Julia Roberts Is Hanging out Behind the Scenes for Season 2 of 'Homecoming'
May 13 2020, Updated 5:47 p.m. ET
The second Amazon Prime's Homecoming ended, viewers knew they needed more.
The series, which is based on a podcast by the same name, tells the story of The Homecoming Transitional Support Center — or at least, most of the mystery in Season 1 revolves around Julia Roberts' Heidi Bergman uncovering what happens there.
Season 2 has a whole new set of mysteries in store, and Janelle Monae is at the center. With no mention of Julia Roberts in the trailer, we wonder whether she'll rejoin the cast for this upcoming second season. Keep reading for everything you need to know.
Is Julia Roberts in Season 2 of 'Homecoming'?
Julia Roberts will not be reprising her role as Heidi for the second season of the show, as her deal—the actress's first role as a TV series regular— only encompassed a one-season commitment.
In the podcast version of Homecoming, Heidi spends all of the second season searching for Walter. Season 1 of the Amazon Prime adaptation has already concluded Heidi's search, so "it seems her story now is truly at its end," per The Hollywood Reporter.
That said, Julia is making a return to Homecoming, but this time behind the camera, as she remains involved as an executive producer alongside showrunner Sam Esmail.
What can we expect from Season 2 of 'Homecoming'? Is it also based on the podcast?
While Season 1 of the Prime show was very much aligned with most of the first season of the Gimlet Media podcast, Season 2 is set to be a total deviation from the original source material.
"[Season 2 of] the podcast doesn't really have anything to do with the way the show is going," Sam Esmail said to THR. "We have a very different trajectory for our show. I think when I signed on, I had only listened to the first six episodes of the podcast, which is the first season, and then from there we deviated completely."
"The show starts out fairly close to the podcast, and in the back half of the season we really start to see the major shifts and differences from the podcast," he continued.
Season 2 sees Janelle Monáe take on the lead role. The season opens with her character waking up on a rowboat with no clue about who she is or how she arrived there. From the looks of the trailer, uncovering who Janelle's character is will be a big part of the season.
Another aspect that will be further explored this season is that of the shadowy organization known as the Geist Group, where the show's Homecoming initiative takes place. It seems that Janelle's search for her identity will lead her to the heart of this organization, and will hopefully let viewers in a little more about what goes on there.
Stephan James will reprise his role as Walter Cruz, who is trying to build a new life after the program, but realizes there are bigger and more dangerous secrets to uncover at the Geist Group.
Homecoming premieres its second season May 22 on Amazon's Prime Video.
