Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
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The Girlfriend Experience is back on Starz for a second season, with an ambitious setup featuring TWO brand new storylines, told in parallel episodes every week. After Riley Keough blew up so severely after knocking her performance on season 1 out of the park, the expectations for the season 2 cast are high.
With two brand new stories to tell and new faces galore, we thought we’d round up the casts and give you a little who’s who. The season is divided in half, with Anna & Erica episodes being written and directed by Lodge Kerrigan and Bria episodes being written and directed by Amy Seimetz (read Decider’s interview with Seimetz here).
“Anna & Erica” follows call-girl Anna as she gets embroiled in intense and complicated political and personal relationships amid the high-stakes world of national American politics.
“Bria” follows a former high-end escort as she is placed into Witness Protection in preparation of testifying against her dangerous criminal husband. Unable to deal with her suffocating new life, Bria begins to seek out her old one, no matter what that could cost her.
The cast of The Girlfriend Experience season 2 are an accomplished bunch, but you might need a nudge as to where you know these faces from. Allow us:
Bria Jones, played by Carmen Ejogo ("Bria")
The character: Bria is a former high-end escort married to a notorious criminal. In the first episode, Bria is entered into the Witness Protection Program, forced from her fancy lifestyle into a drab, anonymous life in New Mexico with her step-daughter, with whom she does not have a good relationship. Despite orders to stay low, Bria begins to revive her career as a sex worker, still drawn to the danger and rewards she used to find there.
The actress: Carmen Ejogo has been a lowkey fantastic actress for the better part of a decade, and people seem to finally be catching on to her. After appearances in films like Away We Go and The Brave One, as well as TV movies Lackawana Blues and as the title role in Sally Hemmings: An American Scandal, the London-born Ejogo broke through with roles in Sparkle (as Whitney Houston’s headstrong daughter) and Selma (as Coretta Scott King). For her role in Selma, Ejogo received awards from the Black Film Critics Circle and the Image Awards, as well as an Independent Spirit Award nomination. Most recently, she played the head of the American magical authority Seraphina Picquery in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and was terrorized by prototypical xenomorphs (alongside her Girlfriend Experience showrunner Amy Seimetz) in Alien: Covenant.
Ian Olsen, played by Tunde Adebimpe ("Bria")
The character: Ian is a relentless, straitlaced US Marshall tasked by Witness Protection to lord over Bria in New Mexico. Their sessions together where he employs FBI conditioning to help her acclimate to her story have a strong intensity to them, amplified by Bria’s strong sexual pull.
The actor: Perhaps best known as the lead singer for the band TV on the Radio, Adebimpe made his mark as a film actor as the groom in the 2008 Jonathan Demme film Rachel Getting Married. He’s also appeared in the 2015 film Nasty Baby opposite Kristen Wiig and as Mr. Cobbwell in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Kayla Fairchild, played by Morgana Davies ("Bria")
The character: Kayla is forced to enter Witness Protection with her step-mother, Bria, whom she plainly (and vocally) cannot stand. As she attempts to adapt to her dissatisfying new life in New Mexico, Kayla quickly realizes she must fend for herself while Bria is out making things happen for herself.
The actress: Morgana Davieshas been a child actress in her native Australia since the age of seven. Her best known roles are in Aussie films The Tree, opposite Charlotte Gainsbourg, and The Hunter, opposite Willem Dafoe. She also starred in two episodes of the American sci-fi TV series Terra Nova.
Paul, played by Harmony Korine ("Bria")
The character: Paul is a wealthy scream therapist who forms a transactional relationship with Bria, after he finds her on a chat service for women who want to be “spoiled” by wealthy men. Paul is more than happy to oblige, though their relationship seems bound for disaster.
The actress: Harmony Korine has been a fixture on the grungy fringe of American independent filmmaking since he wrote the controversial film Kids in 1995. Since then, he’s directed the films Gummo, Mister Lonely, and Trash Humpers, before finding widespread critical acclaim for the buzzy-as-hell Spring Breakers in 2012. He’s occasionally acted, in cameos in his own movies as well as small roles in Good Will Hunting and Stoker, and most recently supporting Al Pacino in David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn.
Erica Myles, played by Anna Friel ("Anna & Erica")
The character: Erica Myles is a finance director at a Republican super PAC during the upcoming 2018 midterm elections. Fiercely intelligent and calculating, Erica is under intense pressure to deliver, which is what ultimately leads her to call-girl Anna, whom she enlists in a scheme to blackmail a high-powered dark-money fundraiser. After their initial exchange, Erica and Anna fall into a complicated sexual relationship, marked by an exploration of vulnerability, dominance and submission.
The actress: English actress Anna Friel has been acting since age 13, and her earliest roles were in British soaps. Early film roles included A Midsummer Night’s Dream opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Stanley Tucci and Me Without You opposite Michelle Williams. She also starred in the first Broadway cast of the play Closer, playing the role that Natalie Portman would end up Oscar-nominated for in the movie. Her biggest breakthrough came when she was cast as the female lead in Bryan Fuller’s whimsical TV series about the reanimated dead, Pushing Daisies. Most recently, she has starred in the title role in Netflix’s Marcella.
Anna Garner, played by Louisa Krause ("Anna & Erica")
The character: Anna Garner is a highly confident and intelligent girlfriend-experience provider, working with high-powered (and often dangerous) clients but portraying complete control throughout. When Anna meets Erica and becomes embroiled in her high-stakes political world (as well as a sexual relationship characterized by dominance and submission), she relinquishes and becomes emotionally vulnerable, for the first time in her life.
The actress: Louisa Krause has primarily been a stage actress, working on off-Broadway productions of shows like Les Liaisons Dangerouses and In a Dark, Dark House, In 2013, she played one of the lead roles in the Annie Baker play The Flick, earning raves. Film-wise, she’s had small roles in Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock, Young Adult opposite Charlize Theron, and Martha Marcy May Marlene opposite Elizabeth Olsen.
Darya Esford, played by Narges Rashidi ("Anna & Erica")
The character: Darya Esford is a communications analyst for a D.C. lobbying firm and Erica’s ex. Intelligent and highly manipulative, Darya re-enters Erica’s life, which exposes Erica’s emotional weaknesses.
The actress: Narges Rashidi is an Iranian-German actress whose top film credit is the starring role in the 2016 Irania horror film Under the Shadow.
Mark Novak, played by Michael Cram ("Anna & Erica")
The character: Mark Novak is the managing director of a right-wing, libertarian non-profit funded by a secret network of the country’s wealthiest political donors. Ruthless and given to fits of sexual aggression and violence, he vows revenge when Erica blackmails him.
The actor: Canadian actor Michael Cram has been a regular in the Canadian TV series (imported for America) Flashpoint. Having also appeared on the ABC cop series Rookie Blue, Cram has accomplished the rare American Summer Drama Series All-Star double.
