“Loot”’s Maya Rudolph and Joel Kim Booster preview ‘funnier’ season 2, their ‘mommy’ and ‘baby’ dynamic

"It’s a very interesting boss-employee dynamic."

When the cast of Apple TV+’s sitcom Loot reunited to begin work on season 2, “it felt like back-from-summer-break, ‘Look, I got my braces off’ kind of energy,” Maya Rudolph, star and executive producer, tells EW.

The comedy from Alan Yang and Matt Hubbard — centered on Rudolph’s billionaire Molly Wells as she reconnects with the real world and her charitable Wells Foundation after a messy divorce — returns April 3, picking up about a year after Molly’s highly-publicized split from tech billionaire John Novak (Adam Scott). Making the decision to swear off relationships following that regretful one-night stand with John in Corsica, Molly is thriving at the foundation alongside her assistant Nicholas (Joel Kim Booster), executive director Sofia (Michaela Jaé Rodriguez), accountant and love interest Arthur (Nat Faxon), IT specialist and cousin Howard (Ron Funches), and zany team members Rhonda (Meagen Fay) and Ainsley (Stephanie Styles).

“Molly is really embracing her new reality and focusing on being a boss, being in charge of her own life, and immersing herself in these relationships at her foundation and creating a family with them,” Rudolph tells EW. “You see so much of her personality that she's discovering through them.” She’s also in her Goop era, embarking on a wellness journey in the hopes that it’ll “scrub away the mistakes she's made” with her ex-husband. That involves a trip to a wellness retreat, where a sexy Benjamin Bratt appears (as himself) and awakens some of Molly’s chakras. 

“Just a total dreamboat for the eyes and for the soul,” Rudolph says of Bratt. “He came as a guest that was genuinely excited to be there, and that makes a world of difference.”

With season 1 laying the framework of the sitcom’s lavish world, season 2 dives deeper into not just Molly’s life but those in her orbit. Booster’s upbringing as a Korean American adoptee from the midwest is infused into Nicholas’ arc this season, a touching inclusion that, Booster admits, was a bit nerve-racking to put on screen.

“I wouldn't have done it if I didn't have the experience that I had on season 1 with Matt and Alan,” Booster says. “I felt very comfortable knowing that not only were they going to handle it in a way that would be funny and interesting, but also in a way that was very open to my own personal investment in this story. They were the ones who came to me and said, ‘Do you want his parents to be Asian? Do you want Nicholas to be adopted as well?’ To have them ask for my input was really special. It’s not something you experience on every set.”

Overall, viewers can expect more laughs this season. “It’s just funnier,” Booster says. “Also, we mix and match a lot more. The audience knows that Nicholas and Howard are bros, but I'm with Michaela sometimes this season, and that was a really fun dynamic to dig into and explore.” There’s “so much more of a camaraderie within the Wells Foundation,” Rudolph adds. But, as with most friendships, some of those dynamics are tested — namely with codependent besties Molly and Nicholas.

“It’s cemented that they are each other’s true loves in so many ways,” Rudolph says, “but they definitely test it. Molly specifically really tests it, just like a toddler or a teenager tests their parents.” But the “ride-or-die of it all,” she adds, “that’s never gonna change. The one thing I think they know is that the other person, even if they leave or say they're going to leave, will always be there for the other. I love the role play that they get to have, that they get to be different things to each other and always tend to balance each other out.”

“It’s a very interesting boss-employee dynamic because it isn't that really, especially in season 2,” Booster adds. “You see that there's just so many layers to it. Sometimes she's mommy and I'm baby and sometimes she’s baby.” 

The dynamic even extends to their wardrobe, outfitted by costume designer Kirston Mann. Yes, Molly and Nicholas continue to serve lewks this season. “We take a lot of cues from what Maya is wearing in that episode,” Booster says of his wardrobe. “It always has to match the vibe. Nicholas is never outdressing Molly in any sort of way. It's always a little bit coordinated, so that's really fun.”

Rudolph’s vision board for Molly’s wardrobe last season included Beyoncé. What did it look like this time around?  “Beyonce’s always on the vision board, just to be clear,” she quips. “[Molly’s] definitely someone that likes to dress the part. Kirston is so good at that and is just in on the joke from the beginning, and sometimes we even create stuff together. It makes me so happy.”

Loot returns with two episodes on April 3, followed by new episodes every Wednesday. 

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