Conor and Jock are back on Monday. Some new footage has been released too.
Not every show can take a topic like unplanned teenage pregnancy and make it funny.
To make things even better, Peter Foott juxtaposed this life-changing moment with a hijacked bus that’s roaming Cork’s countryside, potato wedges, and a singalong to ‘After All’ by The Frank and Walters.
Welcome to the The Young Offenders. Welcome back, Conor (Alex Murphy) and Jock (Chris Walley).
Ahead of the show’s Irish premiere, JOE caught up with the cast of The Young Offenders to chat about what fans can expect.
“I think Jock’s just getting ready to be a father and is terrified,” said Walley. “He’s dealing with all that anxiety and has absolutely no idea what to do at all. So, that’s his thing and it’s enough of a thing to be dealing with!”
Granted, we’re fairly certain that Jock is one of the worst candidates to be a father, but given his own sad backstory and negligent parents, we think that Cork’s most lovable langer might just surprise everyone.
Elsewhere, after finally getting to shift Linda in the Season 1 finale, Alex Murphy says that Conor is now over his head when it comes to relationships.
“As I said, Conor got the shift so that’s one mountain climbed! He’s got a relationship now, so we’ll see how he’s getting on,” he said.
Without giving away too many spoilers, the six episodes of Season 2 are a real treat for fans as the lads really push the boat out in terms of what they can get away with.
We’ve a feeling that one scene is going to be one of the most discussed TV moments of 2019 as the lads go to extreme lengths to enrage Principal Barry Walsh (P.J Gallagher).
Trust us, it’s extreme.
Best Sex Ed Analogy You'll EVER Hear 🐕🤪🍆#YoungOffenders Series 2 Starts Monday! pic.twitter.com/lDir2a4j5V
— RTÉ2 (@RTE2) November 7, 2019
Elsewhere, the tradition of a Young Offenders road trip is continued as the gang travel around the south of Ireland.
“Cork is very much the two lads’ comfort zone so we just go up the country a little bit – it’s not like we go to Ibiza or anything – but that’s when you get to see the rivalry between different counties. The friendly rivalry!,” said Murphy.
Of course, Conor and Jock aren’t the only stars on Leeside because there’s a strong argument to be made that Mairead McSweeney (Hilary Rose) is the best character on the show.
Foul-mouthed, ferocious, and quietly sweet, there’s no doubting that Mairead absolutely adores both of the lads. However, don’t test her patience!
That’s something we can’t say about Principal Barry Walsh though!
Well, JOE also had the pleasure of chatting with P.J. Gallagher and Hilary Rose ahead of the season premiere.
At the end of Season 1, we were all rooting for the burgeoning relationship between Mairead and Sgt. Healy. Well, just like in real life, it appears that a few spanners have been thrown into the works.
“Obviously they get together in Season 1 and it’s lovely and great because we’re all hoping they get together but it all starts to fall apart in Season 2 a little bit. That kind of continues throughout the series but there’s some very funny moments. But it does start to fall apart!,” said Rose.
Well, if Healy can’t be relied on, it appears that help can be found from the most unlikely of places, Billy Murphy.
Oh yes, Cork’s most lovable psychopath is going to be even more prominent in Season 2.
“Mairead and Billy have a strong storyline in this series, they have a few adventures. It’s a lot of fun and good craic,” said Rose.
Granted, the laughs are loud, the set pieces are outrageous, and it’s as filthy as always. However, The Young Offenders has always had one thing that separates it from most other comedies, heart.
Peter Foott’s scripts have always been very good at capturing that most-Irish of things, showing affection without going over the top or too sentimental. The characters all clearly love each other, but anyone that openly says that will probably be told to fuck off! – something the actors are all too aware of.
“It’s good to show different sides of the characters and explore other things,”said Walley.
“There are so many sides to these characters and it’s written so well that we get to go into all those facets without overindulging in them too. When these different layers of Jock get revealed, he doesn’t necessarily feel comfortable with them, so he wants to move on and not show that side, which is great to play,” he added.
All things considered, Alex Murphy was delighted to see that Season 2 does exactly what the film and first series did so well, it treats the comedy with a degree of realism. There’s nothing Hollywood or OTT about the new episodes, it’s pure Cork, boi.
“I always remember early on when we were kind of finding the characters. We’d be doing a scene and laughing through it and having fun. Peter would say ‘ok lads, do that again but don’t laugh at all’ because the humour comes out of how serious we are about what we talk about. A lot of the time, Conor and Jock don’t find what they talk about that funny, which is why the audience does find it funny!,” said Murphy.
On that note, fatherhood is going to be some laugh.
The Young Offenders returns on Monday, 11 November at 21:30.
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