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One of the most heartwarming shows on TV returns this week, and we got the chance to speak with two of its stars.
Rafe Spall and Esther Smith star on the Apple TV+ dramedy Trying, and there are many changes for Jason and Nikki as we head into the new season.
The first season was widely praised for having a lot of heart and telling important stories that resonate with viewers.
Both stars were immediately drawn to the show after reading the script.
“It was funny, warm, emotional,” Spall explains, noting that he’s pleased to be working on the show.
“I’m so pleased to do it so much show that I’d be happy only doing it for the rest of my career, and I’m not even being glib. It’s true. I would, yeah.”
“Similarly, it’s such a joy of a job,” Esther adds.
“And even from like reading the first scripts from series one, page after page, I was like laughing or crying, and that’s so special.”
“Sometimes it’s really hard to kind of find those kinds of projects that make you feel that and I also just really resonated with the character, and I just really understood her journey.”
“I think where she is, being in her mid-thirties, not feeling like she hasn’t got it figured out, feeling like she should have herself figured out and actually quite often, we don’t have things figured out and learning that that’s okay, and also that our lives don’t necessarily go to plan.”
Esther liked to see that aspect represented in the script and enjoyed spending time with both of the characters at the wheel of the story.
Trying Season 1 concluded with Nikki and Jason learning that they had been approved to adopt.
“They’ve been approved for adoption, throughout the course of season one, and now they are faced with a task of being matched with a child, which isn’t straightforward because there’s only a small amount of children in the system and lots of parents,” Rafe says of the second season.
“They find a child that they love, but she’s hotly contested, and there are other people that might on paper be more suitable in so much as they’ve got big houses with jobs and the little girl’s got a brother.”
“They want as much as possible to keep the brother and sister together, and we only have the capacity to take one, so it’s not straightforward.”
“Lots of heartbreak ensues,” he teases.
As for returning to play these characters for a second time, Rafe and Esther are both ecstatic.
“It’s been so lovely to be able to know that we were able to go back to these people in these stories and particularly after this year because it’s been so, so hard, such a hard year for so many reasons during this pandemic to know that we were able to go and film and go to work and hang out with these characters again was such a joy,” Esther explains.
“I get to hang out with my friend Rafe, and that’s been so lovely,” she adds, noting that it feels special to be on this journey with their characters together.
“It’s a really, it’s a really lovely thing to do to spend time with these characters,” Rafe explained and said that he’s excited to get back to shooting for the third season.
Fans can also expect the return of Imelda Staunton’s Penny during the second season.
“She’s a big part of the show. She’s like their sort of fairy godmother,” said Rafe, explaining that the show is very lucky to have Staunton playing that part because she’s “so talented and such a lovely person to be around.”
When we chatted last month, both stars had yet to read any of the scripts for the third season, but they were excited about where Season 2 ends and how it sets up the next chapter.
Both stars feel like the show has legs to continuously adapt and show different hurdles for Nikki and Jason, meaning it could be on the air for several years.
Will you be checking out Trying Season 2?
It premieres Friday, May 21st, on Apple TV+.
Check out the trailer below.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.