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Sandra Oh returns as British intelligence investigator Eve Polastri in Season Two of Killing Eve.
The highly anticipated second season will premiere on Fox (DStv 125 and StarSat 131) from 1 July, directly after the first season ends.
The spy thriller centres on two women, bound by a mutual obsession and one brutal act: Eve, an MI6 operative, and Villanelle (Jodie Comer), the beautiful, psychopathic assassin that she has been tasked with finding.
Ahead of the Season Two premiere, Sandra - who is also the co-executive producer - tells us what to expect from Eve's journey in the season and gives insight into the developing relationship between Eve and Villanelle.
What's in store for Eve in Season Two?
Eve's journey in Season Two takes her to a psychologically dark place. She's pushed to the limit in every way; in her marriage, at work, in her personality and sexually. She isolates herself because she's so obsessed with Villanelle.
Her personality starts to change because she foregoes a lot of her friendships to solve a new mystery and ultimately succeed in her job. Eve and Kenny have always had a lovely relationship, and it is really pushed and tried this season. All her relationships are.
How does Eve and Villanelle's relationship develop in Season Two?
It's definitely deeper and is not so much a discovery anymore. It's not only a chase, but it's understanding how to be in relation to each other. When they are in the same room, it's too much energy. They're like two sparks that explode when they are together yet they need each other. Season Two gets much more complicated.
What can you tell us about Eve and Niko's relationship in Season Two?
Their relationship is pushed to the limit because Eve needs to explore her darker side, and it's a line that Niko finds impossible to cross as well. During the series, he is forced to wake up to how deep, how far and how dark Eve has gone, but he can't follow. Ultimately, it's disappointing for Eve because the success of a long-term relationship is if your partner can also change. It doesn't have to be in the same way, but you need to know that you're growing together or simultaneously.
How does the relationship between Eve and Carolyn evolve in Season Two?
What Carolyn does best is to manipulate and inspire at the same time. At the top of Season Two, she brings Eve back to the fold to continue hunting Villanelle and to use her understanding of female psychopaths and killers.
Eve joins a new team at MI6, and we are introduced to a couple of new characters; Jess (played by Nina Sosanya) and Hugo (played by Edward Bluemel). It was so great to have new energy and dynamics. Eve and Jess are very close in age, and they have a great repartee. Hugo is a wannabe Lothario, and there's a lot of interesting tension between him and Eve.
Killing Eve mixes drama, thriller and comedy genres perfectly. What is it like to switch between these tones?
The tone of Killing Eve is very tricky, and it's hard to describe. It's also hard to write, hard to perform and hard to nail down. We understand what a drama, thriller or comedy genre is but Killing Eve is a real mashup of all three.
This cast is phenomenal because everyone is grounding their performance in their own truth. There are crazy, heightened moments of high theatrics which are so over the top but completely grounded in truth. Then in the middle of all the hysteria is the ridiculousness. Even that is always situational and based in character. It's never just jokes. It's hard to describe the tone of the show, but it's also tricky to sustain because we bump in and out of genres.
Killing Eve takes place in cities like Paris, Amsterdam, Rome and London. What's it like filming in these major cities?
This is very much a British show because of the tone, the writing and the characters but it's also such a European show because of the international chase. The locations are so important to the storytelling and are a big part of the style and genre of the show. They fill the show with such a richness and depth which is irreplaceable - you just can't do it with CGI or on an LA backlot.
But, we don't have to fly over the Eiffel Tower so everyone knows that it's Paris. You get the flavour of a city because of the locations that are chosen. Like the trees in Rome; Italy has these specific type of pine trees that look like umbrellas. If we show them in a wide shot it's familiar to anyone who knows Italy.
London has the most unbelievable locations. It is challenging to shoot in London, but there are the most amazing locations all on one street. There's a lot of history, depth and character there.
Killing Eve airs Wednesdays at 20:45 on Fox (DStv 125 and StarSat 131). It repeats Fridays at 14:00, Saturdays at 19:25, Sundays at 22:00 and is also on DStv Catch Up.
- Compiled by Leandra Engelbrecht
