they’re now apart. They’re literally on different islands and they don’t interact with each other. But in the editing, we found ways to connect those characters. If you see Alicent going through something particularly deep and emotional and you cut to Rhaenyra, there is a kind of filmmaking connection there. And I don’t know, I think that it’s the dimensionality of the story and just trying to keep all those plates spinning with a cast of fantastic actors from top to bottom. You want to give them all the screen time they deserve.”
Jeremy Renner as Mike McLusky in ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ season 3 episode 2 (Photo Credit: Dennis P. Mong Jr./Paramount +)
Paramount+ Mayor of Kingstown season three episode one confirmed Miriam passed away, Robert is back to causing chaos on the streets, and the Aryan Brotherhood is going to continue to wage war on other gangs and Mike. Plus, there’s a new Russian mob boss in town.
Season three episode two opens with Mike (Jeremy Renner) thinking about incarceration being a business and prisoners just their product. Mike knows convictions affect entire families. He also believes that cops/COs are trapped in their own cages, as well.
Over at the prison, one of Raphael’s men – Big Hush – becomes violently ill, foaming at the mouth and in intense pain. Hush dies within minutes as the gang attempts to figure out what to do next.
Mike’s back to taking meetings in his office, and his first of the day is with a mom whose son was murdered. The killer, Greg Stewart, turned out to be her son’s friend who pretended to know nothing about the incident while comforting her in the days following her son’s death. Greg’s locked up in StoneBrook Prison, but after years of serving his sentence, the parole board has just agreed to release him. Anna (Paula Malcomson) wonders if Mike can make something happen that would add years to his sentence and overturn the release.
He’ll look into it but doesn’t make any promises.
Mike rings Carney (Lane Garrison) to get the number of his sister who works at StoneBrook. While they’re on the phone, an emergency call from a janitor comes over the radio reporting a dead body in a storage room and demanding help. Apparently, it’s a very bloody scene.
Carney’s still on the phone with Mike when he takes off running. He enters the storage room and, yes, there’s LOTS of blood. He takes a tumble, slipping in guts and gore. The scene’s so grotesque that even Carney tosses his cookies.
Mike meets with Bunny (Tobi Bamtefa) who confirms a heroin balloon probably popped inside Hush. It happens. Bunny also confirms one of his people, Sharon, gave the balloons to Hush, and that junkies won’t care if it was “squeezed out of Hush like toothpaste.” Mike wants Bunny to press pause on Sharon’s deliveries, but Bunny refuses. Mike leaves with a final warning to be smart.
Emma Laird as Iris in ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ season 3 episode 2 (Photo Credit: Dennis P. Mong Jr./ Paramount+)
Elsewhere, Iris (Emma Laird) gets pulled over after blowing through a few stop signs. The situation escalates when Iris refuses to step out of the car after admitting she doesn’t have a license. Instead, she tries to start the car.
Warden Kareem Moore (Michael Beach) orders Carney to lock down the yard after two inmates begin convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
Bunny suspects someone got to Sharon. He calls Mike and suggests that Sharon must have cut the heroin. Mike reminds Bunny he warned him to reach out to Sharon, and Bunny’s worried they’ll come after Raphael for retribution. Mike promises he’ll make it right, and Bunny understandably worries about what that will entail.
Assistant district attorney Evelyn Foley (Necar Zadegan) shows up at the prison to investigate the deaths. People are dying on the streets too, and Warden Moore explains that after Hush died from what they thought was a balloon rupturing, the Crips cut him open and sold the remaining balloons anyway. However, it turns out that heroin isn’t the cause of these deaths. It’s some sort of poison brought into the prison by a mule working for Bunny and the Crips.
Carney’s in desperate need of a mental health day after slipping and sliding in Hush’s guts. Instead, he’s still at work and talking to Mike who’s just showed up to get to the bottom of things. Mike meets with Raphael (D Smoke) and claims he’s speaking for Bunny when he says Raphael needs to cut a deal with the Mexicans for a clean supply. Raphael doesn’t think they’ll work with him, so Mike suggests the Colombians or Guatemalans as alternatives. Raph doesn’t trust Mike, but Mike doesn’t care. If Raphael offers a double payout, the Mexicans or whoever will make a deal.
