Killing It Season 2 Review: A Winning Combination Of Class Commentary & Laughs
- The series is genuinely funny while still having something to say
- The performances, including those of the guest stars, are fantastic
- The settings are great
- Too many parties!
"Killing It" Season 1 was a wild comedy full of snakes, guns, and betrayal. There was also a substantial amount of stupidity, especially thanks to Brock (Scott MacArthur), the well-meaning but idiotic wannabe influencer; and plenty of commentary on the American dream from Craig Foster (Craig Robinson) and his friend and co-hunter Jillian Glopp (Claudia O'Doherty), who lived in a billboard car. By the end of the first season, the pair had won the snake hunting contest they'd entered by killing the snake that ate Rodney Lamonca's (Tim Heidecker) wife's son — at the potential price of Craig's brother's life — and purchased the piece of land Craig had his eye on.
Now as the second season starts, we see Craig once again at the top of the world posing for pictures in a glossy magazine. The man taking those photos may know about his time in the snake hunting contest, but he has no idea what came next: saw palmetto berries. The man's not impressed but Craig is determined to tell the story — and tell it he does, as the episode flashes back to 2017 and the start of his dream come true. As a supplement company offers to buy their berries on their farm, the trailer that was meant to be Craig and Jillian's office comes crashing down on its side. Craig quickly signs the contract and declares "No backsies." They're in business!
The rest of the season is a comedy of capitalism and class. Craig and Jillian get their berries harvested on time, but just when they're ready to ship, the state comes along and shuts them down. Giant African land snails, another invasive species like the snakes, have been spotted in the area and they have to inspect each and every saw palmetto farm now. Except it takes months, so Craig ends up taking their neighbors, the Boones, up on their offer of illegally picked berries instead. The Boones want health insurance for their troubles, and they'll do anything, including kidnapping Jillian to get it.
Meanwhile, Isaiah (Rell Battle), Craig's reprobate brother, escaped to Arizona from Rodney's wrath, but after nine months or so he's back and he's figured out how to appease Rodney: have him take over Craig's farm by blackmailing Craig. Craig and Jillian stay on as managers making terrible money, but Craig's dream has been delayed, or worse, killed. Also, Jillian gets a new car, a Kia, which she believes is the greatest thing to ever happen to her; Brock is drowning in the demands of YouTube's audience; and Camille (Stephanie Nogueras), Craig's ex-wife and mother of his child, is a surrogate for a rich couple's baby.
In other words, it's a season full of two steps forward and ... three steps back. And the good news is this year, with eight episodes instead of 10, there's a lot less flab on these bones, leading to an exemplary second season.
Mo' money, mo' problems
While the first season dealt with what Craig did to get the money to fund his dream, the second season deals with what happens when he gets that first brush with success, and he has Jillian along for the ride. While Jillian can be a lot nicer than Craig, Craig can be a lot nicer than Rodney, which stacks the decks for who's really being a jerk in business.
As Craig continues to fight his way up, the lines get increasingly vague. For instance, when he takes on the Boones for health insurance, he can only do it if he lets go of their office manager, Shayla (Melanie Field). Except Jillian can't imagine firing her and if she can get the money from her Kia to fund it, she doesn't have to. In the end, she doesn't want to let her car, Mallory, go, so she does what Craig wanted from the beginning and fires Shayla. Meanwhile, Craig is angry at the people who are willing to pay for Camille's pregnancy. They're rich and spoiled and eventually, they show their true colors when they flee from the cops for fraud. All of this adds up to potent commentary about haves, have-nots, and the people in between.
I particularly related to the Boones' quest for health insurance, something I didn't expect, especially because they are a bunch of criminals. Yet their desire for affordable healthcare is something every American can understand. However, you may find something else more potent, like Brock's never-ending battle to churn out content for the masses or Isaiah's attempt at a better life. One way or another, this show has at least one thing everyone can relate to. That makes the series topical, but not so preachy or rigorous in its depictions that its topicality outweighs its humor.
New settings, new people
In addition, the show takes us to a whole new set of locations with new guest stars this year. The saw palmetto farm is only the beginning. We also go to Carpets, the closed-down strip club the Boones own; Isaiah's house in Arizona; multiple hotels; a party thrown for Blythe (Ayden Mayeri) and Tate (Tommy Dewey), the people paying for Camille's pregnancy; and a party hosted by Rodney where he gets a poorly paid double to fight a shark. Except for the two parties, the new locations are all different, specific, and expertly designed by Claire Bennett, the production designer, and her team.
And they're even better because the actors are great at bringing the scenes of strife and success to hilarious life. We already know that Craig Robinson, Claudia O'Doherty, Rell Battle, and the other Season 1 holdovers are great, but there are some wonderful new additions, too. In particular, Melanie Field as Craig and Jillian's clueless employee Shayla, Beck Bennett as the Florida government worker who has to shut down Craig and Jillian's farm, and Dot-Marie Jones as the matriarch of the Boones are fantastic.
The characters of "Killing It" may not be doing well, but the show is killing it. This is a genuinely funny show that's R-rated at the same time, making it a rarity among comedies. These people are all trying hard in their own ways to live the American dream, but even the people with the most money get away with more just because they have more people to screw over. "Killing It" Season 2 makes this point and many others while laughing at the absurdity of it all.
All 8 episodes of "Killing It" Season 2 premiere on August 17 on Peacock.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being reviewed here wouldn't exist.