The Mosquito Coast Beefs Up Its Cast For Season 2
"The Mosquito Coast," the Apple TV+ drama series starring Justin Theroux and Melissa George, has added three names to its list of season 2 regulars. Ian Hart, who had a recurring role in the first season as the hitman Bill Lee, has been upgraded to a main cast member, and joining him (per Deadline) are new additions Natalia Cordova-Buckley and Ariyon Bakare.
Cordova-Buckley played Yo-Yo Rodriguez on "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." and her other credits include Karyn Kusama's "Destroyer" and four episodes of the "Sons of Anarchy" spin-off, "Mayans M.C." Bakare is known for his roles as Lord Boreal in HBO's "His Dark Materials" and the demon Ligur in Amazon's "Good Omens."
Before "The Mosquito Coast," Hart gained visibility as Professor Quirinus Quirrell in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," which saw him doing the face-in-the-back-of-the-head thing before "Malignant" was ever a twinkle in James Wan's eye. He recently appeared in the HBO Max reunion special, "Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts."
In "The Mosquito Coast," Theroux stars as Allie Fox, an idealistic inventor who has changed his identity numerous times and is a fugitive from government agents for reasons that aren't always clear. Harrison Ford originated the role in Peter Weir's 1986 film of the same name. Ford once said that it was the best role he had read since "Witness," his previous collaboration with Weir.
Theroux's uncle, Paul Theroux, wrote the original novel that served as the source material for the film and this series. He serves as an executive producer here with his nephew and others, though Apple's version of "The Mosquito Coast" diverges from his book and feels more like a south-of-the-border "Ozark" or "Breaking Bad."
Brief spoilers for "The Mosquito Coast" season 1 lie ahead.
Season 2 will double down on the Heisenberg-like hitman
The first season of "The Mosquito Coast," which is developed by Neil Cross and Tom Bissell, ended rather abruptly and with the weirdest image: Hart's Heisenberg-esque hitman, Lee, spitting in frustration. It was random because he was a supporting character who had only appeared in three of seven episodes. Allie and his family had just eluded him and were last seen boating to a green locale.
It's not clear yet if that means the show will now begin to align more with the rainforest-set novel and film or if it will continue to do its own thing. However, this casting news suggests that Lee will have an increased presence in season 2 and continue to pursue Allie and his family.
"The Mosquito Coast" is one of the titles we recognized in our list of 10 Apple TV+ shows that justify a subscription. Here's the synopsis for the first season:
A brilliant rebel (Justin Theroux) and his wife (Melissa George) take their family on the run to protect them, but end up exposing them to more danger than ever. At every turn of their adventure, they encounter increasing threats and intensifying moral choices from which there's no turning back.