Intergalactic intrigue: 'Beacon 23' takes viewers to the farthest reaches of the Milky Way

Apr. 6—Glen Mazzara knows what challenges a TV series can bring.

Yet, he rises to each challenge.

As the showrunner of the MGM+ series, "Beacon 23," Mazzara was ready for what came his way.

"We shot the two seasons back to back," he says. "From a writing standpoint, it was challenging. We were producing one season and there were a lot of plates spinning while we were working on the second season."

The second season of "Beacon 23" is a continuation of the science fiction drama based on the bestselling book of the same name by Hugh Howey.

The series takes place in the farthest reaches of the Milky Way.

The first season followed Aster, played by Lena Headey, a government agent, and Halan, played by Stephan James, a stoic ex-military man, whose fates became entangled after they found themselves trapped together inside one of many Beacons that served as a lighthouse for intergalactic travelers.

In season two, "Beacon 23" is now little more than a prison with Aleph, played by Eric Lange, onboard, and The Artifact provides more questions than answers.

Without a clear path forward, the inhabitants of Beacon 23 must rely on each other, but their conflicting agendas may get in the way.

The new season will feature James, Natasha Mumba and Ellen Wong.

The series is produced by Boat Rocker and will premiere on MGM+ on Sunday, April 7, with eight new episodes.

Zak Penn created the series and executive produces. Mazzara and Joy Blake serve as co-showrunners and executive producers on season two.

Mazzara says season two felt like a traveling circus.

"As we were writing season two, we wanted to push deeper into the characters as the season progressed," he says. "The first season was for world building. We used this to continue to build the world, but also add the mystery and the rules of the world. In a way, this season shines a light on our main character, Halan, and the relationship with Aster. We dive into each of their pasts. I'm confident by the end of the season, viewers will have more answers than questions. Though there will still be plenty of questions."

Mazzara is proud of the writing team this season.

"It's interesting to see what Natasha does in this season," he says. "It was the writer's catching up to the acting talent. She was terrific. We wanted to learn more about Harmony and it really focuses on her."

Because the seasons were filmed back-to-back, Mazzara says the crew remained busy and kept the ball rolling.

"They were up for the challenge," he says. "We wanted to keep pushing the storytelling. I don't ever want a show I work on to settle into a rut. We kept surprising ourselves with how the stories moved forward. It kept it fresh."

Mazzara's interest in "Beacon 23" was piqued by Penn.

"It came down to working with Zak," he says. "I had never seen a thriller set in space. A lot of space shows can settle into a war type. I think with this show we're able to deliver. This show feels more like a creepy thriller where we don't know what's going to happen. Personally, we were all coming out of the pandemic and had been isolated. There was a type of immediacy to this show and it works."

Mazzara says in the second season, the show finds itself.

"It's fun and surprising at the same time," he says. "We have some big twists coming up. The audience is going to go on a ride and I like that they might get frustrated with what's happening. They aren't able to figure out where the story is going. We've also added Ellen Wong to the show and she brought a different layer to the story."