Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan type TV Show network Amazon Prime genre Thriller

House of Cards star Michael Kelly says he jumped at the chance to play a CIA station chief in season 2 of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: “I was like, ‘That sounds like a lot of fun, ’cause John’s awesome to work with.'” He’s referring, of course, to John Krasinski, who is back as the titular operative. But while Kelly first bonded with Krasinski over a game of darts years ago, his character, Mike November, isn’t so thrilled to spend time with Krasinski’s Jack. “[Mike’s] life was really simple before he shows up,” Kelly says in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly. “Then all hell breaks loose.”

That hell kicks off when Jack arrives at Mike’s Venezuelan office while tracking a shipment of illegal arms. What ensues is a mission that sends Jack around the globe — and reunites him with Greer (Wendell Pierce), who begins season 2 working in the Moscow station.

Image zoom Sophie Mutevelian/Amazon Studios

“Something I’m working on intersects with something that Jack is working on and it pulls us back together,” Pierce shares cryptically. “More things are at stake this season. It is even more multifaceted. There are running, simultaneously, different threads which means the payoff is even more like a really good thriller, a good novel.”

Also entering the fray is German intelligence agent Harriet Baumann (Noomi Rapace).

Image zoom Sophie Mutevelian/Amazon Studios

“She’s pretty amazing. She’s very layered. She speaks a lot of different languages. She grew up all over the world. She can basically kind of take any shape, any form. She is really good at kind of adapting into different personalities. She knows how to fight, and she can, but she’s more playing mental and psychological games,” the actress says of “Harry,” who may be Jack‘s love interest or ally or nemesis — or all three. “I think they respect and fear each other, and are probably quite intrigued by each other as well,” she explains of her character’s interactions with Jack. “It’s an interesting relationship. It’s not what you think it’s going to be, which I love. It’s way more interesting.”

And how does the leading man feel about all these changes for season 2? He’s a fan.

“I feel like the first season explored the beliefs of who you are, what you believe you are, but this is much more about right and wrong,” says Krasinski. “It’s about stopping a corrupt regime, which is really kind of fun.”

He’s also enjoying his castmates.

“I couldn’t have been more happy about Wendell in the first season, but Noomi is the best part of the new season. She’s such an interesting actress. She’s so bold. She’s so brilliant. And then Michael Kelly, I’ve been a fan of his forever,” he says. “What’s frustrating is when these amazing actors come in and they’re even better people than they are actors, and you’re like, ‘Oh, boy, you’re better than me at everything.'”

Even darts?

Jack Ryan season 2 launches Nov. 1 on Amazon Prime Video.

For more on the best of pop culture this fall, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly at Barnes & Noble Friday, or buy it here now. (The November issue will be available on newsstands starting Oct. 23.) Don’t forget to subscribe for more exclusive interviews and photos, only in EW.

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