There were a lot of questions about what we’d get once The Hunting Party season 2 returned, and the show has certainly taken a huge risk. Melissa Roxburgh broke down the risk while also talking about having Eric McCormack and the bunnies when we chatted with her exclusively.
Caution: This interview will include major SPOILERS from The Hunting Party season 2 premiere.
The premiere episode certainly opened with a shock. Sadly, Oliver Odell is no more, succumbing the poison from Jenna at the end of the first season. Hwoever, we also had to find out how the team would end up back together considering AG Mallory had disbanded them. It didn’t take long to find out that Bex would turn to blackmail.
So, what can we expect as the rest of The Hunting Party season 2 continues? We didn’t know about the Manifest reunion at the time, but we did get to chat all things death, blackmail, and rabbits. Oh, and Lazarus!
Precinct TV: Bex is going through it emotionally right now, but I want to start with the blackmailing. When did you learn that Bex was potentially going to burn it all to the ground?
Melissa Roxburgh: We didn’t get a ton of information going into [The Hunting Party] season 2, until we got that first script. Then I was like, “Oh, that’s how she does it. Bold move, girl.”
How does it feel getting to make that bold move?
She’s a lot less scared than I am, so it’s fun playing people who risk it all. I definitely weigh all the options until the last moment, which I don’t think she is, so it’s fun to play a character like that.
Now there’s the back-and-forth with AG Mallory. We know Mallory is very much willing to take revenge, so what’s going on in Bex’s mind, knowing that.
Bex has the trump card, right now, and she’s not letting go. I think she’s tired of people telling her what to do, and now that Odell’s gone, something horrible has happened ot her, and she’s wondering what she has to lose.
Since you brought up Odell, we were all hoping against hope that he would make it through. When did you learn he wouldn’t?
Nick Weschler is such a dear friend, and I really loved working with him. When they gave me the news, I was briefly sad, but I think it makes a really cool story point. There’s a lot of devastation about now having your friend and your partner there. I think audience members will be shocked.
They’ll definitely be shocked, along with disappointed and angry. What can you say to them to keep them engaged now they’ve lost their ship?
I think the engagement now is that nobody is safe. You never know what’s going to happen, and I think that what makes this a cool show is that it surprises you. It’s like Game of Throens, where they killed their main character in the first season, so I think shows like that really do have a way of keeping you on your toes, which I think audience members will love.
On The Hunting Party season 2 premiere, Bex has her own near-death experience. We all have to wonder when the others will come and save her, and whether they can do it in time? What was it like getting to play that where Bex doesn’t even know if they’ll get to her in time?
I think Bex hunts serial killers for a living, so her getting to that point is not surprising. I also think she doesn’t need saving. There are definitely some situations she needs help with, and she can’t get herself out of them, but I think she handles herself very well, and I think that the rage she has over losing Odell has given her this super strength toward catching the bad guys. She’s got her adrenaline pumping through her, and we do see that.
Where’s Bex’s mind at right now with everything with Mallory, losing Odell, and getting the team back together?
She’s put her blinders on, and she’s really trying not to think about it, because if she does, she’ll unravel. Her whole mission now is to pour all of it into the job. We do see in the season someone will start to crack her out a little bit and soften her back up, and we’ll see what happens with that.
Yes, there is another side of shippers who are hoping for a certain ship to launch off, but is she even in a place to accept a new love in her life?
No, and I think if it was presented to her like that, she would say absolutely not. The good thing about the dynamic between those two characters is that there are no expectations. I don’t think either of them are looking for that, so if it happens, it’ll be because there’s a respect and safety that wasn’t tehre with Odell, and that’s the only way it could happen.
I mean, I will say that I always questioned things with Odell because of what he did in the past.
That’s the part of Bex that we don’t know very well. I feel there’s a side to her that she’s so obsessed with this world of serial killers that maybe, just maybe, she’s attracted to it. I think that’s the justification I had with the Odell storyline; it’s her whole world, so of course, she loves him because it’s what she knows. We’ll get to see different sides to Bex, hopefully.
We’ve just had Eric and Finnigan McCormack play the older and younger version of a wacky killer. What sort of other serial killers can you tease this season?
It was cool, because Eric’s son wasn’t really an actor. I think he’s done some jobs, but I don’t think it’s what he’s currently focused on, so I don’t think he’s had tons of experience within that, and so for them ot play the same character is really cool. I think they had a really good father-son bonding session within that. Nothing quite bonds you like playing a murderer!
But yeah, the crazy killers that we have this season are just bizarre. I think the writers came up with them through bad dreams, and then others are twists on killers that we know. There’s an Ed Gein type one to come, and there are some life-size dummy stuff happening.
For me, it’s the backstory of why these killers started doing what they’re doing. We see Eric with the bunnies. Why are there bunnies? So, it’s getting to that point that makes it so interesting.
I agree! Let’s finish with Lazarus, who is now in charge. Bex did not expect that, so what’s going on in her mind now?
“Oh, crap!” She doesn’t trust Lazarus, and she knows she’s not good news. To the audience and to Bex, Lazarus is the bad guy other than the killers, and now they have to answer to this person, it’s terrifying.
Who’s the lesser of two evils, though? Lazarus or Mallory?
Right! You don’t know. We can only really trust ourselves.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Hunting Party season 2 airs on Thursdays at 10/9c on NBC and streams the following day on Peacock.