Premiering on Netflix beginning April 27th is the second season of the popular series ‘Sweet Tooth,’ which is based on the comic book series of the same name by Jeff Lemire, and is executive produced by Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Amanda Burrell.
What is the plot of ‘Sweet Tooth’ season 2?
Following the events of the first season of ‘Sweet Tooth,’ the second season involves begins as a deadly new wave of the Sick bears down, and Gus (Christian Convery) and a band of fellow hybrids are held prisoner by General Abbot (Neil Sandilands) and the Last Men. Looking to consolidate power by finding a cure, Abbot uses the children as fodder for the experiments of captive Dr. Aditya Singh (Adeel Akhtar), who’s racing to save his infected wife Rani (Aliza Vellani).
To protect his friends, Gus agrees to help Dr. Singh, beginning a dark journey into his origins and his mother Birdie’s (Amy Seimetz) role in the events leading up to The Great Crumble. Outside the Preserve, Tommy Jepperd (Nonso Anozie) and Aimee Eden (Dania Ramirez) team up to break the hybrids free, a partnership that will be tested as Jepperd’s secrets come to light. As the revelations of the past threaten the possibility of redemption in the present, Gus and his new found family find themselves on a collision course with Abbot and the evil forces that look to wipe them out once and for all.
Who is in the cast of ‘Sweet Tooth’ season 2?
‘Sweet Tooth’ season 2 stars Christian Convery (‘Cocaine Bear’) as Gus, Nonso Anozie (‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit’) as Jepperd, Adeel Akhtar (‘Enola Holmes 2’) as Dr. Singh, Stefania LaVie Owen (‘Krampus’) as Bear, Dania Ramirez (‘X-Men: The Last Stand’) as Aimee Eden, Aliza Vellani (‘Kim Possible’) as Rani Singh, Naledi Murray (‘The Undoing’) as Wendy, Neil Sandilands (‘News of the World’) as General Abbot, Marlon Williams (‘A Star is Born’) as Johnny Abbot, Amy Seimetz (‘No Sudden Move’) as Birdie, Christopher Sean Cooper Jr. (‘Obi-Wan Kenobi‘) as Teddy Turtle, and Yonas Kibreab as Finn Fox, with James Brolin (‘Westworld’) as the voice of the narrator.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with executive producers Susan Downey and Amanda Burrell about season 2 of ‘Sweet Tooth,’ what attracted them to the source material, world-building for the new season, parallels to the real-world, expanding General Abbot and Dr. Singh’s roles, working with the kids, Gus and Jepperd’s bond, and their ideas for season 3.
Moviefone: To begin with, Susan, can you talk about what excited you about adapting the comic book into this series in the first place, and the challenges of expanding the universe for season 2?
Susan Downey: Well, I think when we first got the graphic novel, we were sort of like, “What the heck is this? It’s so strange.” But when you dig into it and you understand what Jeff Lemire is trying to say and the allegory that’s there, you realize that there’s something really special and powerful in this storytelling. We really fell in love with Gus and obviously, the relationship with Jepp. I think if anything, it scared us a little bit. We knew that certainly with season one, we wanted to take all the great things that Jeff was trying to do, all of his intentions with these characters and the journey that they went on, but we wanted to make sure that we delivered it in a way that was a bit maybe more hopeful, not quite as dark as the source material. So we created this storybook dystopia, as we called it, a world of wonder with Gus as our guiding light of hope. I think that excited us because I’ve never seen anything like this. I haven’t seen a “Deer-Boy Show.” So that ticks a big box for us, which is okay, it doesn’t feel familiar. I think going into a second season though, we felt we had created this really strong foundation. Again, Gus and Jepp and their relationship as this center, as well as some of these other incredible first-season characters that joined a second season, that we actually could start creeping into a little bit of the darkness while still maintaining, again, that hope, that wonder and the beauty that we had created, but unearthing some of the darker themes and the stronger antagonists that are very focused in their goals. So it was really about expanding the world. It was introducing some new characters, and as you saw, it was expanding the world of the hybrids, which was so much fun. Again, a lot of the times we were looking at each other and going, “What are we doing here?” When my son saw the trailer, he’s like, “There’s an elephant boy?” The excitement was palpable. So I think we nailed it.
