LOS ANGELES — Help is on the way for those who are anxiously waiting for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to be released in late December. The second (and last) season for the Emmy-winning animated series Star Wars: Resistance takes place between Star Wars: The Last Jedi and the ninth film in the space epic franchise.
The first of the 19 episodes, which debuted Oct. 6, picked up with the show's unlikely hero, Kaz (Christopher Sean), and a small group escaping from the First Order on the giant spacecraft Colossus. It is a battle for survival for the heroes while they mourn the loss of a close friend, Tam (Suzie McGrath), who has decided to go to the dark side.
The test for the creative team has been to make sure what transpires in the series fits in with the direction of the films. That has been a challenge because it takes a year to make each episode of the animated offering, and that leaves a lot of time for the feature film to change direction.
Star Wars: Resistance has been more than a series filling in the gaps. It broke new ground by making Christopher Sean the first Asian-American lead actor of the Star Wars franchise. Kaz is an eager, young pilot recruited by the Resistance and given the assignment to spy on the growing threat of the First Order.
The series has also entered a new world with the decision by Tam to join the First Order. There have been instances of those working for the dark side seeing the light, but never has a character gone the other way.
These elements, according to Star Wars: Resistance executive producer Justin Ridge, all boil down into one main thing.
"Overall, the main theme is family," Ridge says. "There will be different forms of it now with Tam being part of the First Order, and that's her new family. And we tell those stories through diverse characters who have different backgrounds and different perspectives. That was one of the things we wanted to do from the get-go."
Sean is proud of the diversity in Resistance.
"Most people are aware of what they see and the trends are made on television," Sean says. "So when (someone sees) someone like Kaz — who is a goofball of Asian-American descent — become a leader, they realize they can be goofballs and still be heroes. To be someone who is a role model to children and say I can be a hero myself and I'm not just a sidekick, that's important. The fact that I'm Asian-American and the lead of a project to me is so cool."
Before Sean took on playing a role model in the animated series, he was best known for his role as Paul Narita on Days of Our Lives. His other credits include Hawaii Five-0, The Mindy Project, Hollywood Heights and the web series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.
Wrapping up the series is bittersweet for Bobby Moynihan, the former Saturday Night Live cast member who provides the voice for Orka, a smooth-talking merchant who adds comic relief to the space adventure. The longtime Star Wars fan describes being part of the show as one of the best acting jobs he has had and hates to see it end. But he's happy the show will end with a strong season.
"Getting to use my Star Wars knowledge to improvise, I don't think I have been more suited for a job ever," Moynihan says.
Getting to see the force that Star Wars has on fans from the inside helped Moynihan understand even more why the franchise has created passionate fans such as himself. Although the adventures take place in a galaxy far, far away, what transpires is not that different from what happens daily on this planet.
"It sounds so nerdy, but it is very basic. It is princesses and cowboys. Scoundrels and villains. It's just morals and that makes it very easy to understand. It's a lived-in universe," Moynihan says.
Moynihan's work with the Disney Channel ends as far as Star Wars goes, but he's still a big part of the cable channel, providing the voice of Louie, the youngest in Disney's animated comedy-adventure series DuckTales. His other credits include Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Me, Myself & I; Girls; Bob's Burgers; Summer Camp Island; Nature Cat and The Secret Life of Pets.
Suzie McGrath is excited about the new season because her character goes through one of the most monumental moments in Star Wars history with Tam joining the First Order.
"That hasn't happened before," McGrath says. "I think the way she's being recruited is very interesting. At the end of Season 1, I didn't know if she was the kind of person who has that evil side. Could she go all the way? We spent the whole first season with her and Kaz building up trust and then she goes and blows it all up."
Star Wars: Resistance
9 p.m. Sundays
Disney Channel
Style on 10/22/2019