Black Summer is coming back for a second season on Netflix, with new episodes premiering on Thursday, June 17. This thriller follows the character Rose, a mother who is searching for her daughter throughout a deadly zombie apocalypse. Early on in the first season, she finds herself traveling with a group of other survivors.
Among them is the escaped convict Julius James, also known as Spears. The character is played by actor Justin Chu Cary, best know for his work in Blindspotting and S.W.A.T.
Spears has a mysterious side to him, keeping his past and vulnerabilities to himself. However, Black Summer Season 2 has something new in store for him. Cary told us, “We actually delve into Spears a lot this season. Remember how Lance had his own episode in the first season where they just track him? Spears’ gets one of those and you begin to learn about his past and his past kind of begins to haunt him.”
Monsters & Critics had the opportunity to chat with Justin Chu Cary about his time on-set for Black Summer Season 2 and also, his future plans.
On Spears past
When Cary was asked about his preparation process for Black Summer, he shared, “This season, for me, is a little less physical, certainly in terms of the action. It is more cerebral.”
Elaborating, he continued, “It was more emotional work this season for me than the physicality. The physical happened naturally because we’re in the cold this season versus last season when we were in the summer. We had so many layers. I think I had five layers of jackets and shirts and thermals, which I actually needed because it was like negative 10 degrees while we were shooting.”
On his future projects
In addition to working on the STARZ television adaptation of the comedy-drama Blindspotting, Cary was excited to share that he has been working on creating a television series with his brother.
He said, “Currently, I’m writing with my brother. We just sold a show to a studio with a lot of big-name executives and a brilliant showrunner attached. I can’t really speak on it yet, but that’s taken up a lot of my time.”
Sharing about his past in graphic design, he added, “I was a graphic and web designer. It was kind of my waitering job as I was waiting for a break in acting. I was actually lucky in that way because I thoroughly enjoyed graphic design and web designing, and photography as a freelancer. It was just like another freelance art job. I’ve done visual arts my whole life. And now I’m writing and producing with my brother, and it’s going pretty well.”
Check our our full interview below.
Check out our other interviews: Netflix’s Fresh, Fried and Crispy, and Apple TV’s Ted Lasso.
Black Summer Season 2 is currently steaming on Netflix.