'Love Life' Season 2: 'The Good Place' Actor William Jackson Harper To Play New Lead In Anthology Series
Love Life, HBO Max's romantic anthology series, has found its new lead actor.William Jackson Harper, who broke out playing neurotic, ethics-obsessed professor Chidi Anagonye in NBC's excellent The Good Place, will take over as the new central focus in Love Life season 2. Anna Kendrick starred in the first season, and if you didn't get enough of her in those ten episodes, don't worry: her character is expected to pop back in on occasion during season 2.
In addition to its focus on philosophy and ethics, The Good Place revolved around the idea of everyone having a soulmate – a construct which was originally intended to screw with the characters' minds, but which ultimately ended up coming true for Harper's Chidi and Kristen Bell's Eleanor; their relationship was the beating heart of that show.
Now Harper, whose other credits include Midsommar and the upcoming Underground Railroad, will once again explore that "soulmate" territory in Love Life season 2. TVLine reports that the new season will cover "what happens when you've lived your whole life knowing who your soulmate is, only to find out years into a marriage that it's not the right fit at all." The outlet says that the season begins with Harper's still-unnamed character emerging from a long-term relationship with the woman he thought was his one and only, and he finds himself "plunged back into the search for the romantic fulfillment that he thought he had already found."
I have not yet watched any of the first season of Love Life, but you can check out this stylish trailer below to give you a brief idea of the vibe:
That's Anna Kendrick as Darby Carter, the protagonist of season 1. Darby is reportedly going to appear "occasionally" in season 2, along with a few other season 1 characters (my money is on Darby's roommates, played by Zoë Chao and Sasha Compère, popping back in with her). Kendrick reunited with her A Simple Favor director Paul Feig on this project; they both executive produced the first season. Sam Boyd created the series and served as co-showrunner along with Bridget Bedard.
"We couldn't be more excited to make another season of Love Life with the amazing people at HBO Max and Lionsgate Television, and to have the opportunity to explore a whole new protagonist," Boyd and Bedard said previously in a joint statement. "If only as a way to continue processing our own romantic damage."
Love Life season 1 is currently streaming on HBO Max.