Nothing hits quite like a spy thriller series, and the streaming services stock up in plentiful supply. If you add in several elements of the John Wick setup, even better. Remember when word came out that that Keanu Reeves-starring film was originally supposed to revolve around a 75-year-old ex-assassin pulled back into the ass-kicking life? Well, Jeff Bridges is 74 years old, people, and he does plenty of stunt work in his FX show that streams on Hulu. Sure, he’s got a stunt double, too, but Bridges is heavily involved in every action scene and learns every inch of choreography to keep his own reactions authentic. Behold.
Yes, there’s a lot of Wick in this show and plenty of Taken, too, but those comparisons shouldn’t distract from Bridges completely doing his own thing in this role. Let’s talk about what to expect from The Old Man‘s second season.
Plot
FX knew that they had a hit as soon as this show arrived in summer 2022, and they renewed accordingly, and it’s no wonder why because the show’s vibe appeals to fans of Amazon’s Reacher and Apple TV+’s Slow Horses. We’ve got a reluctant “one last job” theme for a former government operative who went rogue and has been off the grid, but outside forces pulled Bridges’ character, Dan Chase, back into the life. As it turned out, this “old man” has still got It, and those who shake the bear are might be doomed to regret that decision.
As viewers will recall, Dan Chase is a Vietnam veteran and ex-CIA operative who is the focus of Thomas Perry’s 2017 novel, which comes to life in action-movie-on-tv mode. John Lithgow is Dan’s former colleague, FBI agent Harold Harper, who could never imagine himself surviving in Dan’s way of life, but in the second season, Harold had better get used to that life, or he won’t survive.
The show has already transformed into a whirling dervish of intertwined drama as Dan went on the run again after decades of successfully evading Faraz Hamzad, an Afghanistan warlord. Harold was also attempting to keep track of Dan with the added emotional distance (and, paradoxically, closeness) instilled by their shared past. Dan’s new, unlucky landlord, Zoe (Amy Brenneman), got pulled into the mess, and as if the stakes weren’t high enough, Dan’s daughter, Emily (Alia Shawkat), had also been circling under an alias/false identity (Angela) while working under Harper.
Cue the cat/mouse games on several levels, and Angela/Emily found herself kidnapped by Hamzad’s team with some stark untruths coming her way. In the second season, we shall learn which beast — her captor, her father, or both (and that’s an intentionally messy part of the series) — that she will feed. Questions have also been swirling about Angela’s true goals in joining the FBI and what, exactly, Hamzad intended to do by pulling Dan out of hiding.
In short, nobody’s motives are completely clear in this story yet, and both motives and identities began to meld to the point where they have turned inward against each other. That sets up some hellaciously intriguing prospects coming viewers’ way. As in, will Harold be able to life “the life” again now that he’s back together with his old colleague, Dan, and on the run?
Cast
Jeff Bridges will continue to be phenomenal as Dan Chase with the younger days of the character being embodied by Bill Heck. Naturally, John Lithgow will return as Harold Harper. The rest of the cast includes Alia Shawkat, Amy Brenneman, Jessica Harper, Pej Vahdat, Joel Grey, Kenneth Mitchel, Rowena King, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Hiam Abbass, and Navid Negahban.
Release Date
The followup season should be arriving in late 2024, and then we will see more of the Bridges and Lithgow chemistry again. As for specific dates, FX has kept that information under lock and key, but there’s such an appetite for both Dad TV and spy thrillers that this season cannot come too soon.
Trailer
Without an official trailer yet, it feels like a good time to rewatch this clip of Harold Harper letting Dan Chase know that he has about three minutes left before certain hell breaks loose.
