Coop's Allegiances & Relationship Changes In Your Friends & Neighbors Season 2 Broken Down By Jon Hamm And Apple TV Co-Stars
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Jon Hamm is back as Coop for season 2, and he's facing a few changes in both his personal and criminal lives.
Created and showrun by , the Apple TV crime comedy stars Hamm as a former hedge fund manager who, while in the midst of a divorce, is suddenly fired from his job, leaving him in a difficult financial position. Coop eventually turns to infiltrating his affluent neighbors' homes, stealing and fencing their wealthy valuables, later with the help of local housekeeper, Elena.
picks up sometime after the events of its previous ending, with Coop still working his Elena to rob various houses, happily maintaining his luxurious lifestyle, while also now being single after Sam attempted to frame him for her ex-husband's murder in season 1, and his own ex-wife Mel is dealing with the ensuing fallout from her second marriage falling apart. However, when the mysterious new figure, Owen Ashe, moves into the neighborhood, Coop's criminal empire finds itself threatened once again.
Alongside Hamm, the cast includes both new and returning faces, namely James Marsden as Ashe, Amanda Peet as Mel, Olivia Munn as Sam, Aimee Carrero as Elena, Hoon Lee, Mark Tallman, Eunice Bae, Isabel Gravitt and Donovan Colan. Having premiered on April 3, has garnered larger acclaim than its well-received predecessor, currently holding an 87% "Certified Fresh" approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ahead of the show's return, ScreenRant's Liam Crowley interviewed Jon Hamm, James Marsden, Amanda Peet, Olivia Munn and Jonathan Tropper to discuss Your Friends & Neighbors season 2. Beginning by reflecting on finding new difficulties for Coop going into the Apple TV show's return, Hamm began by describing it as "part of it is getting a year older," as things don't "get easier after a certain point" and "gets a lot more challenging":
Jon Hamm: It's a lot harder to do anything the older you get, but anything physical, especially. So that part of it is something we're definitely looking at, but also just kind of what happens in your life, in your emotional life. As your parents get older, as your children get older, as the mother of your children, and you grow further apart, how does that manifest itself? So all of those things are all obstacles in Coop's continuing story. But the biggest obstacle, of course, is this disruptive force that shows up in the community, in the shape of James Marsden and his character, Owen Ashe. All of those things are tremendous roadblocks and exciting narrative devices for the second season.
Looking at the addition of James Marsden as Owen Ashe, and what his allegiance will be to Coop, Hamm acknowledged the character to be everything from "a disruptor" to "a frenemy, a rival" and "a foil" to his protagonist. The Emmy winner further teased that Ashe stands as a "Gatsby-esque figure" in the show's story, representing "this ultimate goal of what we're all supposed to want to strive for" in life, being "the richest and the most handsome," among other things.
However, Hamm also teased that, much like himself and "most of the people in that community" the show primarily takes place in, Ashe "is fundamentally unsatisfied" upon his introduction in Your Friends & Neighbors season 2. Feeling the character represents another "cautionary tale" of confronting suburban and middle age ennui, Hamm denotes that "Coop is understandably wary of him."
Another key relationship coming into Your Friends & Neighbors season 2 is that of Coop and Mel, who felt somewhat close to a reconciliation near the end of season 1. The beginning of the new season — which Hamm praises to be "a wonderful scene" and "a little bit of a misdirect" for audiences — instead sees them "getting along in a very familiar and lovely way" as co-parents, though that may not be the end for the pair:
Jon Hamm: I think they're kind of getting along fine, and yet there's still so much of their lives that is secret to one another. I think until that's really resolved, they're kind of in a holding pattern. And I think that's one of the big things that is going to have to be unraveled as the series rolls along. They seem to have gotten past everything that happened in season one. It's been almost a year, and they seem to be doing well, but it goes south fairly quickly as it often does between ex-husbands and ex-wives. And I think the challenge for both of them across the season is that they're drawn to each other, and they lean on each other and, at the same time, they keep missing each other. And so it's a constant kind of push and pull, and there's always going to be that friction there.
Jon Hamm Would Love To Add A Certain Grammy-Winning Actor To The Series
ScreenRant: I got no segue for this next question, but this ensemble continues to grow, and you're a big fan of Bad Bunny. When are we going to get Benito in Your Friends & Neighbors?
Jon Hamm: God, I don't know. I don't think he needs the money. I think he's doing fine. I think I'll probably be a guest star in his show before he'll be in mine. So we'll see.
ScreenRant: He's dipping his toes into the acting waters. I think crazier things have happened.
Jon Hamm: You're probably right, but no, he's great. I was pleased that he asked me to be part of his show, his SNL, when he hosted. That was really fun. And he's a great guy. He knocked it out of the park at the Super Bowl, and now I think he's getting ready to go tour Europe and continue his run. He's had a hell of a run and couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
ScreenRant: A fun one to wrap on. If you could go back into any of your past characters' homes and swipe one item, what's one thing you'd want to take?
Jon Hamm: Well, I'd probably go to Don Draper's home and steal about half his furniture. Whoever his decorator was had a keen sense of style. Or maybe I'd even go into Burt Cooper's office and steal that Rothko.
ScreenRant: We gotta wrap there. Thank you again for your time. Really quickly, did anyone ask you to do the dance today?
Jon Hamm: It's been a topic of conversation, for sure.
