The onscreen father-daughter duo talks to ET about the Apple TV+ drama's new season.
A new case awaits on Home Before Dark.
In the second season, which dropped its first episode Friday on Apple TV+, amateur investigator Hilde Lisko (Brooklynn Prince) and her journalist father, Matthew (Jim Sturgess), go up against a powerful and influential corporation when a mysterious explosion hits a local farm. With the health of her family and Erie Harbor threatened, Hilde and Matthew hit the streets to find the truth and force those responsible to finally get justice.
"It feels like it's a bigger adventure. It feels like the whole thing is blown wide open and it really takes you on a roller coaster," Sturgess tells ET of the new season. "If the first season was more like Stand by Me, the second season is more like The Goonies. A crazy fun adventure, where the kids are getting out some serious mischief."
With the season in full swing, ET spoke with Prince and Sturgess about Hilde and Matthew's latest investigation, how the pandemic helped them grow even closer and their favorite episodes of season 2.
ET: How did it feel coming back together for season 2 of Home Before Dark?
Jim Sturgess: Coming back together was a new experience. It really was. I'd never shot a second season or a sequel or anything like that to a project that I've been involved in. And when you make a project, you become very close to the people that you're working with. You're with each other so much, it's an intense experience. You're creating strong bonds and relationships. Then often it just ends, and then everyone sort of disappears and goes to their individual parts of the world. To have that experience and get so connected with Brooklynn and all the other members of the show. To then know that we were going to come back and we were all going to reunite and do it all over again felt amazing. The experience of what that meant as an actor when you've already built memories and you've already built experiences with that person, it was incredible. You can just pick up where you left off and it's richer and it's deeper than it was even before. So I loved it. It was amazing to see everybody again. We're a really tight group, we all have a lot of love and respect for each other.
How did that evolve the relationship between you two onscreen?
Brooklynn Prince: Jim and I have changed as people. We've gotten older, we've gotten new perspectives, not like you change much when you're adult and you get older, but...
Sturgess: You do man, you do.
Prince: We both came back with new things to share about in our lives and I think Matt and Hilde have changed in a year, and so their relationship is new. Matt is getting over his past. They're starting a new chapter of their relationship together. I think they've changed into a more father-daughter sleuthy duo.
Sturgess: And the pandemic, the fact that we got shut down and we all stayed in Vancouver. We all lived in this little world and we got through this momentous moment in time. And we did it together as a group. When we came back to the show, after the shutdown, after the hiatus, we were more ready to sort of dive back into the story and the show and the characters. We were, more than anything, so grateful to have each other and to have the show as something of a bright light in a time that was difficult for a lot of people. We were grateful to have the show to come back to and have that experience together. It was very special in a way that fed into the show.
Season 2 kicks off a brand new mystery that seems a bit more high stakes for Hilde and Matthew. Can you tee up this new season and what their journey looks like as they investigate what is making the town stick and who is responsible?
Prince: The Liskos are picking their life up in season 1. It's like holding a big batch of laundry and everything's falling everywhere, and you're trying to just pick it up, and then you drop more, and then you drop the whole pile. It's an endless cycle. I think the Liskos have now picked themselves up. They're a new family. They're actually inserting themselves into the community. And then Hilde finds this climate change, environmental case, which leads to Erie Harbor's main corporation, which then leads to conflict. And Matt and Bridget are trying to find some stuff out, Izzy's finding her voice and you've got all the factors with everyone going around and Trip becoming sheriff.
Last season also left with the question about what happened to Matthew's childhood friend, Richie Fife. Jim, what were you most excited to explore this season?
Sturgess: I love that it sort of seemingly goes into a completely different place. Hilde is now investigating obscure weather patterns and weird things that are happening with the environment. And as you're reading the [scripts], you're going, "Where's this going?" This is going somewhere completely the opposite direction of the Richie Fife story. And it was so interesting to watch how it evolves and how it develops. The more Hilde digs into this investigation, the more she unearths and the more it starts to connect with things that have happened in season 1. And that for me was really exciting to be a part of. When you're making a show like Home Before Dark, you're kind of the audience too. We don't really know what's happening next until we read the next batch of scripts that come our way. We sort of feel that evolution that the audience feels when they watch it. To see it all start to connect with themes that happened in season 1 was super exciting.
When I spoke to you guys for season 1, you spoke about secret handshakes, a lot of singing and just being silly on set. How did you guys spend your time in between shots this season?
Prince: Nothing changed. Nothing changed. Me and Jim pretend we're people from Switzerland. Jim does this perfect accent and we do these funny jokes and then we make up new songs about my wiggly teeth.
Sturgess: We had more characters this year. We had a bunch of weird different characters that we sort of play in between takes.
Prince: We pretend that we're really posh and say nut names really fancy ways. Like [says it in an accent] "ke-shu" and "al-mons" and "pee-stah-sheoh."
Sturgess: It goes to some pretty surreal places in between takes.
Do you have a favorite episode from the season?
Prince: My favorite episode is episode 9. It's such a tearjerker, it's so good. Just reading the script, me and my mom just looked at each other. We were both crying. We were so sad and then filming it, the music and seeing it all cut together. Howie Deutch, the director, made it so flipping good. I can't take it.
Sturgess: For me, when I watched season 1, I saw all the stuff that I wasn't in, which was when Brooklynn is with Donny and Spoon and all that. I was like, "Wow, those guys are all so great." It's so fun to watch Donny, Spoon and Hilde all together. So in season 2, I got to be in a couple of scenes and a whole episode with Donny. That was a big deal working with Donny, Spoon and Hilde all in one scene. It was a dream come true. We did the episode where we all go to the island on that speedboat, remember that B?
Prince: Mmhmm.
Sturgess: We're on a big boat and we're driving over across the lakes and we go to this island. That was a fun episode to shoot.
Prince: There's this one scene with Jim and Deric [McCabe, who plays Spoon] and Jibrail [Nantambu], who played Donny. I got on the boat, I opened up the doors and I was like, "Where is Jibrail?" and I kept looking inside this compartment. I opened it up one more time and I'm like, "He's not in there." I open it up just again to look and Jibrail is sitting there and goes, "Hi, kids!." I tripped over the steps on the boat. It was the funniest thing ever. He's a really funny guy.
Sturgess: Those guys are crazy.
What do you want people to know about season 2? How would you describe as this new chapter in the Liskos' story?
Sturgess: It feels like it's a bigger adventure. It feels like the whole thing is blown wide open and it really takes you on a roller coaster. And particularly Donny, Spoon and Hilde as they really take on this investigation and you have no idea where it's going. If the first season was more like Stand by Me, the second season is more like The Goonies. A crazy fun adventure, where the kids are getting out some serious mischief.
Prince: Donny and Spoon and Hilde have become more of a group. Hilde used to be the one dragging them on and now Donny and Spoon have really realized themselves. I think the Liskos are starting to become a family dedicated to journalism. Izzy is starting to take interest in, Bridget being a lawyer and Matt and Hilde... they're all starting to become a little justice family. Times are changing for everyone and it's this fun, funky, weird... It's kind of a new show but it keeps the old show in mind.
New episodes of Home Before Dark drop Fridays on Apple TV+. For more, watch below.
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