Punkie Johnson, Kimberly Elise, Blair Underwood are joining HBO Max’s romantic comedy anthology series Love Life season 2. Leslie Bibb, John Earl Jelks, Arian Moayed and Ego Nwodim will also star in the series.
They all join previously cast stars Jessica Williams, Chris “Comedian CP” Powell, William Jackson Harper, Janet Hubert, Jordan Rock and Maya Kazan.
Season 2 of the romantic comedy anthology series centers on Marcus Watkins (Harper) as he comes out of a years-long relationship with the woman he thought was going to be his person. The rug pulled out from under him, he is plunged back into the search for the romantic fulfillment that he thought he had already found.
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Johnson joins as a series regular Ida Watkins. Ida is Marcus’s outspoken sister who is much more in tune with her authentic self than her brother is. Ida will say anything to anyone, often to hilarious effect.
Bibb, Earl Jelks, and Moayed join Love Life season 2 will take on recurring roles.
Bibb’s Becca Evans is a twice-divorced mother of two with whom Marcus enters into a purely sexual relationship, but like any such relationship, it soon becomes more complicated than that. Jelks recurs as Kirby Watkins, Marcus’s affable yet formidable father, who casts a large shadow over his son. As adults, the two will finally grow closer and learn to connect.
Moayed joins as Kian Parsa, one of Marcus’s best friends, a tech millionaire who recently sold his company. But even though he’s rich now, and sometimes kind of a douche, Kian is still the same sweet, lovable guy Marcus has known forever.
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Elise and Underwood will guest star in the second season as Suzanné Hayward and Leon Hines. Suzanné Hayward (Elise) is Mia’s (Williams) eccentric and often irresponsible mother. She has always leaned on her daughter, forcing Mia to grow up fast and learn how to keep things on the rails. And Leon Hayes (Underwood) is Mia’s debonair yet often absent father, and their relationship, or lack thereof, has fundamentally shaped Mia’s romantic life as an adult.
Nwodim rounds out the guest stars of Love Life season 2. She will star as Ola Adebayo, a beautiful playwright who seems perfect on paper to Marcus. But the two get so serious so fast that both of them are forced to confront how right they really are for each other.
Anna Kendrick who led the first season of the show will reprise her role as Darby Carter on Season 2. She will appear occasionally in season two alongside season 1 stars Zoë Chao, Peter Vack and Nick Thune. Love Life Season 2 is co-showrun by Sam Boyd, Bridget Bedard and Rachelle Williams. The trio will also executive produce.
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Jackson Harper, Kendrick, Paul Feig, and Dan Magnante are also executive producers. Love Life is produced by Lionsgate Television and Feigco Entertainment.
Season 2 is currently in production in New York.