Kareem and Carney get into it over Mike, with Kareem insisting Mike’s a criminal who aids other criminals. Carney believes that Mike is their only shot at keeping any semblance of peace and that he can be trusted.
Meanwhile, Kyle (Taylor Handley) calls Mike with news that Iris isn’t home. She took their mom’s car hours ago to grab some groceries and hasn’t returned. Kyle gives Mike a hard time about not meeting his nephew yet, and Mike promises to drop in later. He doesn’t seem concerned that Iris is gone.
Evelyn has Mike meet her at the morgue, and he forces her to admit she needs his help. They’ve determined the heroin’s laced with a combination of drugs but haven’t figured out the combo yet. She points out the bodies of a 22-year-old, a 30-year-old, and a mother of three who doesn’t have a history of long-term drug use. (She also doesn’t have any track marks.) Evelyn describes the victims as breaking out in sores like lepers. It’s happening on the streets and in the prison. She’s worried it will hit the schools next.
Mike admits he doesn’t know what’s going on.
While Iris is being booked at the police station and refusing to allow her fingerprints to be taken, Kyle and Tracy are at home with their new baby. Kyle’s spent six hours struggling to put a piece of baby furniture together, with Tracy laughing at his frustration. Luckily for Kyle, he’s allowed to take a break when Robert (Hamish Allan-Headley) and his wife, Patty, show up to visit the new baby.
Kyle has a private chat with Robert and confesses he’s considering transferring to SWAT. Robert doesn’t think it’s a good match and suggests Kyle stay in Homicide.
Ian (Hugh Dillon) and Mike have a late-night talk at the diner, and Ian reveals they found Sharon murdered across the street from Anchor Bay. Mike believes she messed with Bunny’s drugs and wonders if there’s anyone new in town. Ian says there’s a new Russian named Konstantin cleaning up after Milo … an important bit of news that Mike can’t believe he wasn’t already looped in on.
Carney briefly joins them, pissed off that Kareem reassigned him to def-watch. He’s forced to pick through mounds of literal sh*t all afternoon. Mike excuses Kareem’s behavior, reminding him that Kareem has PTSD and deserves a break. Carney understands that but claims that doesn’t make Kareem a saint. “And it’s not like he didn’t even the f**king score,” adds Carney.
Mike’s stunned. He asks Carney to explain, but Carney just walks off.
Mike and Ian head to Sharon’s brother’s house and ask if he knows why his car was at Anchor Bay. They don’t mention his sister’s death and instead ask what she did with the drugs she skimmed off Bunny. Lucas denies she would ever go against Bunny. He doesn’t seem to have any idea what she’s up to, and finally, Ian breaks the news that Sharon is dead.
Mike calls it a night and leaves a voice message for Iris before turning in. He tells her it’s okay if she took off; he just wants to make sure she’s okay.
Mike was unable to get Greg the killer’s parole revoked. Carney’s sister told him Greg was a model prisoner who did everything right. The murderer victim’s mom, Anna, thanks Mike for trying and hands him a roll of cash, noting that he has a caring face.
Tobi Bamtefa as Bunny and Jeremy Renner as Mike McLusky in ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ season 3 episode 2 (Photo Credit: Dennis P. Mong Jr./ Paramount+)
Morning arrives, and Mike calls Bunny to tell him he’s the target of whatever’s going on. Someone’s messing with his product, but they don’t know who.
Gunner, the leader of the Aryan Brotherhood who’s on the verge of being released, is suffocated to death while talking to his daughter in the visitor’s area. The daughter can only scream for help and watch in horror as another AB prisoner murders her father.
Mike finally makes it home to meet his nephew. As he pulls into the driveway, he sees the happy family through the window. Mike pauses for a moment and then backs out of the driveway.
Episode two ends with Anna waiting at a bus stop. The bus arrives and a man steps out. She calls out, “Greg,” and when he turns to face her, she shoots him four times in the chest.
Mike knocks on Evelyn’s door late at night. They exchange looks but no words are spoken as she lets him in.