MF: Amanda, can you talk about bringing some of the separate storylines from the first season together for season 2, and expanding the world of ‘Sweet Tooth’ with more characters, locations, and flashbacks this season?
Amanda Burrell: It’s so funny because in season one, you spend so much time building it and then trying to nail a tone or at least figure out what your show is in a lot of ways. I think because we evolved it from the graphic novel, I think we figured it out in season one, and then it just allowed us, “Okay, tonally, actually the hybrid stuff is really connecting. It’s really emotional. How do we build that and expand it?” So it felt we really understood clearly what we got in season one, and now we just get to really up it. Abbott was always going to Loom large. He’s big in the comic book. When we cast Neil, it was so fun in season one, to kind of almost keep him at bay until the audience was ready. I think the fact that we can just bring him out in all of his glory, and Neil just milked it and just was so ready for it. But also to have Singh in the mix in not only the same time space, but that whole alignment of it was just really exciting and we were always building towards it. So it felt like season one allowed us to build the excitement towards it and now we get to realize the potential of all of it. So we definitely blew it out. I feel we’re really proud of the season. We can’t believe how incredible all the hybrids are. So yeah, we’re pumped.
MF: Susan, the series deals with a pandemic and obviously we are just coming out of a pandemic in the real-world now. Did the real-world pandemic at all change the way you depicted the pandemic in the show?
SD: It’s interesting. Not entirely. This was based on a graphic novel that existed well before our pandemic, so our development of it was even before the pandemic. So I think more than anything, it’s just interesting that an audience can relate in a way that they maybe wouldn’t have had it not happened. I feel for us, more than anything, there’s just little details people are familiar with, taking temperatures, wearing masks, those kind of things. But our story takes place after, and it’s about the hope, the rebuild, the reset and what does the future offer. So, if it taps into something within all of us that we’ve experienced, it’s not looking to tap into whatever we’ve dealt with over the past few years. It’s looking to say, “Well, what are you going to do now moving forward? How are you going to change? Where are you going to take this opportunity and see that maybe there’s a different version of the future that’s been altered by this incredible event that happened?”
Related Article: Watch Interviews with the Cast & Creators of ‘Sweet Tooth’
MF: Amanda, Gus and Jepperd are separated at the end of season one. Can you talk about the strong connection those two characters made in the first season, and the challenges of separating them for the beginning of season 2?
AB: Well, it’s another interesting thing. We really took our time with it. Jepp, in the first episode, he really shows up at the very end and you realize this person’s going to be a force. Then the whole first season is really about this unlikely connection. We spent a lot of time talking about how long we could keep them apart in season two, honestly, because they are magic together. Our actors are so close to one another and have such a beautiful relationship and camaraderie. Nonso is just such a spiritual father figure for Christian. So we really knew we had to get them back together. But I think the other thing that’s interesting about kids growing up is they need their own space too to find their people, to find their connections. I think Wendy really provides that friendship that we as adults maybe don’t need to get in the mix of. So it’s almost like expanding the opportunity. But yeah, we were all like, “We got to get them back together.” I think it’s just such a beautiful moment when they see each other again and this deep love has not wavered.
MF: Susan, as a producer, can you talk about working with actors Christian Convery and Nonso Anozie and watching them create these characters and their unique friendship over these two seasons?
SD: Well look, we were so fortunate in the casting process to get a young actor in Christian Convery who is just such magic on screen. We also loved the fact that he had a bunch of experience under his belt by the time he was working with us even first season because as you see, he is in so much of this. He was in so much of the first season, and so much of second season. So he is a seasoned pro who’s then just digging into this character. Obviously, with Jepp, we made some adjustments from the source material. Finding Nonso, again, was such a victory for us. But you don’t know until you put these two on screen together what that chemistry’s going to be. As Amanda said, they just fell in love with each other. They couldn’t be physically or visually more different, which is perfect, and what we’re going for. Again, the larger thematic exploration of finding family, creating your own family, it doesn’t matter what you look like or even what species you are, in our case, you can find that connection. These two really did find it both on screen and off. I think you can feel it as you’re watching it.
MF: You’ve also added several more young actors to the cast this season, who play the hybrids. Since child actors have limited time to work on set, and many of them are wearing elaborate costumes or make-up, can you talk as a producer about the challenges of working with such a large cast of young actors?
