Craig Robinson continues underdog storyline on Peacock’s ‘Killing It’ with new season

By Jonathan Landrum Jr., The Associated Press on July 18, 2023.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Craig Robinson and his kind-hearted, python-hunting character on “Killing It” are returning to television next month.

Season two, which Peacock said Tuesday will return on Aug. 17, will continue the quest by Robinson’s character to climb out of poverty while avoiding sketchy characters like his brother.

“Capitalism is very real. Greed is very real. Shysters and scam artists are very real,” the actor-comedian told The Associated Press in a recent interview before the actors strike.

In the first season, Robinson’s character (also named Craig) is a father who loses his job and becomes homeless. Craig decides to invest in a million-dollar scheme, but needs $20,000. Entering a python-killing contest sponsored by the state of Florida is his way to get the money.

It starts as a lucrative opportunity for Craig and his tagalong friend Jillian (Claudia O’Doherty), who is also struggling financially and pulling various jobs such as being an Uber driver. But then their snake hunting quest spins out of control after a fire and the disposal of a dead body that ends up in the belly of a python.

In the eight-episode second season, Robinson said his character is on a journey to achieve the “American dream” while trying to avoid working in corporate America and vicious criminals. He said it’s imperative for his character to keep his “sanity and safety.”

“It takes a lot to toe that line, especially when you got these opportunities presented to you,” said Robinson, who has starred in movies such as “Hot Tub Time Machine” as well as the American version of “The Office.”

“You see yourself in situations where you have a choice,” he continued. “You get to live through these characters. There’s definitely something like an angel and devil on his shoulder with his colleague in there along with his brother. It’s twists and turns, and will definitely have you thinking “˜What would I do in that situation?'”

Robinson’s character will certainly have to make a decision about his scamming brother Isaiah, who is played by comedian Rell Battle.

“They’ve got this bond that is unbreakable. But at the same time, it needs to be broken because he’s very toxic in his life,” Robinson said. “It does speak to family as well, because we all have a person that we cover up. We take up for them. They borrow money but don’t pay it back. But there’s something about them that makes you laugh. It’s something about them that makes you not want to let go of that part of your life.”

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