Don’t call it a Jason Patric comeback; call it a “coming in.” Though the actor still famous for roles in The Lost Boys and Speed 2 has been, by his own admission, away from Hollywood for nearly four years, his upcoming turn on the second season of Fox’s summer hit Wayward Pines isn’t some grand statement or return. “It’s coming back into something,” he said in a phone call from the show’s Vancouver set. “I wanted to do something bigger, with a bigger breadth, and try something differently and splash back in, in a way.”

Patric, now almost 50, makes his television debut on the second season of Fox’s Wayward Pines, which premieres Wednesday. The first season of the show—which is based on a trilogy of books and co-executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan—starred Matt Dillon, who ends up in a Twin Peaks–like town in Idaho. Near the end of the season, the big mystery reveals the entire show is happening in the year 4032, and a cultish figure named David Pilcher (Toby Jones) has cryogenically suspended the last of humanity in order to preserve our species, because humanity destroyed the environment, leading to mutations called “Abbies,” who are killing the townsfolk.

Intended as 10-part “event series,” Wayward Pines became the No.1-rated broadcast, scripted show of last summer, so Fox renewed it. This season picks up after the death of Ethan Burke (Dillon), and unlike the first season, doesn’t follow any source material.

“In the first season, the star was Wayward Pines, and you can get away with this opaqueness of trying to find out what’s happening,” Patric said. “This year, I think, instead of dealing with the mystery and surprise, it’s much more with the tension and emotion of people in this setting and what would they do.” Patric’s character is a world-renowned surgeon who gets dropped into the town and has no clue why he’s there—but as the only surgeon in town, he’ll find himself with plenty to do.

To get the part, Patric had a sit-down with friend and Pines co-executive producer Donald De Line. “I’d pretty much been out of the business for the last four years doing other stuff, and I’d never done television. I thought it was an opportunity to play a character in a real, full spectrum, and certainly different than I’ve done before,” Patric said. “Because for all my years, I’ve done characters that live in two hours, whether it be onstage or screen. So, I thought it’d be a challenge that way.”

Patric doesn’t know far in advance what will happen to his character on the 10-episode series, which is still in production. “I think I prefer to know what’s happening, but I think it’s good to shake yourself up after 30 years. And something like this, it works your mind and body in a different way, and I think that’s always good.”

Though it is a network series, it’s boundary-pushing TV. The first and second seasons feature jaw-dropping scenes of violence that seem better suited for cable; A-listers like Melissa Leo and Terrence Howard have roles on the show; and it’s more thoughtful than your average sci-fi show. “What I like about it is, it’s a situation that forces a cauldron of human interaction and is saying that maybe the future is right at this moment,” he said. “Problems are no different. You can transport yourself 2,000 years later, but you’re dealing with the exact same issues of the country that we’re dealing with right now.”