From creator Little Marvin, THEM is a Prime Video original horror anthology that looks to take social realities and tell horror stories with them. The second season of the series, THEM: The Scare has shifted time periods away from 1950s Compton and to 1990s Los Angeles. A crime noir thriller that mixes in supernatural and slasher horror staples, this season is just as intense as the last but is more focused on who it’s telling its story to. We spoke with the THEM: The Scare cast, including Deborah Ayorinde, Luke James, and Joshua J. Williams.
THEM’s second season focuses on Detective Dawn Reeve and her family, including her son Kel and mother Athena (Pam Grier). When Dawn is assigned to a brutal homicide case, her world is turned upside down. As she gets closer to answers, so does the supernatural force that has latched onto her and her family. At the same time, we also see Edmund Gaines, a struggling actor to get a role that isn’t wearing a mascot suit at a kid’s restaurant. Forced into stereotypical auditions one after the other, when he gets the chance to play a slasher villain, he leans all the way into it.
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The Prime Video original anthology series uses horror to tell a social story. We asked the actors what makes the horror genre such a fruitful ground for the conversations Little Marvin is attempting to have in THEM: The Scare.
Luke James’ answer? “Anything can go.” Honing in on the diversity of the genre and the ability it gives creatives to swing for the fences, James continued, “There’s that experimentalness of horror. I think that it is really cool that you just wait for [horror] to move us. When it does, we know it’s all simultaneously everybody is all freaked out when it’s right. And I think that’s the fun in creating horror because it’s so open.”
For his answer, Joshua J. Williams explained that horror is where unique stories thrive and how the genre can open up the industry to new creatives. He explained, “I think the more uniquely told stories and instead of like reboots, it’s best for the film industry. I think new ideas [bring out] new filmmakers. And like Little Marvin, I hadn’t heard about Little Marvin at all. But when I watched THEM season one, I was like, ‘He’s gonna be a household name.'”
While James and Williams hadn’t tackled the horror genre before as actors, Deborah Ayorinde has, and in THEM: Covenant, she learned a lot. For her, it’s the escapism of it all, she said, “One thing I learned when I was going through the process of the first installment is that horror is a form of escapism—in the same way that comedy is or another genre like fantasy is. You know? It’s a way to tell a very real, grounded story under the blanket of this heightened thing. But in this heightened thing, you’re telling a story that people can actually relate to.” She continued, “[Horror escpaism] is just like superhero stories. This person can fly you in the sky, but also is falling in love… just like a normal person would. [Horror] is a form of storytelling in this [heightened state] that really excites people.”
But horror also asks a lot of its actors. Sure, it’s escapism for its audience, but for the THEM: The Scare cast, they learn about themselves in the process. Having already entered Little Marvin’s anthology last season, we asked Ayorinde what she learned from her first role in the series as the Emory family matriarch. But more importantly, how it impacted her role in Season 2. She answered, “I learned that I am capable of much more than I ever thought I was. To be honest, the first season stretched me in ways that I am so grateful for. I definitely brought that not only to the second installment but all of my work since. I’m just extremely excited and extremely honored to be back.”
Stepping into horror for the first time, in arguably one of the most terrifying TV characters on streaming, Luke James had to explore letting go of expectations. James explained his process, “The hard part was to just let go and lean into your experiences. I’m leaning into what Little Marvin had on the page, what he’s telling me, and how he feels. But then, I also have to just lean into my own experiences as an only child, as a loner, as the oddball in any group.”
He continued, “I’m a kid at heart, I will never not be a child. So, [as Edmund] I’m just leaning into all those aspects, but also leaning into the need for love and the want to feel seen. [A] space to call my own and purpose. I’m leaning into the idea of what that could do to a person, to live practically all of your life and never hear someone say, ‘I love you.’ What does that what does that do to a person? The constant rejection as an actor as a struggling actor, and that constant rejection? All of that resonated with me so well, that I just had to lean into the truth.”
Living in that truth is also what James hopes viewers will take away from his performance. While he was excited for the opportunity to be intense, he was also excited to give life to Edmund Gaines, with all of his complexity. James said, “Hopefully, [my performance] moves people in such a way that you feel for [Edmund’s] humanity, and understand his rage. That moved me so much.”
As for Ayorinde, she hopes that audiences’ closeness to the new time period will bring new viewers to the horror anthology. She said, “I think the draw [for THEM: The Scare] is that it is grounded in truth. It’s grounded in family. It’s grounded in things that people can understand and relate to. And I think with this installment being rooted in the 90s, it will draw in even more people—because a lot of us are not too far removed from the 90s. A lot of us remember where we were when a lot of things happened in 1991.”
To end our conversations with the THEM: The Scare cast, Williams had one closing wish for viewers when they finish the season. He explained, “Just watch out for your kids. Because… you never know what they could be going through. You never know if they have a condition, just like Kel with his obsessive-compulsive disorder. You never know if they’re dealing with anxiety and stress like a normal teenager. You know what I’m saying? You just need to pay attention to your kids. I really want to do that for not just parents but for guardians in general.”
Watch the THEM: The Scare cast now, exclusively on Prime Video.
