Topic Now Streaming Binge-Worthy Second Season Of ‘The Accidental Wolf’

Season Two of The Accidental Wolf is now streaming exclusively on Topic. The thriller stars Tony-Award winning actress Kelli O’Hara and is directed and written by Arian Moayed (Succession). It is Executive Produced by Ryan Chanatry and Gregory Franklin and features a cast who have performed on Broadway and off-Broadway in addition to film and television, such as Marsha Stephanie Blake, Judith Light, Ashley Park, Reed Birney, Zainab Jab, and Tavi Gevinson.

This Season begins six months after Katie (O’Hara), a woman living a privileged life in Manhattan with her husband and baby, receives a haunting phone call that forces her to question reality and begins her obsession for answers. Katie’s search has created a rift within her relationships, with her husband and family threatening to take custody of her daughter if she doesn’t return to her normal self. The Accidental Wolf explores the timely issues of the immigrant experience, the discerning of misinformation and the fight for those who have no voice.

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I spoke with Moayed about creating season 2 of the series during the pandemic. We also discussed how working in theatre helped and influenced the development of the series.

Risa Sarachan: I loved seeing so many familiar faces from New York theater in The Accidental Wolf. Were you able to cast people you’d known beforehand from working in that world? 

Arian Moayed: Aren’t they the absolute best actors? I have to say that first and foremost. 

Almost every actor in the show is someone I’ve worked with or seen on stage. I’ve been working in the New York theater scene for nearly twenty years, and I’m a true believer that theater actors have the necessary depth and empathy to accomplish just about anything. My favorite thing is meeting someone new and getting to know not only them as an artist but as a human being. Those backstage conversations and dinners at Joe Allen’s, have led to conversations about their personal histories, their joys and struggles. Those stories of empathy and witness helped to build the characters you see on screen. For example, Dagmara Domińczyk is a Polish immigrant and an incredibly multi-faceted artist. On the set of Succession, our conversations about our own immigration experiences led to the creation of her character in the series. 

Sarachan: How do you think your (and Kelli’s) backgrounds in theater have helped inform the creation of this show? 

Moayed: I write every scene like a one-act drama with a beginning, middle, and end. With an extraordinarily agile camera team, led by our Director of Photography, Cohlie Brocato, I ask the actors to perform the entirety of the scene in one take, no matter the length. Theater actors, including Kelli, have the ability to continue moving forward, however uncomfortable and dangerous the scene may be. That’s the beauty of having theater actors as part of the team. 

Sarachan: What can viewers look forward to in Season 2? 

Moayed: At the close of Season 1, Katie Bonner has completely bottomed out. Even with all of her access and privilege, she still doesn’t feel comfortable in her own skin. Katie continues to struggle with her knowledge of injustice; she needs to find out what happened on the other end of the phone call. Season 2 will find Katie pushed to discover new ways of using her own power and agency in her search to find out the truth. 

Sarachan: Did the pandemic create obstacles during production or post-production of Season 2?

Moayed: What’s unique about The Accidental Wolf is that 75% of Season 2 was shot a year before the pandemic took shape. The remaining 25% of the Season came together in the early days of the pandemic in truly unique circumstances. Our intrepid producer, Damon Owlia, worked overtime to make sure our Covid protocols were in place. He hired a fantastic team who took great care to prioritize the health and safety of our cast members and production staff. 

Sarachan: What made you want to divide the show into chapters? 

Moayed: At first, the division of the chapters was borne out of necessity. When we began shooting, we had no budget. All we had were excellent locations and actors. Through years of creating so much with so little with Waterwell, I had an instinct that each of these “scenes” could end up being chapters. If you look at classic noirs like Rear Window, Double Indemnity, and Zodiac, you notice that every scenic location builds to a mini-cliffhanger. The more I wrote towards that type of style, the more it felt like a page-turning thriller. 

Sarachan: Having watched you so recently in Succession, I couldn’t help but think about once again entering this world of the extremely wealthy and privileged. Why did Katie need to be from this world? 

Moayed: The character of Katie Bonner and the entirety of Season 1 and Season 2 were written and directed before I began work on Succession. And I grew up in an immigrant neighborhood in the rich Chicagoland town of Northbrook. I was surrounded by blue-collar parents trying to make ends meet. When I decided to write this piece for Kelli, I really wanted to explore the journey of someone who has absolutely everything – from familial lineage to wealth – someone who’s presented with a problem that can’t be easily solved, unable to do anything to help while someone half-a-world-away is in need. And that blew my mind! As a young boy with a family that was always struggling to get by, I assumed the rich could do whatever they wanted. That juxtaposition made for a unique drama. 

Sarachan: Why was Topic the right streaming service for this show? 

Moayed: Topic and First Look Media have a mission to tell “truth to power.” That’s exactly what The Accidental Wolf wants to do. We seek to share compelling original stories, while challenging the systems that hold us. Our partnership is a perfect match.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

The Accidental Wolf is now streaming on Topic