Inside The ‘Pulpy’ New ‘Homecoming' Season Starring Janelle Monáe

Janelle Monáe in "Homecoming." “That was always my joke to Amazon: ‘There’s going to be chases this year.’ It’s more outwardly thriller-y as opposed to Season 1, which was toying with you.” That pulp factor extends across the seven new episodes, which premiere Friday. A series built around an A-list Oscar winner like Roberts demands certain prestige-TV hallmarks — psychoanalytic setting, moody lighting, complex narrative techniques — but now the show has permission to be more of what Alvarez calls a “quick-paced thrill ride.” Season 2 premieres May 22 on Amazon Amazon Studios “One of the producers called me and was like, ‘What do you think about Janelle Monáe?’” Alvarez said. Amazon Studios “I remember one of the first things I said going in was, ‘Let’s actually take some of that stuff out,’” he recalled. We don’t intercut the time, so you kind of have to start asking, ‘Oh, what was the device used for?’ With a show like ‘Homecoming’ that’s as distinctive as it is, you’re saying, ‘OK, now what we’re holding over is what we’re saying defines “Homecoming.”’ It’s a thin line between mimicking and taking inspiration from, so you always want to try to stay on the inspiration side as opposed to ‘Sam made this decision, so let’s just copy it.’” Despite those changes, the look and feel of the series remains generally intact.