EXTANT: Halle Berry, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and EPs Preview Season 2

EXTANT season 2 is returning this summer, and there are changes in store. Among them? Jeffrey Dean Morgan has joined the cast (season 1 male lead, Goran Visnjic (John), will be back in a “limited capacity”) as JD, in a role which was written for him.

“I wasn’t familiar with the show…I hadn’t seen any of the episodes from last year, and they didn’t want me to watch them,” Morgan told reporters during a panel for the show, noting that this season is very much a reboot. However, the idea of working with EXTANT star Halle Berry (Molly) every day was “so exciting for me as an actor…this is a new little jaunt for me into this world.”

“He was the only guy we wanted [for the role],” EXTANT executive producer Liz Kruger shared.

As for the show itself, the writers have set out to tell a complete story in the upcoming season season.

“We wanted to make it a self-contained story,” EXTANT creator Mickey Fisher said. He noted he’s been a fan of shows that got cancelled prematurely, and wanted to make sure there was a whole story with the show’s second season, no matter what.

“[In season 2] Molly is questioning her mental stability, as is the audience,” Kruger teased.

“She has nothing left to lose,” Fisher said. “She might just be crazy or she might be right.”

“I think she’s right,” Berry interjected with a laugh.

And with the introduction of Morgan’s JD, Molly will have a new partner as they attempt to figure out what’s going on. “They find themselves locked together to solve the mystery that’s at the center of the show,” Kruger said. “There’s action, mystery, romance.”

With Molly’s robot son and half-alien baby in play, Molly remains uniquely positioned in the fight ahead as the show explores what humanity is.

“What do they want, and is it true that this one woman could be the key to evolution?” Berry said. “Would it be wise or smart or better if we coexisted in some way? She’s got one foot in each world, and she has to sort of navigate her way through the process.”

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EXTANT returns Wednesday July 1st at 10 PM on CBS.