INDIANAPOLIS — How often do you sit and think if you're reaching your potential in life?
In the first season of "The Big Door Prize," a mysterious machine appears in a small town and promises to reveal everyone's true life potential.
Just days after the series premiere, Apple TV+ renewed the feel-good comedy for a second season, which premiered April 24.
"In the second season, as these characters are evolving themselves, the machine also evolves and starts giving people a second stage of the machine, which is visions that tell them even more about their lives and their potentials and encourages them to take even bigger risks," said executive producer and showrunner David West Read ("Schitt's Creek," "& Juliet").
Chris O'Dowd ("Bridesmaids," "The IT Crowd") leads the ensemble cast as Dusty, whose marriage is struggling — but he comes to realize that may not be a bad thing.
"My instincts are all off. I'm acting somehow as a voice of reason in this maddening, ever-contracting circle of wild behavior," O'Dowd said. "There's less and less comedy on television, and that kind of distraction that people need, it's essential."
And it's no surprise the resilient, impactful series was quickly renewed.
"It's the show where you feel uplifted. It talks about big life questions, and I think you'll honestly want to feel like you're in the town, and you can put yourself inside this town, and you can ask yourself, 'What would I do if some machine told me I should do something completely different?' and that's a fun question to ponder," said Josh Segarra ("Scream VI," "The Other Two"), who plays Giorgio, a passionate restaurant owner.
More episodes come with additional backstories and character arcs to explore, such as Dusty's wife, Cass, played by Gabrielle Dennis ("A Black Lady Sketch Show," "The Upshaws"), and Hana, played by Ally Maki ("Toy Story 4," "Wrecked").
"Our executive director, David, he does such a good job of showrunning it and talking us through the moments as we need," Dennis said. "I'm an actor who has a lot of questions, and he's really good about giving me that time, but it really does help because there's so much going on."
"I think we're all just genuinely rooting for each other all the time," Maki said of the ensemble cast. "It's really fun to watch the web intertwine and come together and see the whole world Dave has created. It's brilliant and fun and fantastical."
New episodes of the second season of "The Big Door Prize" are released Wednesdays on Apple TV+.