The highly anticipated season two of Minx is set to make its premiere on Stan on Friday, July 21; however, it almost didn’t get off the ground.
The edgy comedy is about a young feminist in the 1970s, Joyce (Ophelia Lovibond), who is determined to make waves in the publishing world. But when she fails to find her dream job, she winds up taking a lead role in the first erotic magazine for women.
And even though it gained a cult following during its first outing, US streamer HBO Max decided not to renew the series, with the cast and crew — who were in their final days of filming the second season — left in limbo as to whether their show would see the light of day. However, as luck would have it, another streamer, Starz, decided to take it on and the chaotic story would live on.
Speaking to Mediaweek and Chattr’s The Entertainment Hotline Podcast (in a pre-recorded interview in June), director and executive producer Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) admitted that morale was low when they first heard the news of the cancellation.
“It was devastating,” Feig admitted. “I was there that day and was just trying to keep the cast upbeat because your show’s gone.”
Feig added that given everybody on set was a “professional”, the Minx community understood “the business”.
“Being able to rally and say we will find a home for this, [and] don’t worry. The fact that HBO Max didn’t just shut the lights off. That would have been devastating because there’s nothing worse than when something’s almost finished, and you’re really happy with what you’re doing, and then you realise that nobody can see what we just did.”
For stars Lovibond and Jake Johnson (Doug), who also appeared on the podcast in a pre-recorded interview, the cast also knew that there was a lot of “enthusiasm” for the show.
“We had that reassurance quite early on,” Lovibond explained. “There was a lot of enthusiasm and support for it.”
The season 2 cast of Minx. Stan
What will happen in season 2 of Minx?
Season one saw Doug walk away from Minx, giving all the power to Joyce. When season two opens, the pair sell Bottom Dollar (Doug’s publishing house) to a retired shipping magnate with unlimited money and power. Their magazine then becomes a commercial success, bringing more money, more fame and more temptations.
Under the new leadership, Doug struggles to find his footing and maintain his control within Bottom Dollar.
“I don’t think he I think he didn’t want a part of Minx,” Johnson said during the interview. “I think Minx didn’t want him, so I think he did a selfless move. What a gentleman. I think in season two, he regrets it and I think what we figured out is, so do they. They want the old guy back in the barn.”
Lovibond added: “They’ve given away too much creative identity for the money. And then she sort of says, ‘I preferred it when it was just the two of us’. So as much as they irritate each other, they recognise that it’s much better when they were at the helm.”
Meanwhile, Joyce begins to lose sight of her core beliefs as she gets caught up in her rise to stardom.
“It was definitely a challenge because it felt to me like we were exploring a very different side to her that you had only seen kind of tiny little snippets of in season one,” Lovibond said. “Like when she has a one-night stand for the first time and she can’t believe that she’s done that, but she really enjoyed it.
“There’s a scene really early on in season one where Doug sort of says to her, ‘You know, you can be more than one thing’. And she’s terrified because that’s not been her experience. But she’s realising, that actually, she can be more than one thing.”
Jake Johnson and Ophelia Lovibond. Minx
Elizabeth Perkins joins the cast of Minx
Iconic actor Elizabeth Perkins has joined the cast for the second outing, with Feig saying that they “needed such a specific character and type for the role” of Constance Papadopoulos.
“I worked with Elizabeth on Weeds and then Ghostbusters [reboot]. I love her because of that and Ellen [Rapoport – Minx creator] has always been a giant fan of hers. So, it really did feel like I don’t know who else we could possibly ask to play this role.”
Feig also added that “Elizabeth is so talented and such a good dramatic actor, but she’s also so funny”.
“She can find humour in a character like that. But she’s also intimidating. Constance was scary on the show, but in a great way, because she’s such a business person. Even though she likes everybody, she could definitely just pull the plug on stuff or fire somebody immediately, and that’s the kind of tension and conflict I like, because that’s very relatable to anybody who works.”
Lovibond and Elizabeth Perkins. Stan
Listen to the full interview with director Paul Feig and stars of Minx Jake Johnson and Ophelia Lovibond on The Entertainment Hotline Podcast.
The brand new season of Minx premieres July 21, only on Stan.