Owen Ashe Will Be "A Disruptor" To Coop This Season
ScreenRant: Like all the characters in this show, I feel like everyone operates with a shade of gray. No one is necessarily a true hero or a true villain. So, with that being said, when you go about classifying who your protagonists and antagonists are, what does that process look like? And do you even put those kinds of labels on your characters?
Jonathan Tropper: No, we very specifically don't. I don't think there are any heroes or villains in this show. I think everyone is the star of their own show, and it's just about conflicting agendas and emotional disconnects. So no, I don't consider anyone a villain or a hero. Everyone is flawed and damaged, and they become a lot less interesting if you paint them with that hero brush.
ScreenRant: Very much so. With that in mind though, the new character of Owen Ashe, James Marsden, coming into this ensemble, what would you classify him as? Is he a foil in Coop's story? Is he the star of his own show?
Jonathan Tropper: I think his role is that of a disruptor. In season 1, Coop was the disruptor. And in season two, Coop's getting disrupted and the whole neighborhood's getting disrupted by Owen Ashe, who sort of floats on a level above them and comes in and just starts stirring s--t up everywhere he goes. And I think people love him, people are drawn to him. And at the same time, there's this dangerous edge to him. I don't think he's quite a foil for Coop. I think he's both a complication, a friend and an antagonist all in one. And that's what makes it really unpredictable.
Mel & Sam Are Going Through A Very Different Life Journey In Your Friends & Neighbors Season 2
ScreenRant: Olivia, to start with you, Sam goes on such a wild trajectory in season one. And obviously, with Owen Ashe coming into play, it's only going to shake things up further for her going forward. Where do her allegiances lie in season 2?
Olivia Munn: Her allegiance lies with herself and her children. Everything that my character is going through this year is in an effort to protect herself and her kids and set them up for the best life. And also, she realizes when James Marsden's character comes in that not only does she not trust anyone else, but she doesn't trust herself. She'd made too many big mistakes and made horrible decisions. And for her, she's like, "I just want to insulate myself and focus on getting through this," but obviously you can only do that for so long before you get dragged into all the mess.
ScreenRant: And some of the mess is being caused by Owen Ashe himself. Jonathan, I spoke with him earlier. He classified Owen as a "disruptor". James, how would you classify Owen Ashe?
James Marsden: I think that's pretty fair. I think it's maybe a bit unintentional of him to come in and be a disruptor. I don't think that was his —
Olivia Munn: Didn't someone call you a nice tornado earlier? Is that what they said?
James Marsden: That's kind of it. He comes in like a full-grown toddler.
Olivia Munn: A toddler with a credit card.
James Marsden: No limit credit card. But yeah, I think he kind of comes in, shakes things up, but unintentionally, he's just trying to figure out where he fits in this group. And I think he's amused by the sort of gossipy, cliquey dynamics between everyone that lives there. He's one of those people that if it's in his mind, it's out his mouth. And I think he finds Samantha particularly interesting because she doesn't necessarily subscribe to the way everybody else acts in the town, and he wants to know why. And he learns about her checkered past. I think he's kind of attracted to that in some weird way, her honesty and her forthright nature. But yeah, he's a fun guy. It's a great, juicy role. And it's fun to be the guy given the reins to come in and disrupt.
ScreenRant: Jonathan had said that she's kind of on a journey in season 2, the same journey that Coop was on in season 1. Would you classify Mel's current headspace as going through a midlife crisis?
Amanda Peet: I would. I would. And for women, that usually involves the symptoms of menopause, which are a b---h. So I was really excited that my — I think he wouldn't mind me saying this — middle-aged male boss was really interested in writing a full-on story whose inciting incident is menopause.
ScreenRant: Jonathan also said that Mel is operating like someone who feels like she's running out of time in season two. What does that look like? How do you go about exemplifying that?
Amanda Peet: My guess is that when people feel panicked that their youth is over and that everything that held promise has played out and that door is closing, they sometimes panic and then start to act like a teenager again. And so I guess I feel like Mel is kind of acting like an adolescent.
ScreenRant: Mel has had no shortage of people in her life, whether it be her children or her partners at the time. That being said, do you still think she feels that isolation in those down moments?
Amanda Peet: I think part of the characteristic of having a midlife crisis is probably that you feel alone and you sort of feel this sense of existential dread, like what's the point of any of it? So, I think, even though she has a lot of sex, and I'm excited that Jonathan Tropper writes me so many sex scenes, I don't think it's filling the void. I think she is having that sort of suburban ennui that a lot of Americans have who strove for money and success and status their whole lives, and then what?
ScreenRant: He's very integrated in Coop's storyline specifically. Is there anything you can tease about Mel's relationship with Owen Ashe?
Amanda Peet: I think that Mel thinks Owen Ashe is very suss from the get-go. So even though Mel is ignorant about a lot of things that go on in town, I think this one, she has his number fairly quickly.
ScreenRant: I heard James Marsden was just like the biggest charmer on set.
Amanda Peet: It's just all the ladies. Just, in his wake, they keel over.
New episodes of Your Friends & Neighbors season 2 air Fridays on Apple TV!
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Cast
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Andrew Cooper -
Amanda Peet Mel Cooper
A hedge fund manager, struggling after job loss, turns to burglary to uphold his family's lifestyle. The series explores the complexities of his double life and the precarious balance he strives to maintain.
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