by Anthony Frajman
After a well-received response to its first season, Australian series, Love Me, is back for its highly-anticipated second season.
Set nine months after the first season climax, Season 2 sees the return of Hugo Weaving as Glen, as he experiences new love in his 60s. Bojana Novakovic plays his daughter Clara, William Lodder his son Aaron, who has to face new responsibilities, and Silver Logie winner Heather Mitchell returns as Glen’s love interest Anita. Bob Morley is back as Peter, Celia Pacquola as Sacha, Shalom Brune-Franklin plays Ella, and Mitzi Ruhlmann is Jesse. And rest assured, none of the engaging and three-dimensional characters in the show are visiting online casino Australia sites for leisure, instead, they are adulting; wrestling with relationship and commitment issues, thankfully.
Joining the cast in Season 2 are Nicole da Silva, Kim Gyngell and Eryn Jean Norvill.
Ahead of its debut, FilmInk spoke with William Lodder and Heather Mitchell.
What got you interested in coming back for Season 2?
William Lodder: We really started from the bottom in that first season. We took a big chance doing that, and coming back and doing it again with them is probably the best choice I’ve ever made.
Heather Mitchell: I loved season one so much. I loved the people. I felt so supported. It was one of the most beautiful shows I’ve worked on, so there was no question. I was begging for them to do a Season 2. We were all wanting to do it.
Love Me was the first Australian series commissioned for Binge. Were you pleased with the response to Season 1?
William Lodder: It’s been really humbling here in Australia and what viewers have to say about it. It’s an Australian television series that’s not out of its bounds, it’s not for a network, we’ve tried to be as authentic as possible. Although we have adapted from a Swedish series [of the same name], we tried to put our own culture into it. And the response it has had in Australia speaks volumes.
Heather Mitchell: What’s really delighted me is that particularly more mature older women, women my age, have found it wonderful seeing women on screen expressing themselves sexually, enjoying life, not looking at retirement villages, showing that women in their sixties, eighties, nineties can have fulfilling lives.
What’s in store for your characters this season?
William Lodder: A lot more, a lot more stakes, without giving too much away. So many more complexities when it comes to relationships and love and what comes about loving someone and what that means to love someone. I think this season, it’s a bit more like, ‘who am I, how do I love?’
Heather Mitchell: I would say across the board, more of watching the characters be challenged by life and by their relationships and overcoming obstacles until they realise that they’re not obstacles. Getting their heads around the fact that we can turn things into obstacles.
William, you had a very tense relationship with your character’s father Glen in Season 1. How does the relationship evolve?
William Lodder: I think [that there’s] a lot more understanding between the two men. I think with the first season, there’s a lot of Aaron that doesn’t agree with anything Glen’s saying. This season, there’s a bit more of these two understanding each other as men. I think that’s a big part of Aaron and Glen’s story, what it means to be a man and how do I portray myself as a man.
What was the biggest challenge for you this season?
William Lodder: Just being true to Aaron. I think in the script, he can come across as a bit whiny. As an actor, one thing you want to do is to make sure your character is not complaining. Every time I got to set and I read my scenes, I always had an understanding of why he feels this way.
Heather Mitchell: We shot all my scenes in three weeks. And the producers were amazing because I had other commitments, so we condensed all my scenes. It was really, every scene, every day. So, it was a really intense experience this time with Hugo. And, it kinda worked out wonderfully because we could really just have that wonderful intimacy together without any other characters coming in and out. And for Anita herself, I think the challenge in this season is learning to live with someone else. Discovering who someone else really is and the thing you love about them can become the thing which also becomes… not an irritation, but a challenge. I think Glen is someone who tries to carefully manage expectations and manage his life. And she’s someone who wants to throw all that away and avoid limitations and break through limitations. And that is a challenge in their relationship.
What was your favourite moment of Season 2?
William Lodder: I could just say a scene, but just being in the team. It’s a very cliche answer, but it really is. I think I’d be really ignorant not to respect my team and my family and the guys I’ve worked with and this crew – working with them was my favourite part.
Heather Mitchell: There was one particular scene of confrontation between us that was beautiful to do when the characters know that they’re hurting each other, but they can’t not do it. That was quite beautiful to do because I think in the first season it was all about expressing your love. This one’s about managing her love.
Love Me Season 2 premieres April 6, 2023 on BINGE
