Interview: Steve Agee Dives Into the Second Season of ‘Peacemaker’

The second season of Peacemaker saw James Gunn expand on the concept of pocket dimensions (or parallel universes) introduced in Superman. Its sixth episode revealed that the “perfect” universe Christopher Smith (John Cena) wanted to settle in —one where his father (Robert Patrick) and brother (David Denman) are alive —is actually far from it. 

While speaking to Awards Radar on Zoom, actor Steve Agee, who portrays John Economos in the series, explains that he saw “a lot of predictions, going back a few weeks,” that episode six would reveal “a racist alternate universe.” Still, he personally did not see it coming while he was reading the screenplays for the first time: 

“When we get the scripts, it doesn’t say that everyone in the town is white. I had no idea that this was the case until we got to episode six, and then I was like, “Oh my god.” However, people are very focused on what happens in each episode. They’re breaking down every little piece and noticing there are no people of color in the town. When we have the scripts, they do not say that, so it was a huge shocker reading this episode for the first time.” 

In working with James Gunn, Agee explains that “you find stuff out as you get the scripts. I was aware that they were casting a new character. Obviously, they had to cast new characters because many people died in the first season. I knew that was going to happen. The one I was most aware of was Fleury, the part that went to Tim Meadows, who apparently was just a tough character to cast. I even did some chemistry reads on Zoom with some other actors, and they were all great. I remember James texting me and going, “What about Tim Meadows?” I’ve known Tim and James since before we did this, and I’ve always wanted to work with him. I’m a huge fan, and the second he said it, I could totally picture him in the part.”

In collaborating with Tim Meadows on the series, particularly in episode two’s hilarious truck scene, Agee hopes that a blooper reel will come out of their interactions, because “we had so much trouble getting through the scene without laughing. Tim is so funny. With his delivery and James’ writing, we had such a great time in the truck, saying these amazing lines and talking about bird blindness. When I got the script, I was like, “Oh, this is a funny bit, clearly ridiculous.” But when the episode aired, so many people were texting me, going, “I had to Google to make sure bird blindness wasn’t real.” That’s some effective writing.”

Of course, there was a lot more to talk about in our discussion, which can be seen below, from being able to work with different screenplays that balance several tonal shifts, the dual identity Economos embodies in the beginning of the season, and what he takes away the most from portraying the character in multiple films and television series. 

Listen to the interview below and stream all episodes of Peacemaker on HBO Max today: