The first season of Homecoming was a screw-turning mystery starring Julia Roberts as a social worker who had lost her memory. The season finished her characters' arc but left a lot of open questions. Now, many of those questions are being answered in the show's second season, which stars singer Janelle Monae in her first foray into serialized television. Monae plays a completely new character, Jackie, who wakes up in a boat with no memory of who she is.
In a virtual roundtable with CBR and other outlets, Monae discussed what attracted her to the show, the unique challenges of her role and how the series speaks to real-world issues.
Monae had seen and was a fan of Homecoming's first season before she became involved in Season 2. "I was a fan of, obviously, Julia Roberts, who's an icon, Stefan James and Hong [Chau] and just the talent of the show," she said. "I love that it felt like they were doing something very innovative with the shortness of the episodes and how the credits would be rolling while they was still acting going on or screen time... I loved the music. I loved all of that."
Season 2 offered all that, plus a character that intrigued Monae. "When I read the script, I was like, 'Oh, they’re still pulling all the things I love from the show.' The Hitchcockian feel and… the suspense and the action. And this woman, Jackie, who wakes up in this boat with no memory and she's uncovering her identity, I just thought, 'Wow this is like some of my favorite films, like Momento and the... Bourne Identity.'"
Yet, playing an amnesiac presented many unique challenges, and Monae did a lot of work to develop and bring depth to her character. "I had to do a lot of research on amnesia, on memory loss.…," Monae shared. "One of the challenges was how can I play that role not as I'm wandering around and I don't know anything, because that would be one-dimensional to me. But it's like, how can I still make it nuanced?
"And a lot of it was about listening, really listening, because people will tell you what you want to know if you are a good listener. And, also, I just could not let everybody know that I lost my memory because… that's when people can take advantage of you. I still have to have my guard up. But I have to strike a balance of admitting, being transparent about the things that have happened, but not giving away too much information that it allows someone to take further advantage of me. So yeah, it was a tightrope for sure."
In fact, Monae noted that Jackie's search for her identity was one of the things that make watching Season 2 exciting. "We're uncovering her story, so as she's finding out about who she is, we are too. That's the cool thing about it, she doesn't know. She knows what people tell her in that moment, but she can't remember anything. So… we're relying on everybody else telling her who she is. And you're watching it, and you're saying who may be B.S.ing her before she does. So, it's a pretty intriguing journey to watch somebody try to uncover who they are."
Monae also revealed that one of the appealing aspects of the role was the chance to represent black women veterans. "One of the reasons why I took on this role was because… you don't see the black woman [veteran] represented on TV a lot," Monae observed, "and, man, being a woman within itself in that space can be challenging because it is heavy male-dominated. And I think for her, also losing her memory and dealing with the trauma that a lot of… veterans have gone through is something that we can talk more about. You know, mental health is important.
"This woman wakes up in the middle of a boat and is trying to uncover what happened to her, and all she knows is: I'm a... veteran, I did something or somebody did something to me and I have to get to the truth and get to the bottom of it. And I think that this show also deals with how we treat our veterans after they leave [the military]. What resources are we giving them, financially, spiritually, emotionally? How are we there for our vets and how can we be better there for our vets?"
According to Monae, what the show has to say about the way the United States takes care of its veterans is just one of the many potent themes of the new season. She also detailed the other ideas Season 2 explores, and how she hopes it will inspire change in viewers. "The second season said a lot about mental health," Monae began. "It also says a lot about how we treat our veterans, and the people who help build this country and protect this country. It also says a lot about greed. It also says a lot about capitalism. And it says a lot about what we will do to keep power. And I think that's totally relevant to right now.
"I think that, in the United States," she continued, "I'm living in a world where our president… doesn't listen to scientists…. These are my views as a human watching, a citizen watching, a person who loves this country and whose ancestors helped build this country. I feel like we are led by capitalism, and we're making decisions not for humanity and to better humanity and protect the health and well-being of humanity, but money and greed and staying in the position of power. And so, I think the show deals with that. I think you'll absolutely be able to look at the world that you live in, and the people around you, and politics and corporations, and hopefully it'll inspire all of us to live a better life that's more community-oriented."
Of course, whenever Monae takes on an acting role, she also has to contend with her own identity as an internationally known singer and performer. So part of her work as an actor is minimizing how much audiences see her so they can focus on her character. "I always pray and meditate to reduce Janelle, reduce me and allow that character to shine," Monae explained. "Because I want, every time you see that character on the screen, I don't want you thinking about Janelle Monae, the musician…. I want you to be thinking about Jackie, the… veteran in Homecoming who wakes up and discovers that she doesn't know how she got in this boat, she doesn't know who she is. So, that's a lot of spirit work to make you not see Janelle Monae, the artist on stage performing at a concert. You have to work inward."
Starring Janelle Monae, Hong Chau, Joan Cusack, Chris Cooper and Stephan James, the seven-episode second season of Homecoming is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.