This Part Of Filming Peacemaker Season 2 Was Tougher Than The First [Exclusive]

One would imagine there are all kinds of difficulties in filming an over-the-top superhero series like the HBO Max hit "Peacemaker," from potentially uncomfortable costumes to the high-intensity stunts. For actor Steve Agee, who portrays curmudgeonly super-hacker John Economos, those weren't really concerns, but another beloved "Peacemaker" element was: the opening credits dance. While Agee is musically talented and has played in several bands, dancing isn't exactly his forte. He has commented on how challenging it was learning the dance for the first season of "Peacemaker" previously, though apparently season 2 was even harder. 

I had the chance to sit down via Zoom and chat all things "Peacemaker" with Agee, and the man behind everyone's favorite grumpy guy in the 11th Street Kids shared that for season 2's opening sequence, the shoot took longer, the dance was more complex, and they had even more practice. The opening credits for season 2, set to "Oh Lord" by Cincinnati-based rock group Foxy Shazam, are a bit more serious and intense than the season 1 credits set to Wig Wam's "Do Ya Wanna Taste It?," which honestly fits the moods of the two seasons themselves. There's more going on, a bit more drama and even more characters, but that all makes for one killer intro.

Agee explained that while they got to work with season 1 dance choreographer Charissa-Lee Barton again in season 2, and she did her best to help them get it down, it was still a bigger commitment than the first time around: 

"It was really difficult learning this dance. The first one was difficult. We don't show up on the day and have Charissa show us how to do the moves. It's a day or two each week for a few months going in and meeting with her, and she breaks down the dance into the sections. So you learn them by sections and then she has her assistant, Flo, hold up a phone and record you so that you can go home and hopefully rehearse in your downtime. I think a lot of people did not do that. But this second one, it's a longer intro because we have more people, so it's a longer dance. We shot it for two days as opposed to an afternoon for season 1. So it was difficult."

The season 2 dance features Peacemaker (John Cena) and his friends in the 11th Street Kids, along with new season 2 adversaries like Frank Grillo's Rick Flag, Sr., Tim Meadows' Langston Fleury, and some characters from the alternate universe Peacemaker discovers in his dead dad's closet. It's a lot of fun, even if it's not quite as learnable as the season 1 dance, but the final move, in which everyone basically lies down and pretends to be dead, is beyond charming. 

While Agee said that some of his fellow actors also struggled with the dance, including Robert Patrick, frequent Gunn collaborator Michael Rooker, and Meadows, everyone had a totally different tactic when it came to the final pile. Some cast members seem to be having a lot of fun selling the idea that they're croaking, while Grillo just seems to have a case of the giggles. Agee isn't exactly at the front of the pile, and that's by design, he said. "If you watch, I'm one of the last people to lay down and you can clearly see me looking for a comfortable place. There are people laying in that pile who are on their backs, head upside down," he said. He didn't want to deal with any of that, so he decided to "fall into it and just rest here while the camera rolls." 

Honestly, after a whole day of doing complex choreography, you're gonna take whatever chance to rest you can, and it's hard to blame Agee. Maybe next season's theme will be a slow jam and the dance will be a little lower-energy, though I'm not betting on it. You can learn the steps to the season 1 dance here if you really want to taste just what the cast is dealing with, just remember that season 2 is even harder (if you're dance-challenged like Agee, Patrick, and me, anyway). 

New episodes of "Peacemaker" premiere Thursdays on HBO Max.