RAISING HOPE: Lucas Neff Talks Season 2

With the RAISING HOPE season premiere just a few hours away, how about a few more teases about what you can expect this season?

I talked with Lucas Neff (Jimmy) last month about his series, and while I ended up informing him about a few upcoming plots (whoops), he gave some fun insight into what fans can expect this year…

I know you’re not filming in order, but what can you tease about the first script you shot for the season?
Lucas Neff: In the first script, there’s a kidnapping.  It’s a family show so we’re starting out…y’know we had a serial killer last year, we’re starting with a kidnapping this year.

And which family member is being kidnapped? It would seem the most likely candidates would be Hope — which could be a bit morbid — or Maw Maw…
LN: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don’t want to give away too much, but it’s my father.

Is that why there were joking tweets earlier about Burt being killed off the show?
LN: Well, that and he gets murdered.

We’re going full-fledged tragic this year.
LN: It’s a Fox ransom-negotiation situation.

I mean, you killed someone off in the pilot with an execution, so why not go for it again this year?
LN: Exactly.  You’ve seen THE NEGOTIATOR with Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson?

I actually have not but with those two actors, I’m pretty sure it was intense.
LN: Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was intense, too.  It has nothing to do with our show, but I was curious to see if you’ve seen it.

I’m behind on my movies, clearly. So going back to your show, Greyson Chance is coming on to play younger Jimmy!
LN: Right, I know, isn’t that weird?  Greyson Chance plays Jimmy Chance?

I thought it was a joke at first when your boss, Greg Garcia, tweeted it out! I was like, are you kidding?
LN: Yeah, I know, I thought he was, too. That kid is ridiculously talented, isn’t he? I was watching his YouTube videos and I was the 41 millionth person to watch, so I’m a little bit late to the show, but he’s freakin’ talented! It’s kind of depressing. I’m like, “How come they keep getting these kids who are way prettier and way more talented than I am to play younger versions of me?”

And then he gets screwed up and loses all his musical abilities.
LN: Wait, I didn’t even know!

Uh oh. You didn’t hear anything from me.
LN: I don’t know what you’re talking about either!  What else happens?

Do they not tell you what happens?
LN: No, they don’t communicate to me!

You’re like, “I’m the star of the show…”
LN: It’s like a scavenger hunt.  Doing my job, it’s like day-to-day I have to find out where we’re shooting, find out what I’m supposed to be wearing, locate a page of the script every day.

Just follow Greg on Twitter.  He’ll release that information for you there.
LN: Yeah, yeah.

What would you like to see happen in season 2?
LN: I would like all 22 episodes to happen.   And then several more after that.  I don’t know, I’d like for there to be a lot of fun, crazy…I hope Jimmy makes a lot more mistakes because those are fun.  And I’d love to spend more time at the grocery store.  There’s a real great cast of characters there.  Gregg Binkley (Barney) just got bumped up to series regular, which is really cool. So I’m excited to see that continued expansion of the universe.

I hear we might see you in goth makeup again.
LN: What?! Where are you getting this information?

Your boss might have told me.  There’s a possibility of that.
LN: Great. So I guess you’re seeing me in goth makeup. That’s fantastic.

It was amazing in the finale, so I’m looking forward to seeing it again.
LN: Yeah, it was a great finale wasn’t it?

Amazing.  It was fun to watch it at Paley.
LN: Like a big sleepover!  Like all of your friends gathered around.

You were freaked out by the big screen they had at the panel, weren’t you?
LN: I just had no idea it was there!  It didn’t make any sense to me.  Why would you come to a live event to watch something on the screen?

So the people in the seats all the way in the back can see it!
LN: Get binoculars!  You know what I mean?  You don’t go to a baseball game…well, I guess some people do, but when I go to a game, I’m watching the field. You know what I mean? I turned around and there’s my giant head and nobody wants to see that. It’s lopsided, misshapen, you know?

You’ll be better prepared for the next time they honor the show.  Ignore the big screen behind you.
LN: Yeah, my only hope lies in pure ignorance.

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Will you be tuning in to the season premiere of RAISING HOPE tonight on Fox at 9:30 PM?

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