The Terminal List stars Chris Pratt and Constance Wu spoke with ComingSoon’s Tyler Treese about the second season of their hit Prime Video show. The duo discussed how long it could run, Bill Maher’s cameo, and more. It is now streaming on Prime Video.
“Season Two finds James Reece (Chris Pratt) searching for new purpose after finishing his list. When the CIA corners him, Reece must clear his name by stopping a resurgent terrorist group that has turned a former ally to their cause. The globe-trotting espionage thriller uncovers a conspiracy reaching from Moscow to Langley and into Reece’s own family history,” says the official synopsis.
Tyler Treese: Chris, one thing that is so unique about The Terminal List is that so many creatives on the show are Navy SEALs and served in the military, including one of the directors this season, Ray Mendoza. I imagine that makes you want to be better and work harder, but what are the tangible effects on this production compared to other shows you’ve worked on?
Chris Pratt: Man, well, yes, it does inspire me to do everything I can to honor these guys. I think the tangible effects are, A, I have a comp for the character I’m playing around me at all times. Sometimes you can lose sight of the character that you’re playing, and for me, it’s easy to have that touchstone. I’d go right to my friend Jared, and he would give me a look, and I would know if I was doing it right. And that’s not just weapons handling, but it’s also handling situations, situational awareness, and just how you carry yourself when you walk into a room. These guys are really special.
But then also implementing 17 veterans on this project in front of and behind the camera. We’ve got the writers’ room. We had a couple of Navy SEALs. We have a Navy SEAL director, you mentioned Ray Mendoza, various other veterans, spec ops and otherwise on the show.
I think, to me, the quality of the show just goes up because these people transition so well into the film and television industry. They completely respect authority and know how to work in a chain of command, have great training, all mission-oriented. And so the transition for these guys is really great. We’re super lucky to have a whole bunch of them. And as we continue to make these shows, we’ll just build that team out even more.
Constance, this season opens with Katie being a bit of a celebrity after the first season. We see her on Real Time with Bill Maher, of all shows. I thought that scene was so brilliantly constructed. How was it doing a fake talk show appearance in this?
Constance Wu: Well, let me tell you, Bill Maher was really good at acting. He was completely off-book. He wasn’t nervous. He wasn’t anything. He was just himself, like how he is on the show, and he was great.
I think it makes sense that a character that is going through something like Katie has gone through would go on shows like that. And she’s also writing a book, so doing things like that as promotion for a book.
Chris, this season’s based on True Believer. There’s eight books currently with James Reece. Could you see the show going just as long as the book series?
Chris Pratt: Yeah, I want it to. James Reece’s last mission is going to be he’s going to eat a steak without his dentures in. Sorry, Amazon, this is for life.
Constance Wu: I thought you were going to say it’s going to be on Mars. Like they will have colonized Mars.
Pratt: The beauty is Jack’s a prolific writer. He’s got great stories. This is not only for James Reece, but also for the other characters that are out there. And we’ve got Cry Havoc, which is a really great story. We love that. We had Dark Wolf. I think there’s a lot of these supporting characters that deserve their own stories. I’m super curious about the Hastings family and their ranch.
We’re constantly dreaming up ideas. The audience has shown up, and as long as they continue to show up, we want to continue to serve that audience because it’s been truly a dream to do this job, to work with the crew that I’m working with, the team that I’m working with. These are my best friends.
To be doing this is the stuff that you dream of when you’re a kid, like lugging a lens up a mountain in Africa to shoot a scene. And last night we did a toast. It was like, as kids, we’d run around, play guns. And I’m like, that’s what we’re doing. We’re running around and playing guns, but it’s for a living. It’s pretty fun.
Thanks to Chris Pratt and Constance Wu for taking the time to talk about The Terminal List Season 2.