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With The in Man in the High Castle Season 2 now available on Amazon Prime, I recently sat down with producer Isa Hackett (daughter of Philip K. Dick) as well as Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa (who plays Nobusuke Tagomi) to talk about the new season. During our wide-ranging interview they talked about how Season 2 pushes the envelope by exploring and expanding the world of the series, making the character relationships more organic, what it’s like working for Amazon, if there were any big arcs or storylines that got changed along the way, if they’re preparing for Season 3, and so much more.

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For those not familiar with The Man in the High Castle, the show is adapted from the novel of the same name by the late Philip K. Dick. It depicts a world in which Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany triumphed over the Allies in the Second World War. Some 20 years later, the United States and much of the world has now been split between Japan and Germany, the major hegemonic nations. But the tension between these two powers is mounting, and much of the resistance and collateral damage of the struggle plays out in the western U.S.

Fans of Season 1 will likely be all the more wrapped up in what goes down in the second season. While I’ve only seen the first five episodes, what’s great about Season 2 is its embrace of an expanding scope, both in the living world of the series and in characters that appear in the wake of the escalating conflict. The characters that survived Season 1 continue the good fight, though in refreshingly daring and nimble ways that divert from last season. If Season 1 efficiently set up the world of The Man in the High Castle, Season 2 burrows into the interweaving paths that looks to subvert the new world order. For more on Season 2, read Dave Trumbore’s review.

Below you’ll find a listing of everything Isa Hackett and Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa talked about followed by the official synopsis for season 2. Check out the interview above. If you missed my interviews with Alexa Davalos, Rupert Evans and Stephen Root or Luke Kleintank and Bella Heathcote, click the links.

Isa Hackett and Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa:

  • What they can tease about Season 2 versus Season 1.
  • Making the character relationships more organic.
  • The amount of detail they had on their characters when they got the script.
  • What appeals to them about their characters.
  • Working with Amazon and their hope for an ongoing series rather than a limited series.
  • The challenges of making Season 2.
  • If there were any big arcs or storylines that got changed along the way.
  • If they’re preparing for Season 3.
  • What they have coming up.
  • Working in the era of Peak TV.
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Image via Amazon

Here’s the official synopsis for The Man in the High Castle Season 2:

Season two resumes with Juliana Crain (Alexa Davalos) facing the consequences of her decision to betray the Resistance and allow Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank), a suspected Nazi agent, to escape the Pacific States with a film originally bound for the Man in the High Castle. Joe himself returns a hero to the Reich and finds himself thrust into the Nazi capital of Berlin, face to face with the father who abandoned him. Meanwhile, Frank Frink (Rupert Evans) becomes increasingly radicalized and drawn further into the Resistance after seeing images of his own execution in the mysterious films.

 

 

With political tensions mounting between Germany and Japan, Trade Minister Tagomi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) begins to regret his success in smuggling nuclear technology from the Reich and seeks solace in the strange new world he discovered at the end of season one. Meanwhile, Obergruppenführer John Smith (Rufus Sewell) struggles to reconcile the values of the Reich with the deteriorating health of his son — all while tasked with a mission from the Führer for which failure is not an option. And Chief Inspector Kido (Joel de la Fuente) begins to take greater interest in the Man in the High Castle, the films, and how Juliana Crain is connected to it all…

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Image via Amazon
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Image via Amazon
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Image via Amazon