SD: Well, this is when you really rely on your ADs to schedule things properly and to make sure that they know exactly when they need to break the kids, send them to school, all of that kind of stuff. Fortunately, we had these other very active storylines. They loom large because they are so incredible and fun and unique. But we were able to jump around and shoot other things, and get some of these other storylines, and they really formed a bond, this group of kids. That casting process was also a ton of fun because when we were looking at it and thinking about each of the different characters, it was like we couldn’t find the kid until we found him (or her). There was never, “Is it this one or this?” It was always like, boom, this is our kid, this kid’s magic. Once again, you’re rolling the dice. Are they going to get along? What are they going to be like? What are the parents going to be like? But we got incredibly fortunate with this group.
MF: Amanda, we only saw Neil Sandilands as General Abbot briefly in the first season, but his role is greatly expanded for season 2. Can you talk about the decision to give him a larger role in the new season?
AB: He’s such a lovely human too. It’s so funny how much he also revels in being kind of evil in that way. But honestly, he brought so much to it. I think once he embodied the role in season one, I think the writers were so deeply inspired by him. So it was easy to write for him. He revels in it so much. I think the same thing goes for all the hybrids, all of our cast, they set the table season one that the writers just loved writing towards them. I think his relationship with his brother is really illuminating this season too, which was really vital. I think we wanted to give him dimension. There’s a past, there’s a history, there’s a context for why people become who they are. I think the other thing with him is that you really believe that he has a philosophy that he’s committed to in order to understand the world. While that is taking him into incredibly dark places, we really wanted to make sure that audiences understood him because those are the best villains, the ones that you actually totally get what their point of view is. You don’t believe that the choices they’re making are the right ones, but you understand them, and you’ll see in the latter half of the season, you get to meet other villains of the world, which I think is also really interesting.
MF: Susan, can you talk about Dr. Singh and Rani’s relationship and how that really motivates his actions in season 2?
SD: Again, this is one of those things where we took something that we learned in season one and let it inform a storyline for season two because originally, she wasn’t necessarily going to survive. But we fell so in love with her, and so in love with them and the true north that he needed through the course of this season to do the things and go to the lengths he went to. You had to believe and invest in that relationship because everything he’s doing obviously is driven to keep her alive. These two actors just brought such chemistry, such magic to the screen and you’re just rooting for both of them. Both of them are just incredible. So I think that, as Amanda was saying, it’s important as people are crossing moral lines to understand the motivation. You may not agree with their technique, but you have to at least accept why they’re doing it. To me, their relationship is the heart of his character, and is the heart of why he’s willing to go to the lengths that he’s willing to go.
MF: Finally, do you already have ideas for season 3, and do you have a larger arc designed for future seasons?
SD: Look, we’re focused right now on getting season 2 out, and hopefully, everybody loves it. The nice thing is Jeff (Lemire) gave us a lot of material in the books. So if we’re fortunate enough to have a season 3, I know that the writers certainly have ideas on how to utilize some of the other storylines found in the graphic novels to continue to tell the story of Gus and Jepp.
Movies Similar to ‘Sweet Tooth:’
- ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang‘ (2005)
- ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still‘ (2008)
- ‘The Road‘ (2009)
- ‘Sherlock Holmes‘ (2009)
- ‘Whiteout‘ (2009)
- ‘The Book of Eli‘ (2010)
- ‘Due Date‘ (2010)
- ‘Iron Man 2‘ (2010)
- ‘Kick-Ass‘ (2010)
- ‘Unknown‘ (2011)
- ‘Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows‘ (2011)
- ‘The Darkest Hour‘ (2011)
- ‘Kick-Ass 2‘ (2013)
- ‘Edge of Tomorrow‘ (2014)
- ‘The Judge‘ (2014)
- ‘Bird Box‘ (2018)
- ‘A Quiet Place‘ (2018)
- ‘Mortal Engines‘ (2018)
- ‘Love and Monsters‘ (2020)
- ‘Dolittle‘ (2020)
- ‘Finch‘ (2021)
- ‘A Quiet Place Part II‘ (2021)
Buy Susan Downey Produced Movies on Amazon
To watch our exclusive interviews with the cast of ‘Sweet Tooth’ season 2 including Christian Convery, Naledi Murray, Nonso Anozie, Dania Ramirez, Adeel Akhtar, James Brolin and showrunner Jim Mickle, please click on the video player below.
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