TV

How Los Espookys created a second season that's sillier (and spookier) than ever

Yes, the moon is a character in season 2.

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Published on September 15, 2022 03:00PM EDT

There are a lot of horror shows on television right now. There are even a lot of horror comedies. But the brilliantly bizarre HBO series Los Espookys might be the strangest — and spookiest — of them all. At the very least, it's certainly the only one featuring ketchup gazpacho, a water demon obsessed with The King's Speech, and a bubbly Kim Petras as the U.S. secretary of state.

Ever since Los Espookys premiered in 2019, the show has become a sleeper hit, an outlandish fever dream set in an unnamed Latin American country. Created by Julio Torres, Ana Fabrega, and Fred Armisen, the series switches between Spanish and English, following a group of friends who turn their passion for horror into a strange new business. Bernardo Velasco's horror geek Renaldo leads the team, joining forces with Cassandra Ciangherotti's stoic Úrsula, Torres' self-absorbed Andrés, and Fabrega's off-kilter Tati. Together, the four investigate mysteries, orchestrate fake exorcisms, and encounter the occasional cursed mirror.

Thanks to its oddball humor and a rapturous critical response, Los Espookys scored a renewal almost immediately, with HBO announcing plans for a second season soon after the first season ended. Then, the pandemic hit, filming was shut down in Chile, and the show was put on pause for several years. Now, after a long wait, Los Espookys returns Sept. 16, following its horror-obsessed heroes as they embark on a whole new series of spine-tingling adventures.

To celebrate the series' return, EW sat down with Los Espookys stars Fabrega, Torres, Armisen, Ciangherotti, and Velasco for our Around the Table series. Together, the cast and creators opened up about season 2 and turning up the weird for their sophomore effort.

"We would just come up with ideas that were funny to us and figure out how to turn it all into a cohesive season's story," Fabrega explains. "We also got a lot more into the characters this season, in a way that we didn't in season 1. I think part of that just came from having a season under our belts, and seeing what Cassandra and Bernardo brought to their characters. That helped us and informed the writing that we did going into season 2. It just felt like a more mature version of the show because we had the experience of the first season already."

"We were excited to just deepen the characters and explore their psyche a little more," Torres adds. "[We wanted to] flesh out the world that they are in. Ana and I usually start with a well of ideas that we would love to include somehow, and then we find the roadmap to including all those things. It's a very free-flowing, organic process."

That roadmap takes Los Espookys to some pretty strange places. The second season finds Renaldo investigating the murder of a cryptic beauty queen, as the practical Úrsula finds herself caught up in a nationwide election. "If Úrsula weren't there, all the characters would be flying in the clouds, up I don't know where," Ciangherotti says. "Úrsula is the one that keeps them grounded."

Meanwhile, Armisen's valet Tico moves back home and spends more time with Los Espookys, as Andrés and Tati each search for their purpose. He gets a job as a spiral staircase model, while she pursues an unconventional career as an author.

And of course, the four Espookys take on some pretty ridiculous gigs. At an early table read for the second season, Velasco remembers getting excited for an episode where Renaldo speaks to an elementary school class, dressed as a giant fuzzy monster named Bibi's. (The apostrophe is included in his name.) "I was really excited trying to imagine what Bibi's was going to look like," Velasco explains. "But once we got there, it was a really, really hot summer in Chile. I realized I had to wear this giant poofy monster [costume]. It was a challenge to be in there for long periods."

"But Renaldo is really committed to playing Bibi's," Ciangherotti adds with a laugh.

As Los Espookys embark on their horrific journey, they encounter faces both familiar and new. Spike Einbinder is back as the Water's Shadow, and Greta Titelman also returns as the Barbie-esque American ambassador. Plus, Petras makes a cameo as the aforementioned secretary of state, while Roma star and Oscar nominee Yalitza Aparacio joins the cast as Andrés' friend, the moon. Yes, that moon. The actual moon.

"We knew that we needed someone with a really strong presence to be the moon," Torres explains. "We didn't know if it was going to be a young person or old person or their gender or anything. But we thought of Yalitza, who's such a magnetic presence. What's nice about Yalitza is she's very calm, and she's very warm. She's very serene, which is not what you would think of someone who's in space. That contrast, I thought, was really beautiful — especially against Andrés who's so selfish and loves the pomp and circumstance."

All say they can't wait to share the new season, especially after the overwhelming reaction to the first. They've also found some unexpected fans: Armisen remembers running into Misfits legend Glenn Danzig, who couldn't help but geek out over the show.

"I couldn't believe it," the comedian says with a laugh. "All I wanted to do was tell him how great I thought he was, and he was telling me how much he loves Los Espookys."

Watch the full Around the Table with Los Espookys above.

Make sure to check out EW's Fall TV Preview cover story — as well as all of our 2022 Fall TV Preview content, releasing over 22 days through Sept. 29.

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